With her Pasadena home shown on the news the night of the fires, Emily Zeug was taken aback to receive a call from a real estate developer the very next morning asking if she wanted to sell her property.

“We thought it was scummy,” she said, disgusted that parasitic developers are already trying to exploit the tragedy of the fires by getting bargains.

“My husband just hung up on them,” she said. “We’ve gotten a few calls since then.”

That’s part of the reason Zeug joined around 25 other protesters Saturday afternoon in the south end of Altadena, hoping to send a message that their community will not be broken up.

“We want to rebuild,” said Mijanou van der Wood of Altadena, who lost her home in the fire. “We want to protect and we’re going to defend Altadena.”Carrying signs stating “Altadena: Not for Sale,” protestors gathered at the corner of North Lake Avenue and East Woodbury Road, shouting in unison “Defend and Rebuild!”

With streetlights not working, a sense of minor chaos permeated the small protest, as protestors crossed to different corners at the intersection in between long lines of cars going to and from the fire area.

Nearby, the front lawn of the Westminster Presbyterian Church was busy with dozens of residents exploring a spread of clothes donation boxes, children playing and adults assembled about a free food truck demonstrating an upbeat spirit, despite the challenges they’re facing.

‘STAY OUT’

With a bullhorn in hand, Courage Escamilla of Altadena worked to stir up the spirit of the protest.

“Developers, stay out of Altadena,” he said. “You are not welcome at the table. You are not welcome at our home.”

“Altadena is not for sale because we are Altadena strong,” he said.”

The event, organized by the SGV Progressive Alliance and a new group known as Altadena Not For Sale, took to the road after a while and planned to hold a similar protest approximately one mile west at Woodley and North Fair Oaks Avenue.

The protest comes amid brewing concern about the future of the unincorporated town in the wake of the Eaton fire.

The fire destroyed more than 9,000 acres in its 14,117-acre path through the area, leaving at least 17 dead. By Saturday it was 73% contained.

But as people began coming back to the rubble this weekend, a lingering concern has been the rebuild.

OFFERS COME IN

Many residents are concerned as they’ve gotten similar calls like the one Zeug received.

Local leaders have vowed to rebuild.

A coalition of advocates on Friday urged Los Angeles County elected officials for a just recovery for victims of the Eaton Fire, which burned down areas of Altadena — home to a diverse community and known as a historically Black neighborhood.

Residents and advocates gathered at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the oldest Black congregations of this denomination in Pasadena, to join a rallying cry for equitable restoration.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday announced that five major financial institutions will offer mortgage relief for property owners affected by the Los Angeles County wildfires.

Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo have committed to offer impacted homeowners a 90-day forbearance of their mortgage payments, without reporting these payments to credit reporting agencies, and the opportunity for additional relief.