Altadena Bar Owner Drives Through Eaton Fire Disaster Zone to Help Survivors Determine If Their Homes Survived

Randy Clement, co-owner of Altadena’s Good Neighbor Bar, Everson Royce Bar, and Silverlake Wine, has been on a mission since the Eaton Fire ravaged the area. Clement, his wife and partner April Langford, and their two children evacuated their Altadena home on Tuesday, January 7, only to find themselves embarking on a task to help residents learn if their homes were burned or still standing. Access to the Altadena fire zone is heavily restricted except for firefighters, investigators, and law enforcement.

Many Altadena restaurants were destroyed by the Eaton Fire, including Side Pie, Cafe De Leche, Rancho Bar, Little Red Hen Coffee Shop, Fox’s Restaurant, and Amara Kitchen. Amid the unfurling news, Clement heard through social grapevines that wildfire evacuees sought information about their homes and if they were still standing. “I knew how to sneak in and take a picture of properties, which could help give people closure, hope, and a true understanding of their situation,” says Clement.

On Friday, January 10, Clement put up an offer on Instagram to look around Altadena for displaced residents who were unable to access their neighborhoods. He was quickly flooded with dozens of messages from people desperate to learn if they still had a home. Some asked on behalf of their parents or grandparents. A young boy requested that Clement help find his baseball card collection. Others asked to look for cats, to feed the birds left behind, to cover a broken window, or to find out if a home was looted.

Clement borrowed a truck, repurposed the same app he uses to map out deliveries, and inserted addresses to provide a route through Altadena. The couple visited as many properties as they could. Clement says it was difficult to determine if he was at the right house, as many address numbers were no longer there. After stopping by a property, Clement or Langford would take a photo and tell the Altadena resident one of two messages: “I’m so sorry,” or “It’s here.”

From Friday, January 10 to Sunday, January 12, Clement and Langford raced against the 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew implemented by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. As of January 13, all access to Altadena has been limited, and Clement and Langford are now unable to check on as many homes. Los Angeles County officials published a detailed map for wildfire survivors to check the status of their homes, which is being updated regularly. There is also a detailed satellite map here.

During the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Clement and Langford happened to be in New York City. At the time, Clement was a server at the now-closed Los Angeles restaurant Campanile. He says he feels a similar state of shock to that event more than 23 years ago. Clement and Langford have not returned to their Altadena home yet, and Good Neighbor Bar remains closed without electricity service. Both structures are still intact. “When I first drove around Altadena, it was impossible to describe how devastating and massive the destruction was. Altadena looks like Pompeii,” says Clement, referring to the Mount Vesuvius volcano eruption, which covered and completely destroyed the Italian city of Pompeii in 79 A.D. “Ash like that is all over Altadena.”

Dylan Rupert for Spudge

Randy Clement