Altadena hub dives back in

Country club, a center of community life destroyed in January fire, reopens

- CARLOS DE LOERA

JASON ARMOND Los Angeles Times THE ALTADENA Town & Country Club welcomed back members to its pool and main hall Sunday. Construction continues elsewhere.

Children somersaulted into a pool as adults sipped cocktails and dined on burgers, blueand orange-striped umbrellas shielding them from the summer sun.

Nearby, families squared off on newly redone tennis courts. But it was impossible not to notice, beyond the cool splashing and camaraderie, a charred and empty landscape.

The Altadena Town & Country Club — a storied establishment that has been a center of play as well as employment in the foothill town for more than a century — was destroyed in the Eaton fire. On Sunday, it reopened.

The noise of the crowd that gathered was a marked change from the silence that had reigned over Altadena since January's firestorm.

Rep. Judy Chu (D-Monterey Park), whose congressional district includes Altadena, spoke at the reopening and recalled touring the area of the country club two nights after the Jan. 7 disaster.

"I could not believe my eyes," Chu said. "I still saw flames around the different parts of the ruins."

Los Angeles County suffered numerous devastating losses during the Eaton and Palisades fires in January. At least 31 people were killed (though the death toll may be much higher) and more than 9,000 structures were destroyed.

The loss of the club, which first opened in 1910, didn't just affect its members. The facilities also played host to local fundraisers, municipal government meetings, Altadena Rotary Club gatherings, high school proms and church events, among other things.