A new mural was unveiled this week on the corner of Fair Oaks Avenue and Calaveras Street in Altadena, honoring relief efforts and community resiliency after the Eaton fire.

But the mural — created by Arcadia volunteer artist Veronica Makarova — will only be up for a short time.

Titled “Eaton Fire Heroes,” it appears on the scorched remains of a cement wall, what’s left standing of a burned-down Masonic temple in the area. The charred, blank canvas location was chosen to honor first responders, community organizers, victims who lost everything, and local neighbors who quickly acted to save homes and lives during the January fires.

“This was a community project for some closure and recognition of those fire victims and those who saved the lives of others,” said Baltazar Fedalizo, co-founder of the Pow Wow on Parade Foundation, a Pasadena-based nonprofit serving indigenous communities, that partially commissioned the mural.

At its unveiling Wednesday, June 25, organizers found out from a nearby construction crew that the wall — and subsequently, its new mural — is scheduled to be demolished next week.

Despite its short tenure, leaders said they still wanted the mural to honor a resilient Altadena and its community members, who wanted this visual piece to tell their stories.

As one of several large-scale paintings, art installations and more that have popped up over the last few months in Altadena, in the fire’s aftermath, “Eaton Fire Heroes” is across the street from Fair Oaks Burger and its new mural honoring fire victims, by artist Robert Vargas.

The community-sanctioned mural — not approved by a city permit or in any official capacity, Fedalizo said — depicts hometown staples like Charles S. Farnsworth County Park and Fair Oaks Burger. A sign saying “Altadena Strong” is in the foreground. Around $300 was spent on supplies, organizers said.

As part of the design process, community members wanted “Eaton Fire Heroes” to honor first responders and volunteers, those who helped directly with crucial fire aid. It features members of the Pow Wow group, including its CEO Peter Roybal and co-founder Fedalizo, and a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers worker who helped to clear fire debris.

Makarova’s mural also prominently features several Altadena residents who either lost, helped others save, or safely evacuate from their homes. They include Kenny Devine, Margot Steuber — whose lost home was the first to be cleaned by the Army Corps of Engineers — Theodore Seavers and his son, who helped evacuate neighbors to safety.

As the mural was revealed on the Masonic Lodge wall, Devine said that it “feels wonderful” and “out of this world to be honored.”

The longtime Altadena resident is thankful to have his home still standing. He remembers Jan. 9 well, helping to hose down houses and put out embers consuming his neighborhood in the thick of the fire. He thinks this helped to save at least half of his block from burning down.

Still, Devine said he wishes he could have done more.

“I love my neighbors, and it feels great to know that those homes are there, my neighbors are there,” the 69-year-old said. “So to see the houses that aren’t there, the neighbors no longer there, it takes some of the sweetness out of the ones that are.”

Elizabeth Jernberg, director of operations of the Global Empowerment Mission, which worked with local groups to support fire aid, is also featured in the mural. Jernberg told attendees at the mural unveiling, mostly Eaton fire victims, that she is a survivor of the 2018 Camp Fire in Butte County.

“One thing I can say that most people can’t is that I know exactly what you’re going through,” Jernberg said.

As part of its fire relief efforts, Global Empowerment Mission has given out $60,000 in cash cards, helped around 15,000 families, and spent around $9 million in rent funds and essential goods, helping people get back on their feet, Jernberg said.

Roybal, of Pow Wow on Parade, remembers helping to save both his own and Altadena neighbors’ homes from the flames. He recalled the harrowing events of early January.

“(We) were there all night trying to fight off the fire, taking hoses from neighbors’ houses to extinguish fires and hose houses down in hopes of preventing them from burning; helping evacuate people,” Roybal said. “When the water shut off, there was nothing else we could really do. All we could do was pray.”

After having to evacuate, Roybal and others in his group set up a pop-up food bank in Altadena. As fire relief efforts continue, he said, residents and organizations have really stepped up together over the past six months.

“We’re part of the community, so it’s an honor for us to be in the mural too,” Roybal said. “The (fire) victims chose who goes on the mural, so it’s incredible. Now we just keep rebuilding.”