January’s Eaton Fire destroyed nearly 9500 structures — most were single-family homes in Altadena. Property owners have been grappling with whether to rebuild or sell. Nearly 40 owners have decided to put their properties on the market, according to local realtor Jim Tripodes.
That includes Dina Ament. Her historic Tudor-style cottage, built 100 years ago, was completely leveled, as well as most of the 160 similarly-designed cottages in her neighborhood known as Janes Village.
She tells KCRW that the property was a fixer-upper when she bought it. “I spent three or four years trying to restore it to what it was originally, and had a beautiful garden in the back that I planted to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. And it was kind of the place where I wanted to retire.”
Dina Ament’s home is seen before the Eaton Fire. Courtesy of Dina Ament.
Dina Ament’s backyard is seen before the Eaton Fire. Courtesy of Dina Ament.
She knew many neighbors, and credits the residents next door with saving her life when the Eaton Fire broke out.
“The power went out. … I have an electric gate on my driveway, and of course, when the power is out, you have to use a key to unlatch the mechanism and open the gate. But the mechanism wouldn't unlatch, and so I couldn't get my car out. So my neighbors came over, and they basically broke the gate for me to back the car out so I could get out that night. … Because otherwise … I don't think I would have gotten help from 911 because they were overwhelmed.”
She describes what the area looks like now: “From about two houses to the east of me, all the way down to the end of the street, most of the houses are gone. I think there's one house standing. And then to the east, there are probably about four or five houses. Nobody understands why these houses are still standing, and everything else completely around me just was burned. And if you go further up the mountain from where I was, it's just devastating to me. There's nothing there. It's like somebody dropped a bomb, and all that’s left are chimneys.”
After speaking with her insurance company, Ament was determined to rebuild. However, weeks later, she realized the enormity of that task.
“Everything's gone, and so you have to wait for them to clear the lot. You have to wait for them to restore utilities, and then you have to find resources, architects, engineers, contractors. And then they have to find supplies. … It just gets so overwhelming, the phone calls. Calls every day that you're dealing with. And after doing that for about six weeks, I was exhausted. … They're telling me now that it may take two to three years to get back into a home. Well, by that time, I'll be over 80 [years old], and who knows if I'll even still be here. … I'd gone back and forth — one day I want to rebuild, the next day I just want to walk away.”
Dina Ament had this reading shed in her backyard before the Eaton Fire. Courtesy of Dina Ament.
She adds, “I've spent the last five years battling cancer, and I thought that was going to be the biggest battle of my life. And yet, the last two months have been much harder than cancer was. … I have nightmares. And ultimately, when I went up there, I looked around, I thought, I don't think I'll ever feel safe. Even if I build a brand new house here, anytime the wind comes up, it's going to scare me. … I don't want to see it change either, but in my view, it's already changed, and I don't think it's going to be back to what it was in my lifetime.”
Ament then talked to her daughter, a mom of three kids under age 7: “I asked her if something happened to me, and I wasn't able to complete the rebuild, was it something that she was interested in doing? … She said, ‘Mama, I don't have time to do that. I'm overwhelmed with just the school things for the kids.’”
Ultimately, she decided to hand the property to someone else who could rebuild. That meant selling.
Within three days of listing her property, five offers arrived, including from low-balling developers. Ament ultimately sold the cottage to an architect and his wife. “At least he'll build a nice home there, and it won't be a condominium or a high rise or whatever it is that they're worried about.”
Now, Ament is living in Arizona, but she plans to relocate to Pasadena and buy a house that doesn’t require work.
“I spent four years remodeling my house until I got it to exactly what I wanted. I don't think I have the energy to do that again. So I'm looking for a house, but it might take me a while to find a place. But I'm not seeing Arizona. It gets too hot here. And besides, I don't like scorpions. They have scorpions here.”