Help Heather and John Regroup After Wildfire

Hello friends and family, I am starting this gofund me for our family out in California. Heather and her husband had their home taken from the wildfires and lost all of their personal belongs and memories. Below is a small back story about the family and what we can do to help. Please consider donating anything you can and let's help get them back on their feet.

I moved into the Altadena area in 2008 to be closer to the ceramic artistic community I was a part of.

Unlike my previous house in the San Fernando Valley, I found in Altadena, a community of like minded diverse individuals who celebrated everyone’s uniqueness. There were Mom and Pop shops that supported local artists and it is an area with a deep history that dates back before the Spaniards settled the area.

After being a Navy nomad as a child and then moving around Los Angeles for many years, I truly felt that I was home when found my Altadena cottage.

It had a large front porch covered with an incredible wisteria bush. It opened into the living room and had a view through to the back sliding doors and an amazing garden behind. There were old Camellia bushes that were probably planted when the house was built in 1935.

With the established gardens and that front porch, I knew this was my house when I drove up with the real estate agent. I wasn’t really looking for a place in Altadena, but I am so glad the house and I found each other.

She needed a new kitchen and central heating and air when I moved in. I made those updates and I painted every room and made her mine.

John and I met and fell in love in 2015 and were wed in 2017 at Farnsworth Park in Altadena with our community around us raising money for the American Cancer Society.

In the past few years, we had been doing big projects on the house (new windows and doors) and I built my beautiful ceramic studio in the garage behind the house.

We are still paying for the recent refresh of attic space and new insulation.

As I make lists for the insurance of the property lost, I realize there was so much more I should have hauled out. Art from artists that are no longer with us, my grandmother’s writings, an old hard drive with photo memories….the list goes on. But when you are being told to evacuate you grab the most precious. For me that is my husband and my dogs. We are safe. We will regroup with our Altadena community.

Our immediate needs are essentials; however, it will take a while to regroup, so we are looking to find and start putting together a new household in a rental house that allows dogs.

I am very proud and it is hard for me to ask for help; however, this is all going to be far more than our salaries and savings can cover.