Black homeowners in Altadena are struggling after the LA wildfires

is the only scrap that landed. Because it was so heavy and big, it had blown up in the air over the leaves and then dropped in over the treetops,” Myers said. “This is a famous photo, it turns out. I showed it to somebody else, and they said it was taken on the steps of the Supreme Court after the Brown v. Board of Education (decision). And I think the guy on the right-hand side is (future Supreme Court justic) Thurgood Marshall.”

The photo is part of the 1954 court case that changed the Black community for generations. It reflects not only the resilience of the Black community but also the lineage that adorned the Altadena neighborhood.

Unfortunately, “adorned” in the past tense may the appropriate verb to describe the situation in Altadena. Black homeownership and generational wealth could be a thing of the past after the LA wildfires in January.

In Altadena, 61% of Black households were located in the fire zone, according to a study by UCLA. Altadena was a bastion for Black homeownership, but the wildfires have placed Black residents and their children in a precarious situation. Yet their history still lives on in the area.

Intentional redlining

Similar to many Black communities across the nation, the original residents of Altadena settled in the area to escape a harsh practice that impacted American society throughout the mid-1900s — redlining.

In the 1960s, Black residents weren’t qualified for mortgages in places like Altadena. The Civil Rights Movement changed that reality and sparked a phenomenon known as “white flight,” referring to the mass exodus of white residents from a particular area.

Black residents enacted their own exodus — albeit for a different reason. The construction of Interstate 210 (aka the Foothill Freeway) through the northwest neighborhoods of Pasadena displaced about 3,000 Black residents in the 1950s.

As a result, thousands of Black homes and businesses were destroyed — and those that chose to stay behind were subjected to noise and auto emissions, according to a research report by the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies. 

Below is a photo of the redlining effort, courtesy of the Ethnic History Research Project. The map shows the population distribution of Black residents of Pasadena in 1935 along with future freeway routes. The redlined areas are marked by solid white lines.

“This map shows how the planned Foothill Freeway route ran through and targeted the parts of Pasadena where Black residents lived,” the report explained. “It is hard to interpret this series of events as anything other than a coordinated effort by local officials over decades to displace Black residents.”

Many Black residents moved to The Meadows neighborhood, located on the west side of Altadena. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Altadena today contains 58% people of color and is 18% Black. 

The neighborhood was more than another vacant area for Black residents to occupy. It was originally owned by abolitionist Owen Brown, the progeny of John Brown, one of the most well-known White abolitionists. Since then, Black homeowners have planted their roots there, building generational wealth through homeownership with plans to pass it down to their children. 

“For African Americans, this is a more particular place because it was a community, and it was sheltered from the problems of South LA,” said Myers, the USC professor.

He also mentioned key Black figures who lived in the area, including award-winning science fiction author Octavia Butler and baseball legend Jackie Robinson.

“Jackie Robinson is a central hero. I mean, Jackie Robinson, he’s a hero to people all across America,” Myers added. “He and his brother, Mack Robinson, are real people, right? Their families are still here.”

Why recovery is harder for Black homeowners

In the aftermath of the Altadena wildfires, recovery is more challenging for Black homeowners. This is primarily due to rising homeowners insurance premiums, denied claims and inadequate coverage. 

Several insurance providers announced rate hikes and policy changes shortly after the wildfires. State Farm, for example, sought a 22% rate hike in early February through the California Department of Insurance. Insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara issued provisional approval for the increase, with a final decision expected after a public hearing in April.

This may have boosted rates for all homeowners, but Black homeowners already face credit difficulties from a historic perspective.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Black homeowners pay more for insurance than any other racial group. Economic disparities also keep Black homeowners from rebuilding or purchasing new properties at the same rate as others.

But the biggest issue facing Black homeowners in Altadena is Father Time. According to UCLA, 57% of the Black homeowners who lost homes there were older than 65.

Insurance can’t save the day

Rising property values and fewer home sales may prevent Black homeowners from restoring their foothold in Altadena. The average home value in Altadena is $1.3 million, according to Zillow. That’s up 3.5% in the past year. And Redfin reported there were only 32 homes sold in Altadena in February 2025, down 43% from the same month last year.

Beyond that, insurance issues are plentiful, and Altadena already had a non-renewal rate of 7.5% in 2023, according to the state’s insurance department.

Myers, who is a professor of urban planning and demography at USC, spoke directly to insurance issues in Altadena as they relate to reconstruction.

“You’ve got to get insurance to pay the cost of reconstruction. Most of the value of your house is actually in the land,” Myers said. “When house prices are inflated, it’s not that the construction cost is inflated — the land underneath the house has gone way up. Well, now that the land’s been ruined, that portion of your land value is affected.

“What do you do in the meantime? Insurance will pay for some of that, but most people, they say, are underinsured. You can be insured for the original construction value, but over the years, you’ve done remodeling and things — and they won’t cover that,” he added. 

Black homeowners must overcome some hurdles before restoring their historic community. Older Black homeowners simply don’t have the same mobility that their children and grandchildren have. Elderly residents have tied their lives to Altadena and leaving might not be an option.

Beyond that, the Black community in Altadena was already dwindling before the wildfires, and that decline is likely to deepen after the disaster. Despite that, hope remains alive for the remaining residents.