Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger has announced the impending opening of a new shelter for Eaton Fire evacuees at the Pamela Park gymnasium in Duarte, a move that comes as the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, the current makeshift refuge for hundreds, is due to reinstate its pre-crisis operations, Fox LA reported. Since the Eaton Fire's outbreak on January 7th, the Pasadena Civic Auditorium has been the principal evacuation site, according to Barger, but with the facility's return to the city of Pasadena on the horizon, officials scrambled to secure a nearby alternative for the evacuees.
The switch to the Duarte gym, at 2236 Goodall Avenue, offers proximity to the evacuees' previous homes and networks, with department officials emphasizing the value of staying near familiar neighborhood resources; Red Cross personnel and county workers banded together in the effort to minimize the disruption for the nearly 1500 individuals affected at the height of the displacement, CBS News Los Angeles revealed. As the transition looms, every household presently at the Pasadena shelter collaborates with a dedicated Red Cross shelter resident transition specialist, whose mandate is to ease this transition by assisting with logistics such as transportation and crafting a cogent plan forward for all affected by the wildfire, as further detailed by a Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services official in an interview with NBC Los Angeles.
The disruptive Eaton Fire has left a bitter legacy, ravaging over 14,000 acres, demolishing more than 9,400 structures, and claiming at least 17 lives, the LAist reported. As the Pasadena Civic Auditorium prepares to close its doors to the evacuees, these people confront the arduous process of rebuilding lives from the remnants left by the blaze's fury.
While a concrete date for the official transition has not been disclosed, the commitment to aiding the displaced remains a priority, with Supervisor Barger stating, "I will continue to closely track the well-being of those impacted, ensuring they have access to critical resources and a pathway to stability as they transition to the new shelter location," a promise to maintain vigilant support depicted in the LAist's coverage. In the interim, the Pamela Park gym awaits, soon to become both a refuge and a stepping stone back toward normalcy for the Eaton Fire evacuees.
