Altadena family receives free home after losing theirs in the Eaton Fire
ALTADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- After losing their home in the Eaton Fire, the Rodriguez family didn't know how they were going to make it back to Altadena.
But one year later, thanks to the nonprofit Steadfast LA and the modular home company Samara, the family will be back in March.
"We're restoring the idea of home, because everyone watched their homes burn up and be gone," said Beverly Rodriguez. "Some people drive through this town still, through the blocks, and it's unrecognizable - the place that we once lived."
The Rodriguez family is the first of nine recipients in Altadena to receive a viable housing option - free of charge.
The homes are donated to families who, otherwise, would have been forced to relocate.
"The outside is all fiber cement. This basically doesn't burn," said Samara CEO Michael McNamara. "The structure is an all-steel 2 by 6 frame. It doesn't burn, it doesn't rot, it's very sustainable. The roof is all metal roofing. The insulation is almost twice the California requirement because we live in an environment where utilities are very expensive."
Steadfast LA is a public-private partnership led by Rick Caruso that's committed to helping fire victims return home quickly and getting them into more fire resilient structures.
"It shows hope, and then hope is going to motivate more people to come back into their communities, and that's what we want to see happening here, out at the Palisades and certainly out in Malibu, too," he said.
Making his first public comments since deciding last week not to run for political office at this time, Caruso said he decided not to run because he felt that the well-being of his family could be at risk.
"One of the toughest decisions that I've had to make," he said. "It's not what I wanted to end up at. I was eager and ready to run for governor."
READ MORE: Rick Caruso won't run for California governor or LA mayor
