On Jan. 7, 2025, Altadena experienced a devastating, life-altering event, the Eaton Canyon Fire. Many of the victims and survivors did not know their lives would permanently change due to the unexpected disaster that was caused by faulty power lines and what was referred to as the “strongest set of Santa Ana winds” in over a decade in reports. The Eaton Canyon fire burned 14,120 acres of land and left 9,000 properties in ruins.
Our Beloved Altadena
A process that has taken 17 months and count-ing, Nahshon Dion is bringing forth a collection of essays—”Our Beloved Altadena: Voices from the Aftermath of the Eaton Canyon Fire”—that illustrates the stories of struggle, triumph, com-munity, restoration, and healing of the Altadena natives and residents who were severely impacted by the Eaton Canyon Fire.
Dion is an award-winning writer, editor, curator, community organizer and emerging filmmaker who was inspired by post-fire inter-views of her former classmate, Donny Kincey, who disclosed that his ancestors had been burned out of Tulsa, Okla., in 1921.
She candidly spoke to Our Weekly, discussing the impact of the 2025 Altadena wildfire on her family and community. Her family lost four homes, and she collected over 60 essays and poems for the anthology.
“I knew I had to move quickly to collect these stories, because if you don’t get them right away, there’s a real possibility you may never get them. As time goes on, people don’t always want to talk or write about this kind of pain,” said Dion.
She continued, “I knew people needed to be heard. People needed someone to talk to. I’ve been writing for over a decade about the unpleasant, traumatic things I’ve experienced, and I know how writing has helped me cope with trauma. As soon as I heard what folks were going through, I knew I needed to start collecting stories.”
She further added, “‘Our Beloved Altadena’ extends beyond the page through a public sto-rytelling & community memory series featuring readings, panel conversations, youth programs, and archival exhibitions that foster healing, civic reflection, and intergenerational connection,” said Dion.
Notable contributions include Samantha James, a sixth-generation Altadena resident; Darren Lloyd, a firefighter; John Muir High School coach Zaire Cal-vin; Los Angeles Supervisor Kathryn Barger; John Muir valedictorian Tessa Skidmore; and more.
Dion mentioned that one of the essays that stood out at the time of this interview is one written by the CEO of A Resilient Tomorrow (formerly known as the Altadena Recovery Team), Samantha James.
“Learning that Samantha’s family had been in Altadena since the 1880s—that she’s sixth genera-tion, Black, and from a family of equestrians—was something I never expected. I’d never met any Black folks whose roots in the community went back that far. Her story stood out to me in a deep, historical way.”
Dion currently lives and works in both New York and Los Angeles, while her extended family lost four homes in the fires. Three of four homes that were burnt are currently being rebuilt.
Though her nuclear family didn’t lose their homes, an apartment and a childhood home she once grew up in are gone. Her family has lived in the Altadena/Pasadena areas since the 1940s. Two decades ago, she lost her sister, Shennea, in a fire in Los Angeles. These experiences all have led to Dion curating this project; it is a labor of love to her.
Her mother, cousins, and a few other family members lived in Altadena during the Eaton Can-yon Fire. When she inquired about their lost family homes, her mother responded with caution and was noticeably guarded.
“When the fires happened, I started asking my mother certain things, and she just did not want to talk. My mother knows I’m a writer. I said to her, ‘Mom, I’m asking you this because I’m your child. This is our family and our community. I’m not writing about this.’ She still didn’t want to share certain information.”
Her mother eventually opened up to her and notified her that her cousin James Preston, 89, is in the process of rebuilding his home after losing it in the Eaton Canyon Fire.
She further shared about how being guarded is a cultural norm for Black people, especially older Black folks who have endured various struggles historically. “It’s understandable that we as Black people are often guarded and don’t talk freely or share information; given the history of what we’ve been through in this country, it makes sense.”
The fire tore through every anchor of her life
Antoinette “Toni” Raines, a resident of Altadena and co-founder of the AltadenaTalks Podcast, discussed her efforts in community restoration post-fire. She mentioned managing a volunteer list of 75 people and clearing overgrown brush to mitigate fire risks and coyote dens. In her podcast, which is also hosted by Jamal Smith and Brian Baccus and airs daily, Raines discusses how her role in the Neighbors Helping Neighbors initiative helps fire survivors.
“Altadena is the soul of the foothills. I want that soul to come back. Yes, we can’t go back to what it was 17 months ago, but we can move forward. My saying is ‘forward ever, backward never.’” She continued, “We have to be open to each other, to talk to one another, to collaborate. That’s how we thrive together as a community and become a better Altadena than we’ve ever been.”
As Raines describes it, the Eaton Canyon fires tore through almost every anchor in her life and memory in Altadena.
Her parents’ home of 58 years burned down, and her sister also lost her home. Raines’ elementary school was destroyed and is now “just dirt.” Her junior high school is so damaged it’s slated to be torn down, not rebuilt. During her interview with Our Weekly, she recalls the morning of the fire, getting a call at 3:46 a.m. from her sister saying their parents’ house was gone.
She sat up in bed and screamed, her sons running into the room asking what was wrong. Instead of staying frozen in shock, she “jumped in the next day,” sharing resources, finding help for others, and immediately joining in with Brian Bacchus and Jamal Smith to create the Altadena Talks podcast.
Raines’ work for the Altadena community, and now her essay in the anthology, are her way of processing the loss while helping the community heal and rebuild together.
“I’m not doing this so I can just come in and tell people what to do. I’m out here working with everybody. After the fires, we started AltadenaTalks, and we are live five days a week; then we’re out in the community on the weekends at the very events we talk about. For me, it’s about showing up, sharing resources, and helping our community heal and move forward together.”
Raines also emphasized the importance of preserving community history, particularly the African American and Latino contributions, and stressed the need for inclusive narratives in Altadena’s renewal. The AltadenaTalks podcast can be found at altadenatalks.com and on YouTube.
The firefighter who put his life on the line and also experienced loss
Darren Lloyd, a firefighter and paramedic, joined the “Our Beloved Altadena” anthology to document his experience. He shared the emotional toll of evacuating his pregnant wife and neighbors, the panic of not knowing the fire’s extent, and the devastation of seeing his community destroyed. Lloyd opened up about a few parts that were included from his essay in the anthology and revisits the night that the fire broke out.
“That night I was panicking because my wife was pregnant, and I had to get her out of there. At the same time, family members were calling to say they were fleeing and heading my way, and I was telling them, ‘Don’t come this direction; the fire is coming here.’ Neighbors were coming to me for direction, and I was trying to figure out who was still there so I could help them, then get to the fire station—because this is what we do.”
Lloyd comes from a family that has called Altadena home for roughly 80 years, spanning multiple generations who witnessed the community’s evolution long before the Eaton Fire. Just four months before the disaster, he moved back onto his childhood block after an extensive renovation of his family home, a house his neighbors, including Pastor Terry Turentine, associated with his late parents and his upbringing.
In the days that followed, he drove through Altadena past his grandmother’s house, friends’ homes, and familiar childhood landmarks, only to find them erased, “just gone,” a scene he likens to a post-apocalyptic movie.
“I drove out to Dena and passed the places I grew up—my grandmother’s house, friends’ houses, cousins’ houses—and it was just gone. It looked like those scenes in “Terminator” where you’re in the future after Judgment Day: rubble, little fires everywhere, nobody on the street. I was driving through it all by myself, remembering being there as a kid, riding my bike, and going to the pastor’s with my grandmother. All those memories were totally wiped out.”
Haunted by survivor’s remorse, he knows from his own renovation how unlikely full rebuilding will be, given soaring costs and outdated insurance, and he fears that along with the houses, the unique culture and identity of Altadena may never fully return.
“I’m also dealing with the personal emotion of the city I grew up in, which my family’s been in for the last 80 years, is gone, and I’m trying to stay focused, and I’m struggling.”
He further added, “My family has been in Altadena for about 80 years. Generationally, we’ve been here and watched it change into what it is now. That’s why I felt it was important to document what Altadena was and what the Eaton fire was—to keep the conversation going about the needs that are still there for our people.”
The anthology is a self-published, not-for-profit project, with proceeds supporting Altadena-based recovery efforts, and is slated to launch in June 2027. Dion also said that there are plans for readings and collaborations with organizations like the Pasadena Educational Foundation. The first volume will feature up to 60 voices of Altadena residents and other prominent writers sharing their perspectives.
For more information, to submit an essay, partnership inquiries, or to collaborate, please visit www.nahshondionanderson.com.
