Paradise Mayor Visits Altadena Fire Zone, Offers Recovery Insights

The Mayor of Paradise, site of California’s deadliest wildfire, toured the Eaton Fire burn area in Altadena on Monday, March 31,  and offered his insights and guidance on rebuilding based on his town’s recovery from the 2018 Camp Fire.

Paradise Mayor Steve Crowder, accompanied by local and state leaders during an hour-long tour, emphasized that Altadena will recover despite the challenging path ahead.

“Well, I think the first thing they can learn is they will recover,” Crowder said, speaking of Altadenans. “They also need to realize that it, it’s not a quick process or an easy process.”

Crowder reached out to members of the Altadena Town Council the night of the fire to express support, according to KNBC-TV News reporter Traci Li Long. Crowder told Li Long that watching the Eaton Fire unfold hit him hard because it looked exactly like the Camp Fire in Paradise in 2018 — with no rain, heavy wind, and difficulty getting air support.

The Paradise Mayor pointed out that his town is approximately one-third rebuilt after nearly seven years.

He cautioned Altadena residents to be patient during what will be a lengthy recovery process.

The Altadena situation is personal for Crowder, whose stepdaughter and her husband lost their home in the Eaton Fire, according to media reports.

Members of the Altadena Town Council recently visited Paradise to discuss recovery strategies with Crowder, who highlighted the improvements being made during rebuilding.

“We’re building, I think, a safer community. Our buildings are all going to be hardened. We’re going to have new streets, underground utilities. Our schools are redone, so there’s a lot of reasons to stay in a lot of hope for a real bright future. And that could be the same thing here,” Crowder said, pointing out some highlights of his town’s recovery.

This isn’t Crowder’s first outreach to Altadena. In early January 2025, shortly after the fire began, he told Action News Now, “It makes you sick to your stomach, and watching the news this morning and seeing what’s happened to them is exactly what happened to us.”

While the Camp Fire was caused by a poorly maintained PG&E electrical transmission line, officials note that the cause of the Eaton Fire remains under investigation.