Help Preserve Altadena's Story: Support Our Beloved Altadena

On January 7, 2025, the Eaton Fire forever changed Altadena. Nineteen lives were lost. Thousands of homes and structures were destroyed. Families were displaced. Generations of history were reduced to ash.

I am Nahshon Dion, a writer, teaching artist, community organizer, independent publisher, and fourth-generation Altadenan. My family has lived in the Altadena and Pasadena area since the 1940s. During the Eaton Fire, my family lost four homes, three of which are now being rebuilt.

In the weeks and months following the fire, I listened to hundreds of stories from survivors, first responders, educators, artists, historians, business owners, and community leaders. Again and again, I heard the same concern: that the stories, history, and spirit of Altadena could fade away while the community focused on recovery and rebuilding.

That is why I created Our Beloved Altadena : Voices from the Aftermath of the Eaton Canyon Wildfire, Vol. 1.

This anthology is a community archive, a historical record, and a love letter to Altadena.

About the Anthology

Our Beloved Altadena is a 70,000-word collection featuring 65 contributors whose essays, poems, oral histories, and personal reflections document the impact of the fire and the resilience of the community that survived it.

Contributors include Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jeffrey C. Stewart; historians Michele Zack, Alison Rose Jefferson, and Katie Singer; Congresswoman Judy Chu; Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger; Senator Sasha Renée Pérez; firefighter/paramedic Darren Lloyd; wildfire survivor Zaire Calvin; filmmaker Pablo Miralles; graphic designer Dennis Robinson; artists Keni Arts and Shé Shé Yancy-Simmons; writers Mary Lea Carroll and Colleen Dunn Bates; community leaders Antoinette "Toni" Raines and Joy Chen; and Chaney Trail Corridor founder Dr. Kristen Ochoa, plus more.

Together, these voices honor the 19 lives lost while honoring the history, culture, and identity of the Altadena community.

Why This Project Matters

Recovery is about more than rebuilding homes. It is also about preserving memory.

One story that profoundly shaped this project came from my former classmate Donny Kincey, who shared that his family was displaced by the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre before eventually settling in Altadena. His story revealed how this moment is connected to a longer history of migration, displacement, rebuilding, and resilience.

My own family is part of that history. My grandfather, Obzine Scott, purchased his home on Neldome Avenue in 1960. While I understood the history of redlining, I only recently came to see how directly discriminatory housing policies shaped my family's path to homeownership in Altadena.

More than a book about a wildfire, Our Beloved Altadena documents a century-long legacy of community building, Black landownership, environmental stewardship, and intergenerational resilience. It preserves voices too often absent from traditional archives, including elders, displaced families, artists, people with disabilities, first responders, and multigenerational residents.

Future generations deserve to hear directly from the people who endured this disaster and helped sustain the community they love.

The Power of Community

The first contributor to this project was former John Muir High School football coach Zaire Calvin. After losing his sister, Evelyn McClendon, and five family properties, he agreed to share his story. When I told Zaire that I had also lost my sister, Shennea, in a fire two decades earlier, he shared that he had known her.

That unexpected connection reminded me how deeply our lives and histories in Altadena are intertwined, and why preserving these stories matters.

My commitment to Altadena's recovery extends beyond the anthology. Since the fire, I have advocated alongside survivors in Sacramento , served on the Altadena Earthseed Community Land Trust and Eaton Fire Senior Summit planning committee, planted fruit trees with Altadena Community Garden, and removed dry vegetation with Altadena Talks Foundation.

In January 2026, I organized a first-anniversary event at the Altadena Library with support from Altadena Rising, Altadena Talks Foundation, Altadena Recovery Team, Altadena Earthseed Community Land Trust and Shepherd’s Door Domestic Violence Resource Center. In September, I hosted Sweet Sweet Memories at the Eaton Fire Collaborative, supported by Altadena Rising and the Department of Angels, where community members shared stories, celebrated neighbors, and created new memories.

I am now volunteering and assisting with the second-anniversary candlelight vigil. Our Beloved Altadena grows from this same commitment as Altadena continues to remember, recover, and rebuild.

Community Impact

The anthology will serve Altadena residents, wildfire survivors, displaced families, students, educators, researchers, libraries, historical organizations, the San Gabriel Valley, and future generations seeking to understand the community's experience during and after the Eaton Fire.

Copies will be donated to local libraries, schools, historical societies, and community organizations to ensure broad public access.

Help Us Cross the Finish Line

I am truly thankful for the organizations and individuals who have contributed to this project: Altadena Heritage, Pasadena Boys & Girls Club, Altadena Library Foundation, Altadena Earthseed Community Land Trust, After the Fire USA, Altagether, Foothill Catalog Foundation, Extreme Weather Survivors, Altadena Collective, AltadenaWILD, Trans Justice Funding Project, DeMarcus Suggs, and Augusta Terzol. With their generosity, we have raised $15,000. Their support has been instrumental in advancing Our Beloved Altadena. However, the total cost of the project is estimated at $31,900, leaving us with $16,900 needed to finalize and publish the anthology.

Your contribution will directly support:

This is a self-published, not-for-profit project. Future proceeds will support ongoing community storytelling, cultural preservation, and recovery-focused initiatives. Beneficiaries will include Altadena Earthseed Community Land Trust, Altadena Rising, Altadena Talks Foundation, John Muir Alumni Association, and Octavia’s Bookshelf.

Looking Ahead

Editing is underway, with publication scheduled for January 2027. I hope this anthology helps keep Altadena visible, honoring its history, celebrating its people and diversity, and preserving its legacy for generations to come.

Our Beloved Altadena is intended to be part of a longer-term effort to document Altadena's recovery. As rebuilding continues and new stories emerge, I hope to publish a second volume by the time the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games are underway.

None of this would be possible without the trust, generosity, and courage of the community.

If Altadena has ever touched your life, if you believe community stories matter, or if you want to help preserve a vital piece of California history, please consider making a contribution.

No donation is too small. If you cannot donate, please share this campaign with your family, friends, neighbors, alumni networks, faith communities, and social media followers.

Thank you for your support in ensuring the stories, strength, and spirit of our beloved Altadena are never forgotten.

With gratitude,

Nahshon Dion

Publisher and Editor

Our Beloved Altadena: Voices from the Aftermath of the Eaton Canyon Wildfire, Vol. 1