Older Homeowner’s Retirement Delayed by LA Fires; He’ll Keep Working

• Kenneth Graham, 57, lost his home and all of his belongings in the Eaton fire.
• Graham paid $163,000 for the house in 1996 and has spent hundreds of thousands on renovations since.
• He said that while he’s insured, he’ll need to postpone retirement to help cover rebuilding costs.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kenneth Graham, 57, the Forestry Superintendent of Pasadena, whose Altadena home was destroyed in the Eaton Fire. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

I’ve been with the City of Pasadena’s Urban Forestry team since 1989 and have worked through every season since then.

We always prepare for storms, some of which are mild, but this one ended up being one of the largest windstorms I’ve encountered in my 36-year career.

I worked all night into the morning, and on my way home, I got a call informing me that my house was on fire.

My house was behind a three-story building that had burned to the ground, along with the apartments next door and five neighboring properties. When I reached my place, I saw it, too, had been destroyed.

I bought my house in 1996 to create a lasting legacy for my family that could be passed down through generations.

My home was about 75% paid off, and I was all set to retire — but this devastating setback has delayed my plans by at least four years.

I was working during the fire

As the Forestry Superintendent, I lead a team of 16 city employees, including four arborists and three contract service teams.

We’re responsible for maintaining over 60,000 trees throughout the city — overseeing tree planting, removal, and trimming. We also respond to citywide emergencies, such as the recent windstorm.

When the Palisades and Eaton fires started, we were already tracking the weather report and knew a windstorm was coming — though we didn’t know how severe it would be.

Over 300 trees fell, blocking roads and damaging houses, cars, and private property. The situation was urgent, especially with traffic disruptions and people trapped in their homes or cars.

I was assigned the midnight to 6 a.m. shift and worked about 18 to 19 hours. We cleaned the streets throughout the city, requiring a lot of coordination to make sure everyone could safely leave and return to their homes.

My entire life burned down

When I got to my Altadena neighborhood, the whole block was on fire, and there were no fire trucks in sight.

My family had evacuated with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Everything — our home, three classic cars, family photos, furniture, jewelry — was lost. My mom had just passed away, and we lost her pictures and my father’s ashes.

The damage from the fire totals over $1 million. I have insurance, but it doesn’t replace everything.

There is some good news: One of my two dogs survived the fire. She was scraped up pretty badly, but he was alive.

I was building a legacy with my home, now I’m hopping between Airbnbs

I purchased the home for $163,000 and renovated it into a three-bedroom, two-bathroom. Over the years, I invested several hundred thousand dollars into the property.

I added an extra bedroom, resurfaced the pool, retextured the entire house, remodeled the kitchen and bathroom, installed hardwood floors, and updated the air conditioning and plumbing. We had also recently spent about $15,000 on an asphalt overlay for the driveway.

At first, my wife, daughter, her husband, child, and I were staying in a hotel, but we are now moving from Airbnb to Airbnb week to week.

It’s hard to secure permanent housing because everything has gone up three times its normal price, and landlords want you to have three times the monthly rent and a high FICO score.

My home is destroyed, but I’m determined to rebuild

Right now, I’m using the savings I had set aside for retirement just to survive. I’ll likely have to go back to work for at least a few years to make it happen.

I visited my house the other day, and it looks like we’ll have to wait a long time before we can move back in. One of my main concerns is our safety and whether we’ll be protected if another fire happens.

Still, I really love our neighborhood. It was the perfect place to raise my family and be close to my job. It was a peaceful, close-knit community with wonderful neighbors — there was so much to appreciate.

Moving back to Altadena and rebuilding my home will take a lot of money and years.

‘Everything changed in just 1 day’

Normality in my life feels like a long way off.

Throughout the day, memories pop into my head, and I realize, “Wow, that’s something I lost.” It’s hard to cope.

What keeps me going is seeing so many others facing the same struggles. Knowing that a lot of other people are in the same situation makes this experience much easier.

My Forestry crew has also been a great support, keeping me and my family grounded and helping us stay on our feet. They started a GoFundMe for us, and we’ve raised $34,000 so far.

The way they’ve rallied behind me has been truly beautiful.

I’m not considering moving away from Altadena. I’m invested in the area.

It’s just strange not being able to quickly go home. It feels like everything changed in just one day. I used to be able to get to work in seven minutes or less, but now, because I am living further away, there’s traffic, and I don’t even want to deal with it.

It’s a different life now.

That said, I do have hope. I’ve been through many struggles before and won’t let this one defeat me. I’m determined to prevail, return to Altadena, and reclaim my life.