Her boutique was one of the businesses spared during the Eaton Fire. Now, she's struggling with survivor's guilt
After her business was spared from the Eaton Fire, Adriana Molina is searching for ways to help her beloved community rebound from one of the worst disasters in California history.
"How can I serve the community that is here," she said. "The community that wants to rebuild."
More than two weeks ago, Altadena and surrounding communities lost entire neighborhoods as the 100 mph winds fueled the second-most destructive wildfire in California history. The Eaton Fire leveled roughly 9,400 buildings and damaged 1,000 structures. The flames torched nearly everything on Mariposa Street but spared a handful of stores, including Molina's boutique, Sidecca.
"I can summarize it by numbness," Molina said while she cried. "I wasn't ready to talk to anybody for a while."
Racked with survivor's guilt, Molina isolated herself from social media as she processed the mass devastation.
"I didn't read any of our Instagram messages," she said. "I couldn't."
After a few days, she mustered up the strength to open her Instagram inbox to see an outpouring of support.
"Not until I finally read them like 'Oh, you're still standing. We're so excited. You're giving us hope,'" Molina recalled. "I thought okay this is good. This could be good for the community."
For now, Molina will be fulfilling online orders of her best-selling Altadena merchandise to commemorate the community and support her longtime employees.
"Right now, it's still so new. What's going to happen in a month, a year from now," she said.
She said the other businesses that burned around her need help to stay afloat, including Cafe de Leche and Amara Kitchen.
"Not everybody has a second location," she said. "Really looking into their social media and saying 'How can I support?"
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