In an attempt to ferret out the perpetrator, police used two small tanks to smash down three walls and launched tear gas canisters in each window after Ana Gallego’s son shot her in the leg outside her ranch-style home in Altadena. He committed suicide after the 2012 skirmish.
Gallegos, who is now 74, lived, although it took a while to recuperate. She had to rebuild her 1,700-square-foot home and wait around five years for her leg to heal.
The mansion was then once more destroyed by the Eaton fire in January of this year. It had no insurance.
Luis Hernandez, Gallegos’ son-in-law, arrived at the house they had evacuated in the early hours of January 8 and informed them that everything had been destroyed. He burst into tears.
Gallegos recalls asking architect Aaron Olko, “If it’s going to be rebuilt, I would like it to be rebuilt in a way that matches nature and has good energy.” Because, if it’s feasible, I want to live in peace going forward.
In a presentation, Olko’s team brought up the prospect of rebuilding with earthen blocks. The thought struck a chord with her, bringing back memories of monasteries she had seen while traveling through France.
Ehrica Hernandez, her 45-year-old daughter, who also resided in the Altadena house, identified a practical reason: It doesn’t catch fire.
However, the family’s plan to reconstruct was derailed. In a late June email, Olko stated that they chose to use conventional light wood frame construction because of regulatory obstacles.
Interest in using natural materials in construction has increased since the Eaton fire destroyed at least 6,000 single-family homes, condominiums, and other types of housing. Clay, straw, and hemp are among the materials that proponents of constructing with claim are harmless when charred, carbon-friendly, and fire-resistant. For residents of Los Angeles who have lost their homes and wish to rebuild in a way that prevents future disasters and reduces their homes’ contributions to greenhouse gases that can start further wildfires, it is an enticing prospect.
Officials from Los Angeles County have expressed excitement about the possibilities of these materials and urged citizens to submit their suggestions to the county’s construction and safety department.
But according to some engineers and architects, the approval process for earthen and so-called bio-based building materials is too unpredictable to suggest to clients who don’t have a lot of time or money to risk.
Mixed messages
After meeting with representatives from the Los Angeles County Public Works Department, one of the offices that authorizes new building in unincorporated parts of the county, on May 13, architect Ben Loescher and engineer Anthony Dente were disheartened.
Loescher is one of the founders of Adobeisnotsoftware, an organization that uses activism and education to promote Adobe construction in California. Dente is the owner of Verdant Structural Engineers, a Berkeley-based firm that focuses on environmentally friendly projects that use both natural and conventional materials.
Loescher and Dente had intended to talk about the potential for using earthen materials—which aren’t explicitly included in the state residential construction code—to rebuild homes in the Altadena region. This comprises cob, a substance composed of clay, sand, and straw, as well as adobe.
According to the Public Works Department, projects utilizing unconventional building materials will be taken into consideration as long as they meet all code standards, such as lateral forces, fire resistance, and energy efficiency.
“We have nothing against the use of alternative building materials,” Public Works Department deputy director Luis Ramirez stated. We simply want to make sure that it is done in a way that is safe and that the usage of materials that might not have been adequately evaluated for that particular use does not jeopardize life or safety.
Loescher and Dente claim that during the May meeting, county officials informed them that the department lacked the resources necessary to review proposals employing these kinds of materials unless they were supported by pricey reports that included testing and evaluation, which is usually done for mass-produced goods. They said that the requirement would make the rebuilds all but impossible.
The Public Works Department will also accept testing and evaluation from recognized universities, Lisette Guzman, a spokesman for the department subsequently told The Times. She disputed that the approval procedure was being hampered by a lack of cash.
Guzman’s remarks seemed to go against what Dente and Loescher had been informed.
Erik Rodriguez, a senior civil engineer in the department, responded to their request for clarification in an email dated June 11 by saying that his comments during the May meeting could have been more explicit.
He wrote, “We would be delighted to meet to discuss your alternative material submission.”
For Loescher and Dente, it was an unexpected but pleasant change in circumstances.
However, according to Loescher’s email, the road is now too unclear to suggest for anyone other than those who are willing to incur some financial and time risks.
“There’s a good chance that they’ll ask for something that hasn’t been done (even if we don’t think it is germane) until they figure out exactly what tests and methodology are required,” he said, adding that it can be challenging and expensive to resolve the issue by the time it occurs.
Whispers of a sea change
There is a feeling that there may be a chance to rebuild in a fashion that takes into consideration contemporary realities, such as intense wildfires, rising temperatures, and technology improvements, notwithstanding the destruction caused by the Eaton and Palisades fires on opposite sides of the county.
Although building officials in L.A. County are known for being cautious, legislators have indicated that they are open to attempting something different.
The supervisor’s objective is to provide people with options, according to Anish Saraiya, director of Altadena’s recovery for Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger’s office, who stated in late May that the usage of earthen materials has not yet been explored in a meaningful way.
It’s great when people decide to use conventional wood frame construction. He said, “Great if you want to do modular.” As for earthen materials, I think [Barger] would definitely support efforts to try to bring optionality to this community that s trying to rebuild and rebuild with an eye to resilience.
He said Barger was open to revisiting best practices, but deferred to the Public Works and Fire departments as the leading experts on fire resilience and home hardening.
Environment & Climate
Investing in complex sprinkler systems to keep your house safe from wildfires might not be worth it. Collaborating with neighbors to fireproof your entire community is a superior approach, according to experts.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, whose district includes coastal communities impacted by the Palisades fire, convened a blue ribbon commission to provide recommendations on how to rebuild with challenges posed by climate change in mind. Among the actions the commission calls for ina reportreleased June 20 is thecreation of a new local authorityto oversee the rebuilding of fire-destroyed neighborhoods.
I am open to all proposals that help fire-impacted communities rebuild quickly, safely and resiliently, Horvath said in a statement. Earthen materials and other innovative, fire-resistant approaches may offer promising paths toward sustainability and long-term resilience.
Horvath and Barger in January co-authoreda successful motioncalling for the creation of arebuilding resource guidewith a focus on resiliency, which touts the fire-resistant benefits of using certain natural materials for siding and insulation.
County officials have urged residents interested in using earthen or other natural materials to go to theone-stop permitting centersit has opened in the aftermath of the fires, or reach out to the Public Works Department directly for assistance. But the underlying process for reviewing and approving rebuilds using alternative materials has not changed following the fires.
What residents who want to rebuild with materials like adobe are left with is, largely, confusion.
When the adobe hits the road
Marialyce Pedersen, a sustainable materials management specialist who has spent more than 20 years promoting the use of natural building materials, was attempting to determine what would eventually emerge from the debris of her three-bedroom, almost century-old Altadena home on a warm day in late May.
Pedersen broke down her options while sitting on a pinkish firepit and curved bench made from cob. The firepit that incorporated clay dug from the Altadena foothills and straw from a local feed store is one of the few elements of the home that survived the Eaton blaze.
Pedersen had connected with Loescher, the architect, and was getting fired up about the possibility of rebuilding with adobe. Then he conveyed the not-so-promising signals he got from L.A. County.
I was like, OK, I want to do something pioneering and innovative and amazing, but I also really do need to rebuild my house. Pedersen said, And I can t be messing around with something.
She changed course and will now be going with a construction method known as straw bale, which typically entails stacking bales of straw to form walls that are coated with plaster. When densely packed, straw has proven resistant to flames depriving fire of oxygen needed to thrive. Some liken it to a thick phone book.
Unlike materials like cob, straw bale is adopted in the California residential building code. That means using it doesn t trigger the need for the alternative approval process.
Environment & Climate
The Palisades and Eaton fires destroyed thousands of homes but left some still standing through a combination of fortunate timing, wind shifts and according to experts, modern approaches to architecture and landscaping.
Dente s Verdant Structural Engineers was involved with getting straw bale approved as a building material and along with advocates like Loescher is pushing for the adoption of more nature-based materials into the code.
The issue is urgency. Dente believes a fully updated code is likely 20 years and millions of dollars in materials testing away.
Which we are doing and don t want to shy away from, but we re in a climate crisis right now, he said.
Bumps in the road have already emerged. California earlier this year rejected citizen-led proposals to adopt cob,hemp-limeandlight straw clayin its code, and recently rejected a petition to reconsider.
That s why he and Loescher are focused on navigating Los Angeles County s process for considering alternative materials. If they crack it, it could offer a pathway now.
A good idea for tomorrow
Ben Stapleton an appointee on Horvath s blue ribbon commission and executive director ofU.S. Green Building Council California, a nonprofit that promotes sustainable building practices pointed to a statistic thatbuildings represent nearly 40% of greenhouse gas emissionsglobally.
Earthen and other natural materials emit relatively less greenhouse gases over their lifecycle, from extraction and transportation to assembly and disposal. Some, such as hempcrete made by mixing the inner woody core of the hemp plant and a lime-based binder are carbon sinks. They improve a home s insulation and energy efficiency, he added.
Still, the commission did not recommend widespread use of the materials in post-fire rebuilding.
There s a lot of strong arguments for using these materials, Stapleton said. I just don t think the market is ready to deliver homes [constructed with these materials] at scale, especially in a situation like this. He believes there first needs to be increased education among architects, engineers and permitting officials about them.
The relative lack of familiarity with the materials could add challenges or slow down the rebuilding process, he suggested which would be problematic given the urgency and dramatic scope of the effort.
Ripe for a test case
Karen Bagnard s late-1940s stucco homewas incineratedalong with a lifetime of artwork she created, which featuredmermaids and other fantastical beings by the Eaton fire. Her two daughters, who are leading the rebuild, initially seemed firm in their preference for a home made of conventional materials.
Bagnard, 80, wasn t convinced. Natural building seemed wise to her. Shrinking one s carbon footprint made sense. And then there were the potential ills of a conventional approach, like fumes spewed by laminate flooring.
But she figured her daughters (and grandson) would live in the home for longer than her. She was torn but inclined to follow their wishes.
Last Sunday, though, the family took a second tour of an adobe home in South Pasadena. It appeared to sway Bagnard s kids hearts. On Monday, Bagnard emailed to say it looked like her family would be moving forward with adobe after all.
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