The Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) is the largest organization of Location Managers and Location Scouts in the motion picture, television, commercial and print production industries. Their membership plays a vital role in the creativ
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1535985
LMGI COMPASS | Spring 2025 • 57 The Altadena Golf Course houses and the Country Club were on fire. It felt like a war—total devastation. Burnt-up cars for blocks. I wanted to cry—it was like the movie Behind Enemy Lines. It was a weapon that blew everything to pieces. The chunks of trees on fire flying in the wind became bombs, hitting cars underneath trees, which then became bigger bombs, and the propane tanks—bombs. We were thinking between 3:30 a.m.–7:00 a.m., the fire took out the majority of Altadena. If you were there past 3:30 a.m., you didn't make it out, especially if you were breathing in that much toxic smoke. My friends lost family in the fire. They just didn't believe it was going to get them. I know people were knocking on doors at that point, saying, "Get out, get out." But not everyone did. At my house, everything was gone but the fountain in the back and my barbecue pit/grill. I had been saving some lamb chops for that grill, but they got cooked when my fridge melted. Everything was destroyed or melted: tools, bikes and collector coins were a massive pile of metal. Next it was time to figure things out. Assistance, gift cards, FEMA. Everyday I tried to get info, get out and get something going. The AMC Church of Pasadena was a great help because many members lost their homes. They had programs and pulled together a lot of assistance. My mom is quite elderly, and we have a lot of family members with disabilities, so I tried to get my family what was needed. We had to move forward no matter what. It teaches you a lot. You're not taking any of this when you die. There's still time to enjoy life and family. That's what you tell yourself when you lose everything. Just waking up in the morning is the most important thing, knowing that we all got out alive. We can make it better by staying with a positive attitude. You just have to think, "What do I need to do next?" Thank God for the organizations and the people who helped out. An LM friend, Kim Crabb, was my guiding angel. She lifted me up every day. She checked on me and provided care packages, advice, checklists and so much encouragement. She was everything to me during this ordeal. She became a precious helping hand to my family—she gave everything of herself and became like a family member. My union location representatives (Motion Picture Teamsters/Local 399) reached out. I was so grateful. The YMCA and even Local 80 (Motion Picture Grips), partnering with Teamsters for a household goods drive, helped out. Zello Support, a collaborative that came together to assist fire victims, gave us the furnishings we needed to keep life normal. The thing I love about Altadena is that being a smaller city, everyone knows each other and comes together to help, even on the streets. This whole experience grounded me, taught me who I am, how to be strong by finding my way to help others while we try to help ourselves. To anyone who goes through disasters like this, keep your head up and know that God is good. Anything is possible with God. Jesus as my Lord and Savior is not going to put anything on you that is too much. Keep that positive attitude and know that everything's going to be okay.