Imperfect Paradise: Rebuild or leave? One Black family in Altadena decides their future after Eaton Fire

California Love

LAist Studios

Music

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 9 April 2025

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The biggest question hanging over most people in Los Angeles who lost homes in the Palisades and Eaton Fires is whether to rebuild or leave -- a question that's especially fraught for Altadena's Black community, who faced a long history of redlining.

Charel Bailey’s parents have lived in Altadena since 1977, and she desperately wants them to rebuild after the fire. Her dad has been on the fence. We follow the Baileys as they grapple with this question and ultimately, come to a decision.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for LAS comes from Latino Theater Company at the Los Angeles Theater Center,
0:05.0	celebrating 40 years of groundbreaking theater.
0:08.0	The spring season features just like us, the last play by Rikurby Hines,
0:13.0	and the delicate tears of the waning moon.
0:15.0	More at latino theater, CO.org.
0:19.0	Support for LAS comes from HRCR.C. Fertility, helping hopeful parents build families.
0:25.7	From IVF to egg freezing, HRC fertility helps you take control of your reproductive health.
0:31.2	Learn more and schedule a consultation at havingbabies.com.
0:34.8	On January 10th, just a few days after devastating fires broke out across Southern California,
0:41.5	Sherell Bailey Dixon called in to LAS's radio show, Air Talk.
0:45.9	Hi, thank you for allowing us to speak about Alcatia.
0:50.2	I promise I'm going to cry.
0:52.3	That's okay.
0:53.1	That's all right.
0:54.6	The host, Larry Mantle, had asked listeners to share their experiences of the fires.
0:59.8	Sherell's childhood home, the house where her parents lived, had burned down just a few days ago in the Eden fire, along with much of Altadena.
1:08.6	18 people killed. Over 9,000 structures gone, houses of worship, restaurants,
1:15.6	and homes. Altadena is a mountain town north of Pasadena, with a population of about 40,000. And one of the
1:23.9	things that's so special about it is that it's home to a black community
1:27.7	that has roots going back decades.
1:30.9	I was born and raised in Al-Badinas.
1:33.7	And my concern is for the black Al-Sahedians who have bought a home, and we can't come back
	...

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