Before the wildfire, Altadena had a Black population of 18% and a Black home ownership rate of more than 80%, about double the national average. The suburb grew in diversity following the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which banned racial discrimination in mortgage lending known as “redlining.”

Black residents of Altadena were disproportionately impacted by the Eaton Fire’s devastation, according to a UCLA Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies study released Tuesday.