Two Dragons Martial Arts has been in the community for over 30 years, but the Eaton Fire burned it to the ground.
The owner wants to rebuild, but needs the community's help.
Shelene Hearring, known as Sipoo to the hundreds of students she has taught, doesn't see a dirt lot where the studio once stood. She sees a community legacy, hope and most importantly, home.
"It must come back. The only way that we are going to be really viable in this community is that we need to be here, we need to stay here," said Hearring, the owner of Two Dragons Martial Arts. "We need to be the beacon that holds this place together."
Hearring's Altadena business was one of hundreds reduced to rubble by the Eaton Fire. Eyewitness News was there as the flames consumed the building in January.
For Hearring, it was a devastating one-two punch. Her martial arts studio and her home were destroyed in the blaze.
"When you wake up in the morning and it's all gone, your whole life, there are no, really, words to describe it. I've been 30 years in this business, so 30 years of my life was in this building," Hearring said.
Hearring has found a new temporary home for Two Dragons Martial Arts after holding classes in parks and garages to keep serving the community she loves.
She's hoping that support will be returned as she's in a financial race against time to come up with the funds to buy the lot Two Dragons has called home for decades.
"The opportunity of a lifetime only is going to come once, and I've got to get this done," Hearring said.
She's launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $600,000, and is looking for any other business owners or investors to join her in purchasing the property.
Hearring says her insurance is refusing to pay, and a loan will put her under, so she's turning to the public. She says every penny counts as she and her community rebuild from the ground up.
"Help us! Help us to connect, to get back to home. We want to get back home," Hearring said.
Hearring says the landowner has accepted her offer of $600,000, and she has two weeks to come up with the money.