Written by Jennifer Chien
Translated by Ariel Tsai
Edited by Ariel Tsai
On the morning of March 9, 2026, under the bright Los Angeles sunshine that already carried a hint of summer heat, the sudden Santa Ana winds that had blown fiercely the night before reminded many people of last year’s series of wildfires in Los Angeles that affected hundreds of thousands of residents.
Four Tzu Chi volunteers arrived at an apartment in Pasadena, carrying fresh fruits, vegetables, and dry food. They gently knocked on the door of the Amezcua family: Maria and her husband Jose, along with their three children.
Anxiety After the Fire
Last year, the family lost the home they had lived in for 21 years in Altadena, California, when the Eaton Fire swept through the area.
When the volunteers entered, they saw that two sofa beds had been set up in the living room of the two-bedroom apartment. In one corner sat a crate for their pet dog, and the small kitchen was piled with food supplies. After losing their home, their lives felt like a puzzle scattered into pieces. Slowly, they were trying to put it back together, piece by piece.
Even after the fire, stress and grief still weighed heavily on the family. Jose admitted, “Renting an apartment isn’t really ‘home.’ The kids and the dog are stuck inside with nowhere to go, and there’s no sense of belonging.” Long-term anxiety left them emotionally drained. At times, they coped through overeating, and the entire family gained weight quickly, raising concerns about their health.
The volunteers listened with warm smiles as the family shared their feelings. They then introduced the ingredients they had brought and explained how simple, healthy vegetarian meals could help restore balance to body and mind. They suggested trying one or two light vegetarian meals each day to help calm their hearts and gradually regain emotional stability.
A Home Reduced to Ashes
Later, the group visited the site where the Amezcua family’s home was being rebuilt.
On the land where their old house once stood, construction was underway on a main house and a guesthouse. If everything goes smoothly, the family hopes to return home in two or three months.
Maria recalled, “On the evening of January 7, 2025, the wind was incredibly strong. I’ve lived here for so long, but I had never experienced Santa Ana winds that intense. I felt uneasy, so I filmed a few videos in the yard and shared them with relatives.”
She continued, “We never received an evacuation notice. It wasn’t until early morning on January 8 that relatives and friends began calling, telling us a wildfire had broken out nearby and that we needed to leave immediately.” The family quickly packed some clothes.
“Around 1 a.m., the fire had already reached the street across from us. The flames lit up the night sky, and smoke filled the entire neighborhood. We hurriedly gathered the children and our pets and left our home on the hillside.”
Only a few hours later, neighbors told them the devastating news: the entire community had burned down. All that remained of their home were two palm trees at the entrance and the small turtle pond in the yard.
Maria’s wedding ring, family photographs collected over many years, childhood keepsakes, and countless cherished belongings: everything had been reduced to ashes in the wildfire.
Many people lost their lives in this wildfire. For our family to escape safely is already the greatest blessing.
Though they had lost everything, life had to move forward.
The Challenges of Rebuilding
The couple, who run a house cleaning business, quickly began searching for resources to rebuild their home.
Fortunately, they had home insurance, which covered rent during reconstruction. A long-time client also helped them secure a two-bedroom apartment for $1,800 a month, even though the usual rent was $2,800, allowing the family to settle down quickly.
But the biggest challenge remained: rebuilding their home.
Their insurance payout was $358,000, but after the wildfire, construction and labor costs had surged dramatically. The compensation was far from enough. “We started construction in September last year,” Maria said with a smile as she watched workers busy at the site. “From applying for permits, finding workers, to buying materials: we’ve done everything ourselves.”
They once asked a construction company for an estimate, but rebuilding just the main house alone would cost $1.2 million. Eventually, with help from relatives who had construction experience, they decided to rebuild the house themselves.
However, neither Maria nor Jose had any construction background. Jose explained, “We’re first-generation immigrants, and our English isn’t perfect. To apply for rebuilding permits from the city, we spent a lot of time researching and reading regulations. Of course, we made many mistakes along the way.”
The couple has to purchase construction materials for the rebuilding project every few days. Photo/Jennifer Chien
Preparing documents, tracking construction progress, purchasing materials, and hiring workers: every step required trial and error.
Maria said, “Sometimes we make mistakes. When that happens, we just start over. Because we want to go home as soon as possible, we’ve temporarily put aside our work and focused entirely on rebuilding. Whenever there’s a problem, we have to go back to city hall to reapply or purchase materials again.”
Rebuilding Hope
Brick by brick, their family’s hope slowly rises again. The total cost of rebuilding the main house, guesthouse, and yard is currently estimated at about $1 million.
Maria said proudly, “By rebuilding it ourselves, we saved over a million dollars. Compared to hiring a contractor, we spent about the same amount it would have cost to rebuild the main house alone, but we completed two buildings and the yard. We even restored the swimming pool that the kids love.”
That day, in front of their unfinished home, the volunteers personally handed Maria and Jose a letter of blessing from Dharma Master Cheng Yen, along with a $30,000 check for rebuilding assistance from Tzu Chi USA.
The funds will help them purchase paint for the walls and materials for the wooden flooring, bringing them one step closer to returning home.
Even now, the family must continue paying $3,600 per month for the mortgage on the home that was destroyed. Maria added cheerfully, “We’re fortunate that the loan we received from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) allows us to start repayments a year later. Right now we can’t work much, but once we move back home, we’ll work hard and gradually pay off the loan.”
I believe we will find a way.
The place, once reduced to ashes by fire, was filled with sorrow. But as long as people refuse to give up, even the scorched earth can one day become the foundation for rebuilding a happy home once again.
