After the L.A. fires, a donation drive for young men became a refuge

The unprecedented wildfires sent thousands of families fleeing for temporary shelter with little to no belongings after entire communities within Los Angeles County were reduced to rubble.

The Eaton Fire, which burned over 14,000 acres and destroyed over 9,400 structures, devastated Altadena, a middle-class town in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains on the northeast side of the county. It’s known for its diversity and a relatively low poverty rate.

While the Eaton Fire is mostly contained, many residents whose houses weren’t destroyed in Altadena remain unable to return to them due to evacuation orders. And throughout the Los Angeles area, authorities are advising people to wear face masks due to toxins in the air from the fires, as new blazes erupted this week.

In the wake of the destruction, dozens of donation drives popped up around Los Angeles, organized by nonprofit organizations, companies and community activists.

Shorter liked the idea of a drive focused on boys, in particular, because he worried that many would otherwise hesitate to grab things they need, prioritizing supplies for their mother or younger siblings first.

“When something like this happens, for boys my age, you want to be strong for your family,” Shorter said.

Each day, new businesses offered to help. Monty’s Good Burger, a local plant-based fast food chain, set up a food truck outside on the last day. Levi’s offered custom chain stitching on jackets. Volunteers handed out canned cold-brew coffee by the case to shoppers as they left.

In the final hour of shopping on Wednesday afternoon, Grant Babbitt, 40, watched through sunglasses as his oldest son Avary, 11, received an impromptu skating lesson from the woman who had put their skateboards together. He said he hoped this experience would stick in his son’s head more than the terror of the evacuation two weeks earlier, and the uncertainty about where they go next.

“The thing that’s been really difficult is the father part of it all,” Babbitt said. “Like, my job is to protect everyone and provide for them, so I feel like I protected them in the sense that we got out of there. Now, the next step of what we do is a really big challenge. It’s a really tough spot to be in, and I’ve come across it with a lot of other dads.”

Bugarin said he’s motivated by his own father’s memory to stay strong for his mother and sister.

“Thinking about my dad is what really keeps me going,” he said. “I know he wouldn’t want me to just give up.”