A two-bedroom accessory dwelling unit has been completed in Altadena, replacing a garage that burned in January’s Eaton fire.
Ten months and 10 days after January’s wildfires devastated parts of Los Angeles, the first new home has been completed.
A two-bedroom, 630-square-foot accessory dwelling unit in Altadena received a certificate of occupancy on Monday, Los Angeles County records show. The ADU, a type of structure often used as a rental unit or guesthouse, replaced a garage that burned in the Eaton fire. The lot’s primary house was not damaged in the blaze.
Manuel Lopez, a design consultant for the project, said the property owner built the ADU himself. The owner’s son lived in the garage before the fire and will move into the new structure.
“People are getting on their feet again,” Lopez said.
The owner declined to be interviewed.
The Altadena ADU is the first of what could be many firsts in the rebuild before the end of the year. Homes are springing up throughout Altadena and Pacific Palisades — another community left in ruins by a wildfire — with multiple projects, including rebuilds of destroyed houses, expected to be finished in the coming weeks.
The Palisades and Eaton fires destroyed 13,000 homes. More than 2,500 property owners have filed full rebuilding applications in Los Angeles County and the city of Los Angeles, the two largest jurisdictions affected, with 1,100 permits approved, according to city and county dashboards.
L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents the area, called the project “another tangible reminder that Altadena’s recovery is moving forward.”
“Knowing a fully permitted ADU has transformed what was once a garage into a safe, permanent place to call home feels good and is an important milestone,” Barger said in a statement. “This is what steady, determined progress looks like.”