Their homes survived Eaton fire. But living is hell, residents say

In the living room of her two-bedroom apartment in Altadena, Rosa Ramirez sat alone on her couch, staring up at the smoke-stained ceiling.

In the corner of the room, boxes and bags stuffed with clothes, towels and blankets that hadn’t been fouled by smoke from the Eaton fire sat next to a fish tank with discolored water.

“I’m slowly going through things to see what needs to be thrown out,” she said. “The kids’ mattresses had to be replaced, and some of the furniture will eventually have to go, but not yet.”

Rosa Ramirez and her 17-year-old daughter show their fire-damaged apartment on Monday in Altadena.

Until a week ago, Ramirez and her family had been staying in hotels, bouncing from city to city after January’s inferno forced them to evacuate. But the money dried up, and the high cost of renting elsewhere led them to return with other tenants to the burn zone and an apartment complex that an insurance company deemed “uninhabitable.”

Ramirez’s family is just one among about a dozen who say they have been living at the building, some for nearly two months, without gas service, prompting them to use portable stoves to cook with and to heat water to bathe in. At least one section of the building has been without power while others say they’ve experienced shortages. Some of the units, they say, need smoke remediation, and at least two apartments have holes in the ceiling from firefighting efforts.

Adding to their list of woes, the families — which include children and elderly people — say the apartment building is surrounded by burned-down homes, demolished carports and charred vehicles they fear are exposing them to cancer-causing substances such as asbestos and lead.

“The people who live here are people who don’t have anywhere to go; they don’t have money for a hotel or a car to stay in,” said Brenda Lopez, 24, who shares a two-bedroom with her family of six. “We’re here because we have to, not [out] of stubbornness.”

Residents say they’ve repeatedly asked the management company — Regency Management Inc. — to fix up the apartments. Instead, they contend that repairs have been delayed and tenants have been retaliated against with power shutoffs, and that the company has prevented the gas company from turning on services and has threatened to start charging rent again, which residents say ranges from $1,700 to $2,400.

Residents gather at an apartment complex where several residents say they are are living with little to no utilities in Altadena.

Jesse Carrillo, a legal consultant for Regency Management, disputed those accusations.

“We have been working with all relevant agencies and insurance carriers to restore services,” he said. “As you can imagine, all agencies are currently facing widespread demands, which has lead to delays in response times.”

Carrillo said no one from the management team has shut off power or demanded rent since the fire.

“We expedited all deposits and monies paid for the month if residents elected to move out, “ Carrillo said. “Although some residents are occupying the units, we have not charged rent and did not make a demand for such.”

Carrillo said damage to an electrical line caused power to go out for some residents and that a new switchgear panel has to be replaced before restoring power. He said he hopes that will be completed soon.

He said the gas company required clearance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Los Angeles County’s Building and Safety Division before gas service can be restored. He said the company is waiting on county officials to give final approval.

The view from an apartment’s balcony is one of devastation in the aftermath of the Eaton fire.

Tenants also decried the piles of debris that surround their two-story beige and brown stucco building and are calling for county officials to remove them.

In an effort to bring awareness to their living conditions, the residents formed the group Tenants Committee 403 this week and scheduled a news conference on Thursday at 5 p.m. to speak about the problems they’ve faced at the apartment complex. Afraid of being kicked out during renovations, they propose that three units be fixed up at a time.

Assisting the group is the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, better known as NDLON, which recently began working with the residents to help address their concerns. The group hopes that, in doing so, it will also shine a light on other properties with similar issues in the burn zones.

Pablo Alvarado, executive director of the advocacy group, says around 60 people are living at the complex, which has 47 units. He said the families don’t have the credit history or proof of income necessary to rent elsewhere. Some have jobs nearby and were being lodged in hotels by FEMA that were too far away.

Out of necessity, some families have returned to live in the burn area, and Alvarado said he wanted state and local officials to locate and prioritize those properties for removal of hazardous debris.

“The priority for authorities should be to clean out places where people are coming back,” he said. “We don’t want families to be evicted.”

Residents sort through items at an Altadena apartment complex, where residents are living with spotty utilities, or none at all.

Col. Eric Swenson of the U.S. Corps of Engineers, the agency that is assisting with the removal of fire debris in the county, said that among the list of priorities were places where people appeared to be living. He said the single-family homes that burned down around the apartment complex would place that area on the list.

The apartment complex is surrounded by more than a dozen destroyed houses, according to the county’s map of damaged homes. Several of those lots are in line to have debris removed, according to a debris removal map.

Swenson urged residents with health concerns to reach out to local public health officials, and asked for patience as his crews were working at record speed to remove debris from thousands of properties in the county. He reminded property owners that the deadline to sign up for debris removal is at the end of the month. People can log on to the county’s website to sign up.

Carrillo said the management company has submitted an application to the county for carport debris removal.

“We are currently awaiting the [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s] removal of an electric vehicle/EV from the property,” he said. “This removal is critical due to the potential fire hazard posed by the EV’s batteries, and must be completed before any further work can commence.”

He said the application is in the final review stage.

Brenda Lopez said she and fellow tenants have noticed a more responsive tone from their management company after the national day laborer organization got involved. The group has been instrumental in pressuring the company to do more, she said.

Brenda Lopez says those living in the Altadena apartment complex are mostly low-income families, with some special-needs children.

The residents at the building are mostly hard-working low-income families, some with special-needs children, Lopez said. Some, including herself, work in the service industry, manufacturing or construction, she said, and some people share apartments to get by.

“We’re barely making it by and we’re a family of [six],” she said.

Lopez , who left Las Vegas for Altadena, said she moved in with her family after New Year’s. She sleeps in the living room with her 5-year-old daughter, Mileydis, and shares the two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment with her parents, brother and sister.

She said the family evacuated around 3 a.m. after the fire broke out the evening of Jan. 7. Having no other choice, they returned two weeks later to their apartment when evacuations were lifted. Lopez said there was running water and power. She said the neighbors across the courtyard however, have had no electricity.

Lopez said a handful of families were living at the complex at the time, but now at least a dozen have moved back, and she said more are thinking of returning.

Carrillo said miscommunication and misinformation has contributed to a misunderstanding between the company and tenants.

Mattresses and other discarded items pile-up outside an apartment complex where residents are living in Altadena.

Last month, when residents began asking questions about cleanup efforts, the management team posted a copy of a letter to FEMA from Homewell Insurance Services, the company’s insurer, claiming the building was “uninhabitable” and that it would take 60 to 90 days before any tenant would be allowed to occupy the units.

That letter was followed by a March 7 notice posted on some apartment doors by the property manager saying that cleaning efforts on four units would begin March 12. Some tenants said that didn’t happen; others said it did.

Carrillo said as of Wednesday, at least 42 units have been cleaned and cleared by a licensed environmental firm, and three units are scheduled to be repaired Friday.

He said at least one unit was impacted by fire and two were potentially exposed to flames, and the rest experienced smoke damage.

He said the FEMA letter is an example of the miscommunication that has occurred at the building. He said the letter was posted to help residents who were at risk of losing assistance from the federal agency.

“We gave that letter to anybody who might be in the position or predicament where FEMA is cutting their funds unless [the tenant] can prove they’re currently out of the unit,” he said. “There was this misconception that we were going to call the police.”

In another example, a tenant said that a Southern California Gas Co. employee told them that there were no plans to restore service at the building because it was slated for demolition.

Children play at the complex, which is surrounded by burned homes.

“We have no plans to demolish this property,” Carrillo said. “Our sole goal is to fully restore the property so that our tenants can safely return home.”

Sitting in her living room, Ramirez said all she wanted was for things to return to normal. For a moment, she got up and strolled to the kitchen, passing her daughter’s turtle, who had survived the heavy smoke that filled the apartment when the carports outside her unit were burning. Outside, her daughter spoke to a friend.

On the kitchen counter, a stainless steel pot sat on the portable electric stove that Ramirez also uses to heat bathwater. Leaning against the fridge, she cried quietly.

“It’s sad, living like this,” she said, wiping her tears.

When her daughter walked in, she noticed her crying.

“¿Estás bien, mama?” she asked. “Are you OK, Mom?”

Ramirez smiled and nodded.