Man is Possibly the First Altadena Resident to Move into Fully Rebuilt Home

Ted Koerner, 67, has become possibly the first resident of Altadena to move back into a completely rebuilt home after the destructive Eaton Fire, returning just in time for Thanksgiving with his 13-year-old golden retriever, Daisy May.

Koerner, whose hilltop house on East Loma Alta Street was incinerated in the Jan. 7 blaze, received final approval from a Los Angeles County inspector on Tuesday before Thanksgiving to re-occupy his new residence. He immediately carried in bedding and slept on the floor beside Daisy, marking the end of nearly a year of displacement.

“You have permission to move in tonight,” the inspector told him, words Koerner captured on video and described as life-changing.

Koerner is believed to be the first Altadena resident to return to a fully rebuilt home. Pasadena residents Jun Li and Bobby Lujan also completed their rebuilds in time for the holiday, while county officials said two more homes are expected to receive occupancy certificates in the coming week.

Financial sacrifice and urgency

Koerner’s saga — like so many Altadenans — is sobering.

After months of delays from his mortgage servicer, Koerner fronted construction costs by withdrawing a substantial amount from his retirement savings.

He described dozens of unanswered calls and messages before escalating his case to Fannie Mae, which owned his mortgage. Only after intervention from the Fannie Mae ombudsman did the servicer send an inspector and begin releasing insurance funds.

“I had no choice but to use my own funds,” Koerner said. “My dog’s 13 and a half years old of a breed that doesn’t make it that far very often. She’s a very special dog, and I felt I didn’t have a choice because if she passed before I got back into this house, there’s no reason to rebuild it.”

Koerner later secured a Small Business Administration disaster loan to replenish his retirement account, but acknowledged he expects to remain “a few hundred thousand dollars in the hole” even after insurance payments.

Builder partnership and construction speed

Koerner credited Innova Creative Solution, led by two brothers, with accelerating his rebuild. The firm had just completed a master bathroom remodel the night before the fire and offered to take on the reconstruction at a fraction of typical planning costs.

“They’re the kind of guys who are absolute perfectionists. If something is one quarter of an inch off, they’ll take it apart and do it again.”

He warned neighbors against misleading promises of low-cost construction, saying he believes  average rebuild prices now range from $450 to $650 per square foot.

“People are being told all over town, ‘Oh, I can build this house for $300 a square foot,’ and it’s an absolute lie,” he said, citing inspectors who described unsafe work by inexperienced contractors.

Koerner’s new home incorporates extensive fire-hardening measures: concrete roof tiles, tempered windows, sprinklers, and enclosed eaves.

“There’s nothing on the outside that can burn,” he said. “And this house is silent and built like a fortress now by master builders.”

Navigating bureaucracy

Koerner drew on his background running an investigations and fraud-prevention company to push through bureaucratic obstacles. He contacted Congresswoman’s Judy Chu’s office and Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger when his plans stalled at the fire department. Within a day, he said, the fire chief called to clear the permits.

“Ask those who have the authority to help,” Koerner offered to fellow Altadenans. “Don’t just take no answer as the only available answer and keep trying.”

He urged neighbors to avoid overthinking design details that can slow progress.

“Make a decision once and live with it,” he said. “Because it’s just a house. It’s not a museum to your creativity and a show place.”

Koerner praised his insurance company, Homesite insurance, for guidance and support, but criticized mortgage servicers for withholding funds until owners prove they can afford full reconstruction. He said modern foundations are far more expensive than insurance policies account for, making SBA loans essential.

Emotional toll and community impact

Koerner described nine weeks in hotels filled with fire victims, where “every time the elevator door opened, somebody standing there sobbing.” He later rented a deteriorated house in La Crescenta for seven months, calling the experience “not the way I live.”

Returning home, he said, was both practical and deeply emotional.

“If you don’t rebuild, you’ll never get over the memory of chimneys and ashes,” he said. “Once there is a structure on the property again, it will no longer be the only image you have left of your life.”

Koerner acknowledged the trauma of anniversaries and the difficulty for survivors who have made little progress. He said Colonel Eric Swenson of the Army Corps of Engineers once warned him that emotions would intensify as the one-year mark approached.

Still, Koerner expressed gratitude for community support and for Barger’s staff, whom he credited with helping him reach occupancy.

“Without them, I would not be in the house yet. So they have played an effective role. They have been a partner, and for that I am deeply grateful.”

Safety lessons and resilience

Koerner said the fire changed how he views risk. He removed chimneys and fireplaces from the new house, avoids planting flammable vegetation, and plans to install exterior water cannons.

“Somehow what used to be lovely,  is now terror,” he said.

He noted that neighbors who stayed to fight the fire with hoses saved their homes, and praised New Zealand’s practice of equipping houses with automatic exterior sprinklers. “Brilliant.”

Despite the hardship, Koerner said he has met “lovely, compassionate people” among fellow survivors and found positives in nature’s recovery: Roses on his property are blooming after surviving bulldozers and neglect, and many trees are regrowing.

Daisy May at the center

Throughout the ordeal, Daisy May remained Koerner’s anchor. He said he often lay on the floor beside her, sharing silent communication.

“And she puts a paw on my arm and looks me right in the eye and puts her chin down on my arm and just lays there staring at me on the floor and we’re together.”

On move-in night, Daisy pranced in circles, as if celebrating. “She’s like, Daddy, you did it. We’re home. That’s right.”

The golden retriever, nearly 14, has outlived the average lifespan of her breed. Koerner said new medication has improved her health, and he is determined that whatever time she has left will be spent at home.

Symbol of recovery

Koerner’s case has been highlighted by Cal OES and other agencies as a symbol of early recovery. Social media posts described him and Daisy as “among the first Eaton Fire survivors to move into their new home,” while Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez wrote that Koerner “is believed to be the first person to move into a rebuilt house in Altadena.”

Koerner himself framed his return as both personal and communal. “Encouragement goes a long way,” he said during the interview. “Don’t give up.”

Looking ahead

Koerner said Altadena’s recovery will reshape the community, with opportunities for diverse architecture and assurances from county officials that its identity will be preserved.

“It will be the only brand new city in all of North America,” he said. “It will be beautiful, it will be modern, it will be new.”

For now, Koerner is focused on quiet appreciation. He has not installed a television, preferring to spend evenings outside with Daisy, watching for wildlife and sunsets. “The thing that’s important right now is really just quiet and appreciation that we’re home,” he said.