[photo credit; Pasadena Village]
Before a single new wall goes up, homeowners are choosing whether to reconnect to natural gas infrastructure — or leave it behind. On Monday, April 6, an Altadena resident plans to make the case for leaving it.
Sandy Krasner, co-leader of the Citizens Climate Lobby Pasadena-Foothills chapter, will present a free community workshop at Pasadena Village in Pasadena titled “Resources for Healthier Rebuilding in Altadena.” The rebuilding window that Krasner and fellow fire-affected neighbors have been bracing for has fully arrived: more than 9,400 structures were destroyed when the Eaton Fire ignited on January 7, 2025, and as of early 2026, more than 500 homes in the burn zone were under active construction.
The workshop will walk attendees through the case for going all-electric — heat pumps instead of gas furnaces, induction stoves instead of gas burners, heat pump water heaters instead of gas-fired tanks, and electric clothes dryers. The argument, Krasner and others in the local climate advocacy community contend, is both environmental and practical.
Researchers at UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment estimated in a 2025 study that homeowners rebuilding after the LA fires could save up to $9,000 by choosing all-electric over gas-hybrid construction. The savings in Altadena, however, would likely be smaller than that figure suggests: because Altadena’s gas distribution lines ran underground, they were not destroyed in the fire, meaning residents face a different calculation than those in areas where gas infrastructure has to be rebuilt from scratch.
Krasner has been watching Altadena’s recovery from the inside.
“Several members of the CCL Pasadena-Foothills chapter lost their homes in the fire, and dozens more were forced to evacuate and are now dealing with the lengthy process to remediate smoke and ash damage to their homes,” Krasner said in March 2025, according to a Citizens Climate Lobby community bulletin.
“It will take a long time for Altadena and its neighboring communities to recover from the enormity of this loss,” Krasner added.
The workshop, hosted by Pasadena Village, is free and open to the public. Pasadena Village is a community organization for adults over 55 that has been deeply engaged in Eaton Fire recovery work — distributing more than $590,000 in direct aid to older adults and offering free transportation for displaced members to recovery events, according to the organization.
For those who attend, the question before them is not theoretical. The choice between gas and all-electric is one that, for most homeowners, will be made once.
Pasadena Village is located at 236 W. Mountain St., Suite 113, in Pasadena. The workshop begins at 1 p.m. on Monday, April 6, and is free of charge. For more information, call 626-765-6037 or visit pasadenavillage.org.
“This shared experience has created a new sense of purpose within our chapter,” Krasner said.
Resources for Healthier Rebuilding in Altadena | Monday, April 06, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. | Venue: Pasadena Village Office Community Room 236 W. Mountain St. Suite 113 Pasadena , CA 91103 | Cost: Free | For more information call: 626-765-6037 | Or click here: https://www.pasadenavillage.org/events/4515-resources-for-healthier-rebuilding-in-altadena
