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For Pride in Altadena, he's dusting off the huge model train set in his backyard
Rob Caves designed the special Pride model train for this Saturday's open house, the first to take place after the Eaton Fire.
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The cold sweats are gone. The nightmares have subsided.
Nearly six months after the Eaton Fire, Rob Caves is finding his bearings.
Nearly six months after defending his home from the January windstorm-fueled fire — and after outlasting the lockdown without electricity or water and having his house cleared of smoke damage — a semblance of normalcy is returning to Caves’ life on Christmas Tree Lane.
- Read the previous story in the series: His house survived the Eaton Fire — for now, he's figured out a way to stay
A sign in front of a house on Christmas Tree Lane.
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" It's not quite the ghost town that it was the first few months," Caves said, estimating that about half of the homes around him have been reoccupied. "But, you know, everybody's in a different stage as far as rebuilding and what they're going through."
Reminders of the devastations are but a short walk away, where once-decimated lots now sit brown and flattened, and where trucks loaded with debris rumble along.
"It's like a regular thing, even on Sundays," he said. The removal, he heard, would be done in a few weeks. " Just having that be finished is a pretty nice milestone."
Other milestones abound. The Altadena Library, Loma Alta Park, and some restaurants have reopened. Last week saw the unveiling of a Robert Vargas mural celebrating Altadena. On Saturday, the community hub Fair Oaks Burger is opening for business.
The casing of one of Rob Cave's train layouts.
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A control panel display for the model train layout.
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For Caves and his buddies from the Christmas Tree Lane Model Railroad Society, Saturday also marks the grand reopening of the massive train layout they've built in his backyard.
The open house is an unofficial part of Pride celebrations in Altadena. Caves and his club were invited to display their creations last year, when Pride was held at the senior center, which was destroyed in the Eaton Fire.
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This year, it's taking place at the Altadena Library next door. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger will be there for the opening ceremony at 3 p.m. A Pride walk through Central Altadena will follow, and the day will end with a community gathering featuring entertainment, resource tables and sessions for healing for both adults and youths.
In conjunction, Caves is inviting the public to his home again — a hop and a skip from the library. Last time it happened was during the club's annual Christmastime open house, before the unfathomable changes.
"Our club has a number of people in the LGBTQ community" — including Caves, who has lived with his partner, Larsen, in Christmas Tree Lane for years. "So we really want to try and pitch in and help out," he said.
The club of about 50 members has been itching to work on the layout again. During the fire, a number of them stayed behind to help protect the train universe and Caves' home.
A new section of the model train layout Rob Caves and his fellow club members are building.
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Repairing the minor damage from the fire and cleaning up the smoke and soot required a level of delicate handling that remediation companies couldn't take on.
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" We pretty much had to do it ourselves, going around with little brushes and vacuuming where we could," he said.
Slowly, the club is picking up where they left off and has started to construct a new expansion to eventually connect the different levels and sections of tracks.
By this Christmas, he thinks at least parts of his "regional connector" will be complete. And yes, all indications point to the annual model train open house happening this winter.
" We are kind of still a day at a time with everything, but it's a much more optimistic future for the club and Altadena," he said. "You just don't know what the community is going to become, but I think we're headed in the right direction — that's my sense, and I wanted to be hopeful."
Details
Altadena Pride @ The Altadena Library
3330 N. Lincoln Ave., Altadena
Saturday, June 14 — 3 to 6 p.m.
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Christmas Tree Lane Model Railroad Society open house
2085 Santa Rosa Ave., Altadena
Saturday, June 14 — 2 to 8 p.m.
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