Help Brian and Kassandra Restart After Fire

If you're a part of my life, you've undoubtedly heard me talking about my friends, Brian and Kassandra. When I lost my job during Covid, they offered for me to stay with them. They were constant sounding boards as I was trying to get my brewery up and running. When my brewery didn't work out, and a long-term relationship ended, they again offered for me to stay with them. This time, I took them up on it - living in their spare bedroom while Brian and I worked on their garage-turned-mother-in-law space in exchange for room and board. For around four months I lived with them, humbly as a 40ish-year-old man who needed help, and they were always gracious and amazing. Never asking for anything in return.

Unimaginably, their house burned to the ground at 3am on Wednesday, January 8th because of the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California. This was their dream home. They got it in the hopes of starting a family and settling down there. They both work very hard, and they had been saving and planning for years to have it. Two years ago, when they found out they were chosen to be adoptive parents, they were thrilled to introduce a new baby girl into their family. The baby's nursery had a baby-sized closet with tiny little hangars and adorable little clothes they got from friends and family, along with the things they found themselves. I helped them put in that closet. They had just finished remodeling their house a year ago because even though it was their dream home, it was a mismatched set of updates from the 30s on, and they finally had it finished and exactly how they wanted it. Things were coming together.

Now, it's gone. They are among the massive number of people who have been affected drastically by the fires.

At around 6pm on Tuesday, January 5th, Kassandra was in their bedroom and she happened to look out the window and saw a weird glowing light. They monitored it for a little bit, but as it got brighter they realized it was a fire and it was getting closer. They gathered as many "things" as they could - passports, wallets, computers, and as many baby things as they could, and they headed out the door just to be safe. They took one car, so they wouldn't be separated, and they went to our friends, Andrew and Megan's house, not realizing it would be the last time they saw their own home. At 3am, one of their neighbors who tried to stay in their house in spite of the proximity of the fire, told them that their house was gone. He sent video. All you can see is Brian's completely burned out car, and their chimney, where their dream home once stood.

I'm starting this GoFundMe with the understanding that they would never start it themselves. They're the ones who always help other people. They're the ones who work hard, so they can support themselves without asking for help. I love them dearly, and am hoping to raise money for them to put toward restarting their dream. The money raised will go toward food, clothing, and household items for them and their baby, the costs around furnishing and using a new home or apartment, and to put toward restarting their life.

My name is Ryan Kolbe. Although I live in Idaho now, Brian and Kassandra were two of the main reasons I loved living in LA for around 13 years before moving here. I appreciate your consideration in supporting my friends.