Three Homes. Three Generations. One Devastating Day.
Forty-one years ago, Ken and Carol Wood were a young couple with two small kids—baby Jenine and her big brother, Ken Jr. Family meant everything, so they moved to Altadena to be closer to Carol’s parents.
Carol’s parents bought a cozy home on Pine Street, and just a few blocks away, Ken and Carol settled into a house of their own. This close-knit setup created a beautiful rhythm—afternoons with Grandma learning tennis, weekends spent wandering neighborhood yard sales, and the kind of community where everyone knew your name.
Altadena was more than a town. It was home.
Over the years, the children grew up. The grandparents passed. Soon thereafter Ken & Carol moved to Pine, and Jenine and her growing family moved into her childhood home on Palm. As their parents aged – an ADU was added so Ken Jr and his wife could live close by and offer additional assistance. During Covid the place on Pine offered a gathering place for the family- where Grandpa Ken helped his grandchildren take their first steps and grandma made sure family dinner was served a few nights a week.
Then came January 8.
When the Eaton Fire broke out, all three homes—Jenine’s, Ken Jr.’s, and Carol and Ken’s—were destroyed. They had only minutes to evacuate with what they could carry. In one terrifying day, they lost everything: homes, heirlooms, memories—decades of family history.
But Altadena showed up.
Friends opened their homes. Carol and Ken stayed with friends in Pasadena. Others stepped aside so the younger families could live together while they figured out what came next.
Though they had insurance, the cost to rebuild was far beyond what they ever expected. The road to recovery hasn’t been easy—but the strength of family and community continues to carry them forward.
“What’s happened to me since the fire, I never dreamed could happen,” said Ken Wood Sr. “But what’s happening now… I never imagined there’d be someone out there to help us get back into a home.”
The Wood family’s story is one of deep roots, loss, resilience, and love for each other and for the place they’ve called home for more than four decades. Now, they will be the first family to have their home rebuilt through San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity’s long-term recovery efforts in Altadena, marking the beginning of a new chapter not just for them, but for an entire community determined to rebuild, together.
