A single block and a half separates the home of Jennifer and Ed Bargyerena from complete destruction.

Yeah, just down this block to the next stop sign, which is Lincoln Avenue.

Yeah.

Just across that border, it's completely devastating.

And right behind us are rows of intact houses.

It's unimaginable, the devastation.

And the number of lives that have been impacted just down the road.

Yeah, that's what I was going to say.

Obviously, we value having our home.

But you also feel a bit helpless because you know that there are people just down the block who need help.

There's nothing we can do at the moment, and that's really hard.

Their home is in Altadena, and this community is hurting so deeply for the ones who lost everything.

But for families like the Bargy Arenas, the seemingly lucky ones whose houses survived,

and altogether different ordeal is just beginning.

Part of our concern is making sure that, you know, what we're coming back to is a place that's not just whole,

but safe and stable for our family.

You don't know what you don't know yet. Exactly. And you can't see, like not every toxin is obvious.

Consider this. The water here still isn't safe to drink, cook, or wash with. There are fine layers of ash and

dust in people's homes and yards. And families like the Bargy arenas are also worried about what

they can't see, the possibility that toxins like lead and asbestos might have drifted into their

homes.

From NPR, I'm Elsa Chang.

...