A historic Black community, rooted in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, has been devastated by the wildfires ravaging Los Angeles County.
The Eaton Fire has destroyed much of the unincorporated area of Altadena, California, located in San Gabriel Valley and the Verdugos regions. This area, home to many Black-owned homes and businesses, has been nearly leveled.
The community, with a population of 42,000—18% of whom are Black—has been severely impacted by wildfires that have claimed 24 lives and destroyed over 12,000 structures across the county. The Eaton Fire alone accounted for more than 1,000 destroyed structures and at least five deaths in Altadena, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Altadena is also where pioneering Black science fiction author Octavia E. Butler, known for her novel Parable of the Sower, is buried. In a poignant twist, the cemetery where she rests was also damaged by the fire, as reported by The Los Angeles Times.
