Ashes to Action: Fighting for Altadena’s Future After the Fires

When I left snowy Ithaca for my Southern California beach town in December, I was eager to trade the Arctic wind chill for blue skies and an ocean breeze. What I did not expect was to be met with ash falling from the orange-ish sky and smoke plumes over the ocean. Although my town was spared, everyone I knew was either directly impacted by the disaster or waking up to evacuation warnings and preparing donations. 

It felt nearly impossible to grasp the on-going devastation. Even after integral Los Angeles communities had been entirely wiped out, the raging wildfires persisted. With the scale of destruction, all any of us could really do was pray for our safety and for those that we loved, desperate for some form of comfort in the chaos.