Her family has slept in 5 places since LA fires ravaged her home. What it’s like for Altadena residents trying to recover

Many in Altadena are determined to rebuild. But the arduous process, which can often feel like a full-time job, has begun to consume their lives and take a hefty mental toll.

Yvette Anderson and her family have stayed in four hotels and an AirBnb in the month since their Altadena home was ravaged by the Eaton Fire – and with a knock on their door Tuesday afternoon, a hotel employee informed them they would once again have to pack up their few remaining belongings and find another place to stay. The hotel, where they had been using a Federal Emergency Management Agency voucher to pay for their room, was entirely booked the next day, the employee told them. Though the hotel said the Andersons were told in advance their reservation would end Tuesday, no one in the family remembers that conversation.Of course, it’s entirely possible that their minds were elsewhere. The fires that ignited in Los Angeles County in early January scorched nearly 40,000 acres, left at least 29 people dead and damaged or destroyed approximately 18,000 homes, schools and businesses. Thousands of displaced residents have returned to their incinerated neighborhoods to find a moonscape of devastation: smoky carcasses of cars, ash-laden lands and the once-gorgeous homes of the upper, middle and working classes indiscriminately transformed into rubble – much of it likely laced with heavy metals, asbestos and other untold toxins. Now, displaced residents find themselves at a crossroads. Will they shoulder months and years of painstaking rebuilding or cut their losses and leave their beloved communities behind? Many in Altadena, including the Andersons, are determined to rebuild. But the arduous process, which can often feel like a full-time job, has begun to consume their lives and take a hefty mental toll. “They are starting to call us ‘zombies’ because we look drained (and) out of it,” said Heidi Luest, an artist who heard the morbid nickname being tossed around at a hair salon and grocery store in Altadena.