Altadena has always held a special place in my heart — during high school, many of my closest friends lived there, and we spent countless hours in the community.

In the weeks since the January fires tore through the area, I have seen hundreds of photos of the devastation. Each image was heartbreaking, but nothing prepared me for what I witnessed today. Driving through the familiar streets, the scale of the loss became painfully real.

In the parking lot of the Good Neighbor Bar, there is a map that told a somber story. It marked each home that was lost — a stark reminder of just how deeply the fire scarred this community.