The Woods family lost three residences in the devastating Eaton Fire. For over 40 years, Altadena has been their home—a place where they raised two children, hosted family gatherings, and welcomed visits from their grandchildren.
On October 16, 2025, under bright sunny skies and the stunning backdrop of the nearby San Gabriel Mountains, the Altadena community gathered on East Pine Street in West Altadena to celebrate a hopeful milestone: the first home lost to the Eaton Fire is being rebuilt by San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity. The Woods family was on site to witness the first walls of their home being raised by Habitat volunteers and a coalition of community partners that helped bring the project to life.
The Altadena Builds Back Foundation (ABBF), a supporting organization of Pasadena Community Foundation (PCF) established in April 2025 to fund residential recovery in Altadena, awarded SGV Habitat a significant grant in June to support this inspiring effort. ABBF’s Executive Director, Jennifer DeVoll, noted in her remarks that Habitat for Humanity’s mission aligns powerfully with the work of PCF and ABBF. “Our $4.55 million commitment to restore 22 homes reflects our shared belief that housing is essential to human dignity and community resilience.”
Jennifer went on to draw a strong link between PCF’s Affordable Housing Initiative, launched in 2019, and the joint efforts of PCF and ABBF toward post-fire residential recovery efforts: “I think the strongest link between pre-fire and post-fire work at PCF is our work in the affordable housing sphere. We lost more than 6,000 single family and multi-residential homes up here, so the fire has created a new housing crisis.”
Bryan Wong, Executive Director of SGV Habitat enthused, “Everyone knows this is a new day in Altadena. We are so happy to help the Woods family come back to the city, come back to the community, with our very first house and ADU. This has been a lot of time and effort put into effort here, and … it is our goal is to make sure the Woods are home for the holidays. This is the first of many (houses). The community has lost over 4,400 single family residences, and we are going to do our absolute best to bring back as many families as we can. We have a lot of supporters and partners here today to help make that dream a reality.”
This partnership uplifts families in West Altadena who are uninsured, underinsured, or living on limited incomes—exactly those ABBF was created to support and those who Habitat for Humanity has always centered. Jennifer ended her remarks with gratitude for this shared mission.
“To SGV Habitat, thank you for being the kind of partner that strengthens not only Altadena, but all of us who believe in the power of community and collective impact.”
Jennifer DeVoll shares remarks at the Habitat for Humanity construction site on behalf of the Altadena Builds Back Foundation.
