Altadena family displaced by Eaton Fire hit with citations for trailer parked in front of home

ALTADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- An Altadena family living out of a trailer in front of their wildfire-damaged home may be getting a break after a week of parking citations and threats from Los Angeles County.

Derrick Collins and his family have been using a trailer in front of his El Sereno Avenue property for more than a year so they can stay in their Eaton Fire-ravaged neighborhood.

But over the past week, L.A. County parking enforcement officers have cited the trailer twice for being parked illegally, telling Collins if he doesn't remove the trailer from the street the county will have it towed.

"They're trying to make us move but I keep saying, 'Where do you want us to go?'" Collins told Eyewitness News. "They just tell us, 'You gotta move. Basically, we don't care, just move it off the street' is the ordinance they said."

Collins says his house is stuck in remediation limbo: it's contaminated with toxins from the fire and his mortgage company is not releasing the clean-up funds paid by his insurance company.

Moving the trailer onto his lawn would require removing fences, repositioning storage pods and renting a semi-truck.

"They're citing ordinances like Altadena is a normal operating city and it's not," said Joseph Collins, Derrick's son. "We're still in a disaster zone and people are still recovering."

But Tuesday, L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said she would introduce a measure that would allow fire victims to keep trailers on the street in front of their properties.

"We have a responsibility to find compassionate, practical solutions that meet survivors where they are and eliminate additional burdens," Barger said in a written statement.