How skateboards, haircuts and vegan burgers gave young men a break after the L.A. fires

 Attendees of the Altadena Teen Boys Fire Recovery event, inspired by a similar donation drive for girls, expressed that it provided them with a sense of normalcy and an opportunity to connect through conversation.

At Altadena Teen Boys Fire Recovery, Vincent Bugarin was one of many visitors treated to haircuts and donated items.

LOS ANGELES — As Vincent Bugarin stood in a long line snaking down an East Hollywood street, his thoughts were heavy. His family had lost everything in the devastating Eaton Fire that tore through Altadena, taking their home, his father’s pickup truck, bicycles, and sports jerseys his dad had left him before passing away in 2022.

“A lot of people tell me it’s just material things,” said Bugarin, 19, now staying with relatives in Glendale. “But it’s really your heart. It’s hard to absorb.”

However, Wednesday brought a moment of relief. Bugarin was among about 200 people visiting the Altadena Teen Boys Fire Recovery event—a six-day donation drive that became a crucial stop for families displaced by the fire. Inside, after walking through velvet curtains, he joined other young men and their families browsing piles of donated shoes, hoodies, and sunglasses, many still shrink-wrapped. Full-size toiletries lined the bar.

In the back, football games played on large TVs, while tables were piled with comic books, board games, toys, and brand-new footballs and basketballs. The highlight for many was a custom skateboard station, set up by volunteers and donated by the streetwear brand Golf Wang.

Immanuel Shorter, 18, a Pasadena City College student and one of the event organizers, got involved after a friend introduced him to Samantha Mora, 30. Mora wanted to create a boys’ donation drive, inspired by her 8-year-old son’s wish to give away some of his toys to children who lost theirs in the fires. Though Shorter’s home had survived, many of his friends, including Bugarin from John Muir High School, were not so lucky. He hoped to help them replace their belongings and offer a space for them to relax after the devastation.

“It’s been hard to have a regular conversation with people,” Shorter said, snapping photos of the event. “You’re still human, and you want to be treated like one, not like a lost puppy.”

The drive took place at Chain House, a popular event space normally booked for influencers and celebrities, but for this week, it was exclusively for families from Altadena and Pasadena who could provide proof of residence or school enrollment.

Bugarin first visited on Saturday for supplies and returned on Wednesday for a haircut. When the cut was finished, he admired his reflection in the mirror, thanked the barber, and gave a fist bump to Shorter. Meanwhile, his 15-year-old cousin was eagerly waiting to meet Travis Barker, the Blink-182 drummer.

Barker had come to meet Grayson Roberts, a 10-year-old from Altadena who is blind and had lost his instruments, Braille books, and Legos in the fire. Barker taught Grayson how to twirl drumsticks and gifted him a drum pad.

Meanwhile, Grayson’s older brother, Gavin, 16, was getting a haircut. “Having another male to talk to is pretty cool,” Gavin said. “It’s enjoyable to express your feelings and have the right people around to keep you stable.”

The Eaton Fire had destroyed over 9,400 structures, burning more than 14,000 acres and causing widespread devastation across Altadena, a middle-class town in Los Angeles County’s San Gabriel Mountains. The fire left thousands displaced, with entire communities left in ruins. Although the fire is mostly contained, many residents, including those whose homes survived, remain unable to return due to ongoing evacuation orders. Authorities are also advising locals to wear masks due to air toxins from the fires.

The aftermath spurred many donation drives across the Los Angeles area, organized by nonprofits, companies, and local activists. Shorter, in particular, saw the need for a boys’ focused drive, believing that many young men would hesitate to take necessary items if they felt it meant prioritizing their younger siblings or mothers instead.

“When something like this happens, boys my age want to be strong for their families,” Shorter said.

As the days went on, more local businesses stepped up. Monty’s Good Burger, a plant-based fast food chain, set up a food truck, and Levi’s offered custom stitching on jackets. Volunteers distributed cold-brew coffee to shoppers as they left.

During the final hour of the drive on Wednesday, Grant Babbitt, 40, watched as his 11-year-old son Avary took a skating lesson from the woman who had assembled their donated skateboard. “I hope this experience sticks with him more than the fear from the evacuation two weeks ago and the uncertainty of where we go next,” Babbitt said. “The hardest part has been being a father. I feel like I did my job by getting them out of there. But now, the next step feels really tough.”

For Bugarin, staying strong for his mother and sister in the face of such overwhelming loss is his motivation, inspired by the memory of his father.