At 8 a.m. Wednesday, with dark clouds gathering in the distance, crews were putting the finishing touches on a new home in Altadena, with huge picture windows offering stunning views of the San Gabriel Mountains.
Jonny Miller and Anthony Ruffin are expected to return home for Thanksgiving.
“We can’t wait to come back,” Miller said.
Best friends Lily Knight and Steve Hofvendahl have lived two doors down from each other for a quarter of a century and are now starting a new chapter of their own. They have sold their property and will be moving to the Pacific Northwest, a decision that comes with a heavy heart but also a sense of reinvention.
“It sounded really wonderful,” Knight said, but after the fire she saw a “network of lights” that, to her, represented the hearts of the people in her life. “This is where I live,” she said, not in a building. “It made it easier to leave because I felt like the real bond would remain.”
That’s the story in Altadena right now — some are returning, some are leaving, and some are undecided. A place that had a unique and cherished identity before the fire, of mixed race and mixed income, still doesn’t know what its new identity will be.
“I think we’ll have a clearer picture by the end of year three, and we haven’t even hit the second anniversary of the fires yet,” he said. victoria bartonan Eaton fire survivor and former town council president.
so far233 new homes have been completed, 3,851 building permits have been issued and 2,396 homes are under construction. Knapp said it’s unclear what will happen to the 2,000 or so properties. To date, 515 plots of land have been sold, 44% of which were sold to developers, foreign investors and private equity investors.
In January 2025, nearly every home on West Palm Street between Olive and Glen was razed. I got to know many residents In the weeks following a disaster, most people focus on rebuilding. ruffin and millerI have known them for many years through their work Help and house homeless peoplemay be the first to return to West Palm.
Lily Knight and her husband, Steve Hofvendahl, sold their land to a nonprofit and bought a place in Washington.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Knight and her husband, who was unable to join us Wednesday, had just completed the sale of their property to a nonprofit housing developer whose mission is to address the racial wealth gap. As much as they love life in West Palm, selling means more than one thing. They are both actors with limited job opportunities given their age and the transformation of Hollywood.
They turned their double lot into a lush orchard, planting more than 100 fruit trees, and the front porch of the yellow farmhouse serves as a neighborhood gathering place. There is no way to replace what is lost, and being underinsured increases the likelihood of a return. The Pacific Northwest is attractive for its climate, natural beauty and not-so-outrageous real estate prices.
“We would build a small house on a large piece of land, but whenever it came time to resell, that was not a good option,” Knight said.
A symphony of power tools can be heard as we speak.
“Part of it was not wanting to go through the process of rebuilding,” Knight said of the decision to sell.
Miller and Ruffin never considered moving except that they might not be able to rebuild. The house they lost was Ruffin’s childhood home. His father purchased the house in 1972, when Altadena was one of the few suburbs welcoming black buyers, and Ruffin bought the house from them about 25 years ago.
Anthony Ruffin and wife Joni Miller walk into their nearly-complete home in Altadena.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
The new house features a modern design with large windows in the living room offering mountain views. In the kitchen, large accordion windows open to the terrace, giving the back of the house an airy, indoor-outdoor feel. Building materials are fire-resistant, as are the windows, and the eaves are fire-hardened.
Although Miller and Ruffin were excited to move back, they were physically and emotionally devastated. Miller still struggles with the loss of the family heirloom. This is the letter her grandmother wrote to her on the day she was born. Silverware passed down from generation to generation in the family.
“I’m ready to go home,” Miller said. “I can’t even explain how hard it was. People keep trying to say, you know, at least you got this beautiful new home. It’s kind of like, yeah, but… we didn’t make that choice. Yeah, I’m happy. Yeah, I’m grateful. But it was a huge cost.”
“We’re grateful because there are people who have kids and jobs,” whose lives are still unstable, Ruffin said. Immediately after the fire, he told me that despite all the hardships he encountered, he felt lucky compared to his clients in the ghetto.
“People are still living in their cars,” Miller said Wednesday of fire victims who were far from their homes.
Miller and Ruffin frequently travel to West Palm to check on the rebuilding.
Anthony Ruffin (second from left) celebrates the news that his next-door neighbor Julio Partida (left) plans to redevelop his home in February 2025. Ruffin’s wife, Joni Miller, right, and neighbor Robert S. Hilton look on on West Palm Street in Altadena.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
“It’s really tough, working in the ghettos and seeing what’s going on there and then coming here and seeing this destruction,” Ruffin said. “You’re trying to deal with natural disasters, you’re trying to deal with man-made disasters. You’re always in the midst of a disaster, and there’s no interruption.”
Before lighting the fire, Ruffin enjoyed his morning meditation. As the sun rose and the birds greeted the new day, he would sit in the front yard and admire the mountains.
“Here comes the rabbit again,” Miller said. “We saw a bobcat in the backyard. The crows were awesome.”
“One time we saw some deer,” Ruffin said.
Neighbors’ flowers are in bloom, and on Knight’s property, surviving trees include pomegranates, limes, finger limes, oranges and bananas. Miller plans to bring some baby bananas to her yard and plant a pollinator garden out front.
As we begin to say goodbye, Miller admits her friend’s planned departure is a blow.
Jonni Miller talks excitedly with neighbor Lily Knight, left, about how she and her husband celebrate Thanksgiving.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
“It’s hard for me to talk to Lily for a while because she’s leaving and it’s such a huge loss because you were like a part of my heart,” Miller said.
“I’m sorry,” Knight said as they hugged.
“Don’t be sorry,” Miller said. “I’m so happy for you.”
Knight reminded Miller that she would come back to visit her uncle often.
People experience loss, displacement, uncertainty and the sometimes overwhelming weight of uncertainty.
“All of us,” Knight said, “have found our own resilience in some way.”
She told me last December At a block party, despite the loss, as she and her husband approach 70, “it’s really exciting to think about a whole new life.”
We walked to the King’s Yard, where she and Hofwendal hosted a reception when Miller and Ruffin got married a few years ago.
Hovendaal’s garden was his pride and joy, although the work never ended. Knight said that in some ways, the decision to leave may have been more difficult for him. But Knight said it might be similar to the way people hesitate before jumping into cold water. You’ll resist at first, but when you let go of your fear, it feels good.
“That’s what change is,” she said.
A truck loaded with lumber backed into a dirt driveway.
Fences have been erected around Li Aimin and Xiong Shigang’s properties, marking the start of their reconstruction work.
Monica Koski’s house is nearly complete. She and Peter Kosky had recently been married, and the unfinished house served as their wedding chapel.
Some people came back and some people left.
Change will be ongoing.
But West Palm and Altadena are making a comeback.
steve.lopez@latimes.com