As smoke drifted in the air under a crimson sky, Adonis and Denise Jones quickly packed some essentials and evacuated their home in Altadena, California last week, believing the firefighters tackling the Eaton Fire would manage to contain the situation and that they could return shortly.

Their home, acquired in the 1960s by Denise’s parents, was part of a wave of African American families settling in this hillside community, which evolved into one of Los Angeles County’s earliest Black middle-class neighborhoods.

Family members followed suit, passing down their homes through generations as California’s housing market thrived. However, the Eaton Fire, part of a series of extensive wildfires that began early last week, has significantly disrupted the foundation that they and others established. Rochele Jones, their 42-year-old daughter, revealed that collectively, her parents and relatives have lost over a dozen homes in Altadena.

“It’s heartbreaking,” she said. “When you had family nearby, you could always count on them in tough times. But now, it’s surreal that so many lost everything in a single day.”

With a large portion of the 43,000-strong community devastated, many worry if Altadena can reclaim the rich cultural diversity and Black legacy that defined it. As the remnants of bungalows, shops, and key landmarks lie in ruins, concerns grow that Altadena may have forfeited its identity.

There are initiatives in progress to prevent this outcome. Two prominent African American law firms have joined forces with California’s Prince Hall Masons to create a GoFundMe page aimed at aiding Black residents displaced by the Eaton Fire, focusing on those in most need and addressing the financial shortcomings of federal support.

“This area has a significant African American population,” stated James Bryant, a partner at The Cochran Firm in Los Angeles. “Many elderly residents, who have owned their homes for generations, depend on fixed incomes. Their insurance policies are being canceled. If we don’t highlight this, they could be overlooked.”

Overall, the wildfires across Southern California have resulted in 25 fatalities and have damaged or destroyed over 12,000 structures along the coast and inland near the San Gabriel Mountains.

Numerous Black families from Altadena have set up GoFundMe pages to seek financial assistance, “but many elderly individuals are unfamiliar with how to do that,” Bryant noted. “They are the most vulnerable. We want to maintain Altadena’s tight-knit Black community.”

He emphasized that while the immediate aim is to provide support for those struggling, organizers are also planning to establish long-term alliances to rejuvenate the area and shield residents from predatory developers.

“Some individuals have already been approached to sell their properties, which is truly distressing,” expressed community advocate Jasmyne Cannick. “People are waiting to swoop in and buy. We want to ensure that individuals are not misled into handing over their land.”

Although some staff from The Cochran Firm lost their homes in the fire, many of Bryant’s friends and family suffered similar losses.

“There will be emotional ramifications,” Bryant lamented. “For African Americans in the ‘50s and ‘60s to buy a home was a major achievement. To then pass it on through generations and witness family success unfold—losing it all is devastating. It’s not just about rebuilding; it’s the erasure of countless memories. It truly hurts.”

The Emergence of a Black Community Stronghold

Altadena’s Black community began to take shape in the 1920s and 1930s as families migrated in search of a life free from the discrimination of the Jim Crow South.

“Altadena was among the first neighborhoods to welcome Black families in Los Angeles County,” Bryant remarked. “This is why you see many generational families residing here.”

Notable residents have included actor Sidney Poitier, who rented a home while filming “Lilies of the Field” in 1963; Lt. O. Oliver Goodall, a former Tuskegee Airman involved in civil rights efforts; and abolitionist Ellen Garrison Jackson Clark, who spent her later years here and rests in Altadena’s Mountain View Cemetery alongside science fiction writer Octavia Butler and activist Eldridge Cleaver.

Throughout the 1960s, Altadena remained predominantly white, influenced by existing racial covenants, as stated by the nonprofit group Altadena Heritage.

The neighborhood began transforming after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Fair Housing Act of 1968, as white families began moving away, prompted by factors like freeway construction, environmental issues, and societal changes linked to the civil rights movement and school integration.

By 1980, the population that had been 95% white had declined to 49%. Simultaneously, as Black professionals and families found this area a feasible option, their numbers surged from below 4% to 43% over the same two decades.

“Neighborhoods like Altadena and specific parts of Compton and South Central Los Angeles were where Black families were relegated to live,” Bryant explained. “Altadena was slightly further out but offered affordability and a space for Black businesses to thrive. Black families could establish roots in a community where they felt safe and supported.”

The suburban environment built by these families was passed down through generations, homes that appreciated with California’s real estate market. Today, this unincorporated area is one of Southern California’s most eclectic, boasting a Black population exceeding 20% and a remarkable homeownership rate of over 75%.

“It was a joyful community, surrounded by beautiful mountains,” shared Carl Jones, 55, a 25-year veteran of the Pasadena parks department. “We worked hard for what we had. It was a Black community—not affluent, but far from impoverished.”

Jones’s home, shared with his mother, jazz singer Cheryl Conley, was consumed by the Eaton Fire. While Conley is staying with a friend in Los Angeles, Jones is currently in a local hotel, uncertain of his next steps.

When Conley moved to nearby Pasadena in the 1950s, Jones recounted, his grandparents enrolled her in a private school in Altadena due to the refusal of Pasadena Catholic institutions to accept Black students at that time. His grandfather, Brit Conley, was a Navy veteran present during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, which ushered the U.S. into World War II.

In the late 1990s, Conley purchased the family home at a fraction of current market values. However, Jones emphasized that the true value was in the community they built.

“It was all about the neighbors,” he stated. “We were incredibly close-knit. We looked out for one another.”

Adonis Jones (unrelated) shared that sentiment.

“Everyone knew everyone,” affirmed the 66-year-old facilities manager for group homes. “Most of us attended the same schools and formed strong bonds with one another.”

high school together or church. We visited the same markets.”

According to Carl Jones, that feeling of community and heritage “is something that can’t be restored. It’s something you earn over time. If we leave, that’s it. It won’t be replicated.”

He had seen news stories regarding the fires but didn’t think it would be a cause for alarm. Fires occur in the hills, never in the lower areas of Altadena.

When Conley nudged him awake at 3 a.m., an hour and a half before his work alarm was set to ring, and informed him that she and his sister were evacuating, he was doubtful. However, just 90 minutes later, he awoke to thick smoke and observed flames down the street.

“I never imagined it would reach this far,” he commented. “We’re not in the mountains.”

He hurried to grab a water hose and started spraying the roof and garage. A firefighter advised him to evacuate the area immediately.

“I thought I could save it,” he recounted. “Then suddenly the house across the street caught fire.”

With his phone’s battery nearly depleted, he dashed into the garage to quickly charge it; within minutes, he came back out to find the garage engulfed in flames. Distressed, he phoned Conley to tell her he wouldn’t be able to save the house.

He went inside, packed a small bag of clothes, and on his way out, grabbed one last item at his mother’s request – her father’s framed Navy photo from the wall.

‘Altadena is off the market’

The first confirmed victim of the Southern California fires was 66-year-old Victor Shaw, whose family shared with KTLA-TV that he died holding a garden hose, attempting to extinguish the flames. Despite the family urging him to leave following evacuation orders, he declined.

Bryant from the Cochran Law Firm expressed understanding of this mindset after conversing with locals that day and having to strongly encourage some to evacuate.

“People often say you can rebuild, or be grateful you’re alive, but these homes represent people’s lives,” he stated. “They hold memories and the essence that families have built over generations.”

In recent years, numerous insurance companies have stopped offering fire coverage in Altadena. Currently, Carl Jones mentioned he hadn’t heard back from his insurer but recognized that recovery would require external assistance.

“We’ve already received offers to sell,” he said. “But we’re staying. Even if I have to pitch a tent on our land, we’re not going anywhere. It belongs to us.”

Adonis Jones mentioned that his daughter Rochele has been assisting him with navigating through the challenges of insurance and federal aid, setting up a GoFundMe page to help with their costs.

He and his wife plan to participate in an upcoming town hall meeting for the Black residents of the neighborhood, yet he worries many may not have the means to remain in Altadena.

“I’m concerned,” Adonis Jones expressed. “Some may fear fighting back. They might be tempted by low offers and walk away. People will try to buy you out for very little.”

This week, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order aimed at shielding fire victims from predatory land buyers making aggressive and unsolicited cash offers for their properties.

“Altadena is off the market,” Rochele Jones declared. “I know some might feel frightened and take the money. But many people currently struggling are accustomed to hardships, and they will hold their ground.”