Why wildfire survivors are trying so hard to relight ‘Altadena’s beautiful little beacon’ for the holidays

New LED bulbs and an anchor to minimize stress in high winds grace the beacon as it overlooks Altadena, California, in 2019. Courtesy Bill Westphal Altadena, California —

In an airy modern studio north of downtown Los Angeles, the buzzing began and the ink flowed.

Kim Grant was “a little nervous,” she said, “because, you know, needles.”

In the past year, Grant had felt plenty of pain, not all of it the stinging kind that pierced her left forearm as the tattoo artist etched line after intersecting line. No, hers was mostly an unfathomable sort of loss borne of knowing so much she held dear in this place was gone.

So much. But not all.

The Eaton Fire killed 19 people as it laid waste to Altadena, California, in January. More than 40% of all homes – 6,000 or so – in this com