Fire victims must move to new shelter as TV filming takes over Pasadena Convention Center
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The Red Cross will soon close its temporary shelter at the Pasadena Convention Center and relocate nearly 300 people whose homes were destroyed in the Eaton fire to a new space closer to Altadena, officials say.
The exact timing and location of the move remain unclear, but the Red Cross said Wednesday that it would continue to shelter evacuees until they could be placed in more permanent housing.
A Red Cross spokesperson said the Civic Auditorium Complex, the 3,000-seat performance venue where the TV show “America’s Got Talent” is filmed, requested the facility be returned back to the city shortly after the first week of February.
“While the Red Cross is working to accommodate this request, we have a team of shelter transition workers whose role is to help identify barriers for shelter residents to move on to the next step of their recovery,” the Red Cross said in a statement.
The venue is slated to host an event on Feb. 12 and the NAACP Image Awards on Feb. 22.
At least 9,400 structures were destroyed in the Eaton fire last month. The majority of the buildings were homes in Altadena, leaving an untold number of residents without a roof.
The shelter at the convention center was set up shortly after the fire ignited on Jan. 7.
The site was always intended as a temporary shelter, according to city of Pasadena spokesperson Lisa Derderian. The goal was to transition the shelter to a smaller site as the numbers of evacuees decreased. There are currently 252 people in the shelter.
“While February 8th was set as the goal for transitioning the shelter at the Convention Center, we want to make it clear that no one will be left behind or shut out,” the city said in a statement.
Red Cross spokesperson Angel Sauceda said the shelter will operate “until all the residents have a plan in place to get them to their next housing solution.”
Case workers have been assigned to each household to help residents find alternative housing, according to Sauceda and Derderian.
Currently, the Environmental Protection Agency is removing hazardous materials from fire-damaged properties across Altadena, including batteries, paint and other household items.
Large swaths of the community remain leveled as of Wednesday and Los Angeles County health officials said they have not tested the fire ash to determine what hazards are present. Officials recommend people entering the area wear N95 masks.
On a rainy Wednesday morning, 63-year-old Jim Mayfield circled the Pasadena Convention Center walking his two dogs, Monkey and Cocoa. Mayfield has lived in Altadena for over 50 years, but ever since the Eaton fire destroyed his home he’s been staying at the convention center.
While officials have clarified that they will transition people at the shelter to a new site, questions linger about when that will happen. Mayfield doesn’t know where he would go if the shelter completely closed or if he couldn’t get space at the new site.
“I’d probably go to a motel or another shelter if I could,” he said.
Some small businesses burned down in the Eaton fire. Others are ‘silent casualties’: Intact but out of commission as the community rebuilds.
Rumors about the convention center shelter’s closure have circulated among evacuees, Mayfield said, but he hasn’t been able to get a straight answer from any of the Red Cross volunteers and staff.
“While we know shelter transitions can feel sudden, please know that these transitions are carefully planned,” Sauceda said. “Red Cross teams are actively collaborating with local services and continuously communicating with each resident to support a smooth transition.”
Mayfield received resources — food, shelter and other assistance — at the shelter, but above everything else he just wants a home. The retired auto mechanic lost all his possessions in the fire, and said he also feels like he lost his agency.
“I lost all my independence. I’m trying to get that back. I used to just depend on myself, but that’s so hard right now,” he said, pointing his hands toward the sky. “I surrender to a higher power.”
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