After being closed for two months after the Eaton fire, the Altadena Main Library reopened Tuesday, March 4.
Altadena Library District Director Nikki Winslow said her staff wasn’t sure what to expect on the first day back but that as of Tuesday afternoon things were so far, so good.
“We really weren’t sure what foot traffic was going to look like,” Winslow said. “But as soon as we opened the door we had a big crowd of people come in and the vibe is just so positive.”
Winslow said the library, located near Mariposa Street and Santa Rosa Avenue, had more than 70 items on the hold list for people to pick up Tuesday.
“It just provides such a sense of normalcy in a time that doesn’t feel normal and is tumultuous,” Winslow said of the library. “As you drive around Altadena nothing feels normal so that piece of stability and structure it is something that is going to draw people back in.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration set up shop inside the library on the first day back, something Winslow said will be the case moving forward to make the space somewhere not just for books and programs but information and vital recovery resources.
On the evening of Jan. 7, high winds led Winslow to close the library early despite, around 5 p.m., despite programs scheduled later that night. That decision paid off as within about an hour, the Eaton fire sparked in the foothills of Altadena.
In the immediate aftermath, Winslow did not know the status of the district’s libraries but saw nearby buildings burning while she watched local media coverage. She feared the worst when rumors swirled that both the main library and Bob Lucas Memorial Library had burned down.
“For whatever reason I had it in my brain that that just wasn’t possible,” Winslow said.
On Thursday, a relative of a library staff member biked to both library sites to confirm both had indeed survived the blaze.
Winslow described the libraries as a second home for many in Altadena making their survival a positive note in a dark time.
While closed, the library partnered with local organizations to support the community, which included a fundraising campaign with LA County Library to provide free hotspots to those impacted by the Eaton fire. Altadena Library worked with the L.A. County Parks’ Care Camps and the Pasadena Library branches.
Weeks of remediation and prep went into preparing the library for reopening. Winslow said the majority of the damage came in the form of debris on the building’s roof and burned trees on the property.
Being without power hampered the process and the fire burned more than two miles of fiber-optic cable causing a dilemma for library staff who are now operating on a cellular network.
Deep cleaning crews sanitized the space the HVAC system was cleaned and air testing found no dangerous particles in the air. In addition, the library brought in portable hand washing stations due to the water in the area still not safe to drink.
While the library itself escaped the fire largely unscathed, those who work for the library district were severely impacted. Two members of Winslow’s staff lost their homes in the fire and several others connected to the library including three of the five board of trustees lost homes.
The Altadena Library District is funded between 95-100% by property tax and is independent from the L.A. County Library district.
Winslow said the extent of the financial impact on the library is not yet known but she has already met with local elected officials to figure out how to backfill potential financial losses caused by the fire.
“I think it’s a pretty substantial hit that we will take if we can’t get backfilled and figure that out,” Winslow said.
Because Altadena is unincorporated, Winslow said in some ways the library is the most public facing government agency in town.
“When community members need most things, they come to the library,” Winslow said. “It’s my mission and what keeps me up at night to figure this out because the last thing the community needs is in some way that our services get cut. They’re going to need us more now than ever.”
The Bob Lucas Memorial Library, which had been undergoing renovations before the fire, also survived and remains closed for construction. Winslow said the plan is for construction to be completed in early May with a grand opening/summer reading kickoff event scheduled for May 31.
This Saturday, March 8, the library will host its Second Saturday concert from 6:30-8:30 p.m. featuring local band Suave. To register, visit www.altadenalibrary.org/programs.