Eaton Fire victims move into their fully rebuilt home
KCBS
By Laurie Perez
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PASADENA, California (KCAL, KCBS) — After losing their Pasadena home in the Eaton Fire, Jun Li Lujan and her husband were among the first to finish rebuilding their home and move back in time for Thanksgiving.
“I’m a fighter,” Lujan said. “I fight back to my house.”
She’s thankful not only for a new home but also for a new beginning. Lujan’s rebuilding process in the fire zone was made a lot easier thanks to her expertise as a home builder and designer.
It has not been as smooth for many others. Los Angeles County’s recovery dashboard shows that officials have received more than 2,400 rebuilding applications, 367 of which are under construction. Other than Lujan’s, only one other home has finished rebuilding.
Lujan said she designed her home to be fire-resistant, with new aluminum siding, non-flammable furniture and a metal roof.
“That’s a big lesson for me,” she said. “When I design the new house, the first thing I think about, I need a metal roof.”
On Tuesday, Lujan and her husband hosted an open house for their neighbors, fellow fire survivors and city leaders.
“My house burned down, I never cried,” Lujan said. “Yesterday, I see them all come, I have tears.”
Hanging on Lujan’s fence is a sign that she found just weeks after the fire. It reads, “And so they built a life they loved.” The couple said they knew they would put it up once they rebuilt.
Lujan hopes the sign and the house inspire others to rebuild.
“If I can do, they can too,” she said.
This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.
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