‘Tone deaf.’ Call for volunteers to clean park in fire zone faces pushback in Altadena

The brightly-colored flyer from Los Angeles County officials includes a chipper call for help in the Eaton fire zone.

“Volunteer with us to celebrate Earth Day in Altadena!” it reads.

The digital poster invites the public to Loma Alta Park every Saturday in April. There, it says, volunteers can paint murals, plant trees and do landscaping work in the park, which has been closed since the Jan. 7 fire.

Closed, because the Eaton fire wiped out more than 6,000 homes in Altadena. Because the park was damaged and is surrounded by the hulks of once-beloved homes. Because the soil in Loma Alta Park has yet to be tested for hazardous substances. Because thousands of Altadena residents are struggling with the aftermath.

“With your help, Loma Alta Park will be the first public park to re-open for the Altadena Community after the devastating Eaton Fire,” the poster reads. “Bring your gardening tools and paint brushes and wear comfortable shoes and clothing!”

The flyer was posted Monday on the official Facebook page for L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose name is listed on it along with the L.A. County Dept. of Parks and Recreation.

The reaction from Altadena residents was swift and fierce.

“This is about as TONE DEAF to our reality as you can get!” read one of more than 100 comments.

“What is the point of opening a park in a toxic wasteland?” said another.

And another: “Hey kids, let’s take a break from all this trauma and drive by the old neighborhood to plant some trees.”

The response in Altadena — where the fire destroyed nearly half of all properties — highlighted a growing concern among residents that officials and outsiders are brushing past their pain in the rush to say everything is back to normal.

In a statement to The Times, Barger said she had “heard repeatedly from Altadena leaders and community groups” that it was important “to restore services for families, children and seniors.”

“Some community members are questioning why this project, why a park if the surrounding community looks like a war zone and there’s so much need,” Barger wrote. “But, I’ve also heard a lot of calls for re-establishing community services, so I’m supporting this project.”

On Barger’s Facebook page, residents said they were taken aback by the idea of letting children play at Loma Alta Park, which is surrounded by burned homes and lots that, as of this week, had not been cleared of debris.

Many questioned whether it was safe to let volunteers work in the soil after being urged by county health officials to wear personal protective equipment when digging through the wreckage of their own homes.

A destroyed car sits in the driveway of a burned home across the street from Loma Alta Park on March 13, 2024.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Others lamented money being spent on the park instead of being given directly to displaced residents.

“I don’t know how to respond to this. We have no homes,” Lesley Atkins wrote on Barger’s Facebook page. “We’re not getting the help we were promised. Donations aren’t making it to fire victims. This is not a happy occasion. Celebrating Earth Day is very premature for the city of Altadena. Celebrating anything right now is completely tone deaf.”

The fire destroyed Atkins’ house on Calaveras Street, where she and her husband raised their 22-year-old daughter. The loss is so painful that she has not gone back to see the ruins.

“The shock of it is wearing off, but it’s almost worse now than it was — it’s, ‘Oh, now this is reality,’” Atkins, 59, told The Times. “The people this affected? They’re not moving on. They’re still living it.”

She said of the call for volunteers: “This is all performative. I think they want to pat themselves on the back [for] how fast things are moving.”

The county parks department announced this month that the 17-acre Loma Alta Park will reopen in May.

Spokespeople for the L.A. County Dept. of Parks and Recreation said in an email to The Times that personal protective equipment will be available during the volunteer days next month.

They said the parks department is working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to remove burned playground equipment, a maintenance shed, and damaged plants and trees. Timing is uncertain.

“After this, the soil will be tested by a contractor and results will be shared with the community,” the email read.

The parks department said other plans for Loma Alta include the creation of a satellite senior center and library, as well as an expansion of after-school childcare and youth summer programs.

The expedited reopening is being backed, in part, by money from the Jan. 30 FireAid benefit concert and the philanthropic arms of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Clippers.

The Dodgers Foundation announced plans to build two Dodgers Dreamfields for young baseball and softball players in the park. And the L.A. Clippers Foundation said it plans to fund a makeover of the park’s gym and basketball courts.

A $2.4 million grant from FireAid will go toward replacing and expanding playgrounds, according to the parks department. The massive concert — which featured Lady Gaga, Green Day, Joni Mitchell and other artists — raised an estimated $100 million.

Atkins said she was bothered by the FireAid money going toward the park.

“I’m not one who’s like, ‘Oh my god, where’s my money?’” she said. “But that money was donated to the fire victims.”

Greg Gill, a semi-retired public relations professional and Altadena resident, said the county’s call for volunteers at the park was short on safety details and “touched off a lot of raw nerves.”

“I am sure there has been a modicum of due diligence done by the county — but say it to us at least,” he said.

Gill, who has lived in Altadena since 1997, is living in an RV outside his house, which has smoke and soot damage.

“People do want volunteer. We do want that,” he said. “But sometimes your messaging could have been researched better. You never know how it’s going to land when it’s a disaster zone.”

His neighbor, Tina Kardos, is also living with her family in a trailer outside her house. She said she looks forward to the park being safely opened some day — but that now feels too soon.

The thought of crowds of people who do not live in Altadena descending on the park makes her uneasy.

She said one of her teenage sons gets angry every time he sees a gawker driving slowly through their neighborhood, holding up a phone, taking photos of the wreckage.

“He says, ‘This is not a TV show. This is my life.’”