Juan Carlos Perez watched his life unravel in a matter of days. The wind-fueled fire that swept through his Altadena neighborhood last week not only destroyed his family’s home but also the school his child attended – Aveson Charter School.
As a former candidate for the Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education, Perez knew the community well, but nothing could have prepared him for the loss.
“As a parent, first and foremost, it’s been really hard because you realize just how much school in the community is so central to your child’s life,” Perez said Monday. “I mean, you know that all the time anyway, but when it’s completely taken away like this for the second time in your child’s life and thinking back to the pandemic, it’s just really shocking and devastating.”
Deadly, wind-whipped blazes tore across Los Angeles County, destroying homes, schools and displacing tens of thousands of residents. Among the hardest-hit areas were Altadena and Pasadena, where the Eaton fire devastated neighborhoods and reduced countless properties to ashes.
The loss extended beyond homes. In the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD), the fire forced 1,383 district employees, or roughly half of its workforce, to evacuate. With five schools destroyed, district officials canceled classes through Friday, Jan. 17, to assess the damage and plan for recovery.
“I just really want our community to know that our goal is to get our children back in school in person, as soon as it is safe to do so, as soon as we know that the classrooms are cleaned, the air quality is right, and that the campuses are safe to come on,” PUSD Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco said in a recent interview.
“We will continue to provide social, emotional support, as this is going to be a marathon, not a sprint,” she added. “And we all have to prepare for the long haul in the recovery for our community.”
To support fire-affected school districts, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order on Tuesday, Jan. 14, to help children return to schools quickly. The order suspends certain state rules to allow displaced children to attend schools outside of their district.
It also eases the use of temporary facilities, helps schools avoid penalties for not meeting minimum school year requirements and directs state agencies to help with plans for serving displaced students and rebuilding.
Yet, it’s unclear how long it will take for PUSD to fully recover.
The Eaton fire devoured five campuses, including Eliot Arts Magnet Middle School, Franklin Elementary – closed in 2020 but slated for future use as swing space under the district’s bond plan, as well as three charter schools — Aveson, Loma Alta, and Noyes.
For Perez’s family, the loss of Aveson Charter School felt especially personal. His youngest, 12-year-old Emerson, had grown deeply attached to the school.
“ I think my daughter, as much as she was really saddened that we lost our home and lost all of our things, she actually cried a bit harder when she found out that her elementary school was destroyed,” Perez said.
He said his family is considering moving to Connecticut for a few months, where a friend had offered them a house to stay, to “get away from all the ashes and destruction”.
“ Our youngest, she tends to suffer from some anxiety, so she’s very reluctant to go back to school here,” Perez said. “What we might do is just kind of move away for a little bit,” he added, noting that they may explore remote learning options during their time away.
Perez’s family isn’t alone in facing upheaval. Many in the PUSD community are now struggling to regain a sense of stability after losing their homes.
Among them is Felicia Lee, a PUSD graduate and a longtime district employee who works as a registrar at McKinley School.
Lee’s family home in Altadena, bought by her parents and a sanctuary to three generations, was reduced to rubble when the Eaton fire swept through the neighborhood last week.
“ It’s been total destruction. So mentally, spiritually and emotionally, we are distraught,” Lee said Tuesday. “We were raised there from the age of two up until now — I’m 50 years old. I raised my own four children there, and then now my granddaughter was expected to be raised there. So it’s gone, and I’m trying to wrap my head around it. It has just been, just a whirlwind of emotions.”
Despite her personal loss, Lee feels equally devastated by the damage across PUSD, especially at Eliot, where she previously worked.
“ It’s so heartbreaking to see the destruction that the school has suffered. And I feel helpless, I can’t do anything to help them. I really wish I could do more,” she added. “I know my family may have needs too, but I wish I could really get out there and help all those who have touched me in so many ways.”
Executive Director of Aveson Schools Ian McFeat estimated Monday that around 15 of the school’s 100 faculty and staff lost their homes in the fire, along with around 60 families of its 500 students.
“It’s hard for our community, (and) I will say it’s hard for individuals ,” said McFeat, who also lost his home in the fire. “ We just had a gathering right now with all of our teachers and support staff, and it’s rough.”
Aveson plans to resume virtual learning for its middle and high school by the end of this week, McFeat said. However, for its elementary school, which was destroyed in the fire, the school is still searching for a temporary location.
The question of learning disruption lingers in the minds of Rene Gonzalez, the father of two students at Marshall Fundamental School.
“The students tend to not get the work done at home,” he said Monday. “So besides the canvas, or the online availability, I think that there has to be a more robust interaction.”
Still, some parents have maintained a more positive outlook and expressed confidence in the school district’s ability to manage the crisis.
Warren Skidmore, whose daughter attends John Muir High School, also lost his home in the fire. Despite the challenge, Skidmore said that he remains optimistic.
“I know that the district is going to provide certain opportunities for credit recovery and all that kind of stuff, trying to mitigate the disruption as much as possible,” he said Tuesday. “There’s definitely going to be disruption, but I’m not overly worried that it’s going to prevent students from graduating and stuff like that. I think the bigger issues are going to be outside of school, the home situation, air quality and things like that.”
Meanwhile, Lee also remains hopeful.
“ We absolutely try to stay in high spirit. We’re hopeful. We’re prayerful,” she said. “We are Altadena Strong. We are Pasadena Strong. We are PUSD Strong. We are out here working to support one another because this is a small community, but definitely a community of love, support. It’s felt everywhere.”
PUSD is accepting donations for impacted families through Pasadena Educational Foundation: https://pasedfoundation.org/support/donate/
The school district asked families to fill out a survey to help it make decisions:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfv_OTD23LkI8Kksqb367ZFDkkUpKPaK7fza-NNIX8trjoy8Q/viewform
In addition, it has launched a fire relief website to centralize all resources, including meals, childcare, and mental health services, and community updates: https://www.pusd.us/fire-relief.