My friends bought a house in Altadena in the summer of 2013 and knowing I was thinking about moving out of my parent’s house, they offered me a room to rent. The house was a Janes Cottage house built in 1925 right on Altadena Drive. I moved in and within one month, I went to the Altadena Public Library on Mariposa Street to get a library card. I visited the library to check out books, but I did not attend any events. I was working full time and did not have that much time for anything other than reading and spending time with the three friends I lived with.
In the fall of 2019, I decided to quit my job and return to school. I had to finish five classes at Pasadena City College before I could transfer to a university. I began my classes in spring 2020 and was on campus four days per week until March when my school informed everyone that we would be moving classes online for about three weeks. I did not return to campus and eventually enrolled at Cal State LA for fall 2020.
The Altadena Public Library sent emails letting the Altadena community that they were there to provide help, and they made a lot of things easier for their community. After the pandemic restrictions started to be lifted, I had to make the unfortunate decision to move back to my parent’s house at the end of 2021. I had one more semester left at Cal State LA and had to commute, but eventually, I graduated in May 2022. I often visited my friends, but everyone got busy and two and a half years went by quickly.
I received a text early in the morning of January 8, 2025, telling me to evacuate immediately. When I lived in Altadena, I signed up for text alerts because periodically there were fires in the Angeles National Forest, and it was close to the house on Altadena Drive. I sent a group text to my friends to ask what was happening and if they were okay. They said there was a fire nearby and they were leaving. I sent a text telling them they will probably be able to return soon. I said this because all the other times there were fires nearby, the fires were always put out with no risk to life or structures. This did not happen this time.
Their house was completely destroyed, and my three friends were devastated. They left every possession in their house except for important documents.
After hours of watching news footage about the devastation the entire Altadena community suffered and thinking about all the good times we had there, and the time when it was just the four of us and a dog named Drake shuttered away from the rest of the world during a worldwide pandemic, I cried for days. My friends and Drake were alive of course, which was the most important thing, but we would never again be in that house together.
On January 9, 2025, I received an email from the Altadena Public Library informing that all three branches had survived the fire and said there had been reports that they were destroyed. They wanted to let the community know that those reports were false.
They immediately started sending emails with information about resources for the community that included information about all the places that were giving away clothing, food, and other needed supplies, and they posted information about meetings regarding home insurance, how to receive emergency funds, and information about rebuilding. When the library reopened two months later, they had countless events for children and teens and other events regarding mental health and how to go about grief, periodically holding guided meditations and healing circles. In the summer, they organized a day camp for children and teens so that their parents and guardians could take care of whatever they needed to.
When I think about libraries and the ways they help their communities, I think about the Altadena Public Library and their responses to a worldwide pandemic and a devasting wildfire that wiped out most of their community. I feel that they reached their community via email when the libraries were closed, when their community was in dire need of information. They used this technology to offer what they believed was needed, and as they found out what other things their community needed, they added events and information to help the community members thrive and heal.