Using his new set of keys, Richard Kang opened their house for the first time on Monday, Sept. 21, hand-in-hand with his daughter while stepping over their gifted “Altadena Forever” doormat.
Like thousands of families in the area, the Kang’s house was destroyed in the Eaton fire in January 2025, where more than 9,000 structures went up in flames.
The family is one of six that homebuilder Brookfield Residential built within six months of breaking ground in March — an unprecedented timeline so far for the area, the developers said.
All six families live in the La Viña neighborhood, a gated community with over 250 homes. The Eaton fire destroyed 54 homes within the community, officials said.
“For the community that’s still displaced, every time someone moves back in, the whole community is cheering on because that’s one more family that’s coming back,” said a smiling L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, celebrating the moment on site. “It doesn’t erase the trauma of what took place, but it allows families to rebuild.”
Thinking of little Grace Kang, 7-years-old, Barger said “It’s important for children too. We forget about the impact this has had on kids; they don’t understand.”
Barger hopes to see more rebuild permits going out and insurance companies honoring their contracts — two of the biggest reasons for delay in Altadena’s rebuild. Just a few weeks ago, Barger announced the county is suing State Farm for allegedly unfair business practices over its handling of the Eaton fire survivor insurance claims.
In Altadena, rebuild times for most homes lost in the Eaton fire range from 11 months to 1.5 years, officials said. The families were able to speed up construction and reduce rebuild costs by going with turnkey home designs, Brookfield Residential officials said.
By coordinating multiple rebuilds in close proximity that progressed together, Foley said homeowners were able to benefit from shared planning and construction efficiencies, leading to managed costs and simplified approval processes.
The company is rebuilding for both the Eaton and Palisades fires and has planning layouts for both, with customizable interior options.
“We think of each home built as sort of rebuilding the community one home at a time,” Adrian Foley, CEO of Brookfield Residential, said. “So it’s a really important special day for us to celebrate.”
Brookfield Residential is the original developer of the La Viña neighborhood, from 1997 to 2003.
“It sounds incredibly cliche, but it’s seriously a gift to us to feel like we’re playing a part in the rebuilding journey for the community,” Foley said. “Out of the misery and awful journey, it fills our souls to be able to help however we can.”
Neighbor Larisa Yedigarova, who is in another one of the six rebuilt houses, came to show support to the Kangs.
“It’s a wonderful feeling, like life is back,” Yedigarova said. “We are adjusting to everything, and having our neighbors back also gives us those feelings. It’s a very great community and we are very grateful and very happy.”
While the rebuild happened, the Kangs stayed in San Marino. Kang said being able to come home is a “dream come true.” The family is looking forward to having holidays at home once again.
“I think when this all happened, it seemed like one of those things that you’ll never experience in life, or things that you never imagined will ever happen,” Kang said. “In hindsight, as difficult as the experience has been, we’re so grateful because we feel blessed that somehow at the end of all this, we’re going to walk away with this beautiful home.”
Victoria Ivie is a correspondent with the Southern California News Group.