Photo: AFP via Getty Images
Residents of the historically Black community of Altadena are feeling neglected after President Donald Trump failed to survey their damage from the Los Angeles wildfires, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Altadena was one of several areas around Los Angeles County where wildfires broke out earlier this month. The Eaton Fire burned over 14,000 acres in Altadena and parts of Pasadena. Over 9,400 structures were destroyed and at least 17 people were killed.
The Palisades fire scorched over 23,000 acres, destroying 6,822 structures and killing at least 11 people in the wealthy neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades and Malibu.
On Friday (January 24), Trump surveyed destruction in the Pacific Palisades and spoke to residents who lost their homes.
However, Eaton fire victims were overlooked amid Trump’s visit to Southern California.
Democratic Rep. Judy Chu, who represents Pasadena, met with Trump on Friday for a fire briefing alongside other California officials and encouraged him to the visit the community. In a statement, Chu said she was “extremely disappointed” that the president didn’t personally view the destruction from the Eaton fire.
Sam James, who grew up in Altadena and whose family lost homes in the fire, said she concerned about the lack of media attention on the destruction in her community.
“I think we’ve already seen disproportionate news coverage and know that our demographics are not the same as Pacific Palisades, but that doesn’t mean that our devastation is any less,” she said.
Juanita West Tillman, whose family also lost homes in the fire, said she thought Trump should’ve visited Altadena to see the damage for himself.
“To be ignored, is an atrocious act,” Tillman said.
Bronson Manning said he didn’t believe Trump would consider the residents of Altadena “his people.”
“I don’t really feel that Altadena would be somewhere where he has a large constituency to show up for,” Manning said, “in the sense that it’s a largely working-class neighborhood with a lot of people of color.”
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