Free Business Mentors Arrive in Altadena as Owners Navigate Post-Fire Recovery

A lot of rules that help homeowners don’t apply to small businesses recovering from wildfires. Insurance laws that give families upfront payouts don’t cover the shop owner who lost equipment. Customers who fled the Eaton Fire haven’t all come back.

Nearly one year after the fire destroyed more than 9,400 structures in Altadena, small business owners are still navigating these gaps — and today, some free help is arriving.

SCORE, the nation’s largest network of volunteer business mentors, is hosting a drop-in resource event at Alta Design Works, 409 E. Woodbury Rd., from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event, called “Rebuilding Altadena,” offers fire-affected entrepreneurs personalized advice on financial recovery, business growth opportunities, and marketing from experienced business professionals, according to SCORE materials.

“A lot of rules for homeowners insurance don’t apply to businesses,” Daniel Harlow, an Altadena business owner whose office was destroyed in the fire, told CalMatters earlier this month. “To not have more assistance for small and medium businesses is a problem.”

The event connects owners with SCORE’s volunteer mentors — seasoned professionals who provide free, confidential guidance — and resources from sponsors Visa and Bank of America. Attendees can drop in for a few minutes or several hours. Registration is required; space is limited.

SCORE, founded in 1964, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration. The organization has helped more than 17 million entrepreneurs nationwide, according to its website. SCORE Los Angeles, which was named 2025 District Chapter of the Year, served more than 18,000 local entrepreneurs last year.

The chapter has specifically mobilized support for businesses affected by the January 2025 fires. “If your small business has been impacted by the recent LA fires, you don’t have to navigate this difficult time alone,” SCORE Los Angeles states on its website. “SCORE Los Angeles is here to help.”

For Altadena business owners, the challenges have been substantial. The Eaton Fire, which began January 7, 2025, in Eaton Canyon, burned 14,021 acres and destroyed 9,418 structures before full containment on January 31, according to LA County Recovers. It is the second most destructive wildfire in California history.

Many small businesses in Altadena — particularly the microbusinesses that operated from homes and formed the backbone of the local economy — have struggled to access aid, researchers have found. Some owners lost both their businesses and their homes. Others reopened only to find their customer base displaced.

“We are still very slow in the mornings and very slow in the evenings, but that’s just ’cause people are no longer here,” Christy Lee, owner of Fairoaks Burger on Fair Oaks Avenue, told LA Public Press earlier this month.

Today’s event offers complimentary food and drinks from Altadena local vendors.

Alta Design Works, which opened as a community resource center in September 2025, is located at 409 E. Woodbury Rd. in Altadena. The venue phone number is (310) 498-1899.

The rebuilding will take years. But for the business owners who show up today, expert guidance is free.