The Green Fenix Begins
When the Eaton Fire tore through Altadena, it didn’t just burn through brush — it burned through a part of who we are.
Thousands of trees, some older than the families that lived beneath them, were gone in days. The shade that cooled our sidewalks. The branches that framed our views. The roots that held our hillsides together. The quiet beauty that made this place home.
For those of us who grew up here, this wasn’t abstract. These were our streets, our friends’ homes, our memories.
“Homes can be rebuilt. But a mature tree takes decades.”
Walking through neighborhoods I’ve known my whole life, I realized something deeper than damage had occurred — the soul of the place was stripped bare. And that’s when the question hit me: what if we could bring it all back faster?
That’s where Green Fenix began.
A simple but bold idea — to restore Altadena’s canopy not with saplings, but with fully grown, fire-resistant trees. To use the mindset and speed of the private sector to deliver something public, lasting, and deeply human.
We partnered with Los Angeles County and Moon Valley Nurseries to identify the right species, the right homes, and the right process to make this happen at scale.
Each mature tree we plant is twenty-plus years old. It arrives by truck, is craned into place, and instantly transforms the landscape. Shade returns in a day, not a decade. Families come outside again. Streets start to feel like home again.
But this isn’t just about trees. It’s about healing. It’s about identity. It’s about proving what happens when local people take ownership of local problems — and move fast, together, and with purpose.
Altadena is where it starts, but it’s not where it ends. Our goal is to build a model that can be replicated anywhere communities are rebuilding from fire or flood.
We’re not waiting for permission. We’re building hope — one tree at a time.
That’s the mission of Green Fenix. And we’re just getting started.
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About the Author
Bryson Reaume is a Pasadena-based entrepreneur and builder who founded Green Fenix to restore Altadena’s historic canopy after the Eaton Fire. He also leads several mission-driven companies focused on building stronger, more resilient communities across California.