News Every Day | 24 March 2025, 16:30

Altadena Businesses Reopen After The Wildfires, But Need Support

In the aftermath of the Eaton Fire, a steady trickle of small businesses have reopened in Altadena, California, offering a glimmer of hope to residents who remain in the community.

Neighborhood advocate Shawna Dawson has been tracking businesses that have reopened in and around Altadena since January, sharing updates on her Instagram page, Beautiful Altadena. Among the brick-and-mortar establishments that have reopened are Webster’s Community Pharmacy, Highlight Coffee, Armen Market, the Grocery Outlet, West Altadena Wine & Spirits, Good Neighbor Bar, and more.

These milestones are worth celebrating, but the future remains uncertain for local business owners. “Every day for small businesses is kind of a question mark right now,” said Zak Fishman, co-founder of Prime Pizza. “All sense of normality and consistency has ceased.” Although Prime Pizza’s Altadena location survived the fire, Fishman lost his home of 10 years. Still, he is determined to rebuild and stay in Altadena.

“What always gives me hope is the community at large,” he said. “The people who are still part of the community are very resilient and fiercely loyal to Altadena. They’re doing everything they can to come back.”

Impact of the Eaton Fire

Altadena endured the worst of the Eaton Fire’s devastation in January. Residents lost their homes, their businesses—some lost both. The economic toll is staggering. Nearly 1,900 small businesses were counted within the burn zones of the recent wildfires across Los Angeles that were deemed “likely to have been directly impacted by the fires,” according to the LA Economic Development Corporation. Of the businesses still standing in Altadena, many have struggled to reopen or are scraping by amid a sharp decline in customers. “A lot of businesses are closed,” Fishman told NewsOne. “Most of our customers are gone.”

Some relief has finally begun to reach those impacted. This month, LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger announced that $2.7 million in financial assistance has been allocated to businesses, nonprofits, and workers affected by the LA wildfires, with another round of aid set to be distributed at the end of March.

Devastating toll on businesses

For now, Fishman and other local business owners are doing what they can to support each other through these challenging times. After the fire, Fishman drove around town with Randy Clement, co-owner of West Altadena Wine & Spirits and Good Neighbor Bar, to conduct their own “unofficial survey” to get a sense of how many businesses were still open.

The Eaton Fire’s impact on the local economy has been “devastating,” Fishman said. “We counted 49 public-facing businesses that are open right now, which is not a lot.” The pace of recovery has been slow, he said. “It’s harder to find businesses that are open than it is to think of the ones that are closed.”

These businesses need support as they work to keep their doors open. “I would tell people to please do everything they can to come up to the area and use their dollars with local businesses,” Fishman urged. But despite the community’s best efforts, Altadena will inevitably change, he said. “It’s not going to be the same community that we had before, it’s just not. Many will leave. And that’s really the tragedy of this.”

‘Those things can be bought again, but my life is more important.’

Russell Harrison found himself among Altadena’s business owners forced to relocate after losing both his home and his business in the Eaton Fire. “I lost everything. Everything is gone. It was shocking to see, shocking to feel,” Harrison told NewsOne. “At the same time, I understand how life is. Those things can be bought again, but my life is more important. So we move on from there.”

Since 1976, the master herbalist has helped people across LA discover holistic health and herbal medicine through his company, Russell Herbals. Harrison discovered the healing power of herbal medicine as a former NFL athlete who played for the LA Rams in the 1970s. He sought alternative remedies to treat painful football injuries and heal his body after leaving the league, dissatisfied with “all the side effects of the drugs that doctors had to offer.”

Harrison set up shop on Lake Avenue five years ago, marking his return to Altadena, where he had previously lived in the 1980s. After losing both his home and his business in the fire, Harrison bounced between hotels and motels before landing in San Pedro, where he is now.

Harrison hopes to return to Altadena in the future, as he did before. “I know it’s going to take a few years, but I would love to go back,” he said. He reflected on the warm, welcoming community and the relationships he built there, like with his neighbors down the street at Ron’s Barbershop. “Anything that I needed, they would be willing to come and give me a hand,” he said. “So I knew at that point that I was welcome.”

Starting over

At this stage, Harrison is working to rebuild his herbal medicine practice from the ground up. “I’m starting from scratch.” Now in a larger space in San Pedro, he looks forward to not only rebuilding, but expanding, his business in the coming years. “I’ll be able to do more because I have more space,” he said. “I’m in a better place. So I’m just taking it a day at a time to rebuild from here.”

“Being an ex-ball player, I just feel that I just got tackled,” he said. “It’s time to get back up and come up with the next play.”