Rebuilding work begins for first home in Altadena after Eaton Fire

For the first time since the Eaton Fire ravaged the Altadena neighborhood, rebuilding work for residential properties finally began Monday.

After over 9,000 homes were destroyed, the property on West Palm Street was the first to be cleared out by the Army Corp of Engineers on Feb. 11. And it's now the first to break ground amid restoration efforts.

For Margo Steuber, the homeowner, it was a long time coming.

“It’s the first day of my new life,” Steuber said. “After all the grief and loss, I now start to see myself here.”

Since Stueber’s 100-year-old Altadena cottage burned down in January, the homeowner has been working with architect Trinidad Campbell to design her new home. 

Despite the promise from Los Angeles County that the process of issuing permits would be expedited to two weeks, Stueber faced a delay as separate county departments had to review her rebuilding plans before issuing a permit. 

As of Monday, only four properties received a rebuild permit in the Altadena area.

“It took us two months to get the permits, and I hope they can do it a bit faster because everybody is ready to rebuild,” Trinidad Campbell, Steuber’s architect, said. 

Supervisor Kathryn Barger Monday agreed that the process of issuing rebuild permits can be “streamlined.”

“Public works takes two weeks. Regional planning takes two weeks. Fire takes two weeks. Public health takes two weeks. (LA County) shouldn't operate like that,” Barger said. 

To eliminate bureaucratic hurdles, Barger said the county may copy a system that’s in place for the city of Los Angeles, saying she’ll bring forward a motion to allow self-certification in the county.

“If you hire a licensed architect or a licensed engineer, a no-brainer, self-certify,” the Chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors said. 

Barger explained that if a licensed engineer or architect is hired to do the rebuilding plan, their license alone is sufficient enough to skip the other review processes done by LA County departments. 

While restoring homes was being done sluggishly, thefts and burglaries are rampant in the fire-damaged neighborhood, officials said. 

As the LA County Sheriff’s Department saw a 250% climb in arrests in the neighborhood, one burglary operation alone led to 15 arrests.

But arresting the criminals would not be a small feat as Altadena is a porous neighborhood with many ways to enter the area through the mountains and forests. 

Barger said she and other county leaders are looking into providing more support to the Sheriff’s Department without having to bring back the National Guard for help. 

LA District Attorney Nathan Hochman will also aggressively pursue charges for those arrested for burglaries and thefts in Altadena and other fire-ravaged areas, Barger said.