Pasadena Temple Saved in Catastrophic LA Wildfires

Quick Actions by Neighbors Credited in Saving Structure; 16 Pasadena Sangha Members Lost Their Homes, Business

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How to Help

BCA Southern California Wildfire Relief Fund: BCA.kindful.com

PBT Eaton Sangha Support Fund: https://givebutter.com/ZIFQlN

GoFundMe fundraisers for Pasadena Sangha members: https://www.pasadenabuddhisttemple.org/eaton-fire-info.html

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The catastrophic wildfires in Southern California in January nearly claimed the Pasadena Buddhist Temple — if not for the quick actions of neighbors.

But sadly, 16 Pasadena Sangha members lost their homes and a business in the Eaton Fire, according to Rev. Gregory Gibbs, Resident Minister of the Pasadena Buddhist Temple (PBT).

In addition, there were additional reports of Sangha members throughout the Los Angeles area who lost their homes. A precise number of those affected, including West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple members, was not immediately available. 

There have been no reports of fire-related deaths among BCA members.

As of Jan. 30, the wildfires in Los Angeles County have killed at least 29 people, destroyed more than 16,000 structures and burned nearly 48,000 acres, according to Cal Fire and news reports. 

The weather forecasting service AccuWeather estimates the total economic loss from the wildfires at over $250 billion, making it one of the most costly natural disasters in U.S. history. The estimate includes costs of damage, loss of life, business disruptions, health care and other economic impacts.

The most notable of the wildfires were the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades and Malibu, and the Eaton Fire in Altadena and Pasadena.

The Eaton Fire, which started the night of Jan. 7, came within 75 yards of the Pasadena temple and leveled nearby homes, according to Rev. Gibbs.

The Pasadena Buddhist Temple praised the actions of neighbor Elliot Sloane and his brother-in-law, Michael Murray. Sloane and his wife, Jessica, are next-door neighbors of the temple and their backyard fence is the temple’s west fence.

“On that first day, Elliot and Michael noticed that there was smoke rising from the temple grounds,” the Pasadena Buddhist Temple said in a Facebook post dated Jan. 21. “So they ran to hop the fence, grabbed hoses and started wetting the hot spots that started from the fire on Montana (Avenue). When Lori and Alan Hatakeyama came by that day to open the parking lot gates, they found them on the roof of the Hondo, wetting down the roof.

“We know that without their selfless efforts, our temple would have also been burned,” the Facebook post continued. “Their home was also threatened, but they came to help us!”

Rev. Gibbs said: “Flying embers hit our (tea) garden and the railing around our temple. Fortunately, some of our temple leaders, along with (wife) Kyoko and I, arrived not too far behind to help Michael (Murray) and Elliot (Sloane) with watering down the grounds.”

Rev. Gibbs and his wife were forced to evacuate the parsonage on the temple grounds Jan. 8 as the Eaton Fire approached the temple, and later returned to safeguard the campus.

According to Rev. Gibbs and Pasadena Co-President Jeannie Toshima, the temple suffered smoke damage that will need to be professionally cleaned. The ash from the wildfires carries toxic substances such as heavy metals like lead, arsenic, as well as asbestos fibers and microplastics.

Pasadena Buddhist Temple is in a residential neighborhood. Three main structures encompass the property with the primary building housing the Hondo. A short walkway leads to the building, which includes the minister’s office, meeting room, kitchen and dining room, and is attached to the gymnasium. The minister’s parsonage sits at the main entrance of the property.

PBT has begun the process to get estimates for remediation of repairs from fire and wind damage to temple structures.

Other BCA Southern District temples in the Los Angeles area were also affected by the wildfires.

Ministers reported that Sangha members were forced to flee their homes because of mandatory evacuation orders. 

On Jan. 9, former BCA President Rick Stambul was visiting a friend in Van Nuys, about 25 miles from Pacific Palisades, who had lost his home. Stambul said his iPhone triggered a notification for a fire alert showing an evacuation order in Oak Park, the area near Stambul’s home.

“I raced home to evacuate,” Stambul said. “Traffic was heavy, bumper to bumper. To the southwest, the sky was lit an eerie orange color. The smoke was disturbing and orange embers were hitting my windshield. It was scary.

“But the most frightening part of the drive home were the reckless drivers racing on the freeway going about 80-plus mph on the shoulder of the road in an attempt to get past the slow-moving traffic,” he said.

The wildfires caused several Southern District temples such as Pasadena, West Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple to cancel in-person services on Jan. 12. Some of the temples instead offered Zoom or livestream services.

Rev. Koho Takata, Resident Minister of the West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple, said he and Assistant Minister Rev. Ko’e Umezu removed sacred objects from the Onaijin and moved them to a safer location. The West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple is on the border of the evacuation zone of the Palisades Fire.

“We moved a statue of the Buddha, hanging scrolls of masters and standing scrolls of the three Pure Land sutras from the altar,” Rev. Takata said. 

Also removed was a scroll image of Amida Buddha from the Nokotsudo altar along with the Eitaikyo book and the temple’s Kakocho, the death records book.

The West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple is providing its rummage sale inventory of goods and supplies to the fire victims. Rev. Takata said the West Los Angeles temple’s board of directors planned to discuss other options to aid those in need.

Rev. Ryuta Furumoto, Resident Minister of the Senshin Buddhist Temple, said a few Senshin members had to evacuate from their homes.

Rev. John Iwohara, Resident Minister of the Gardena Buddhist Church, said some Sangha families were assisting families displaced by the fires.

In addition, Rev. Furumoto, Supervising Minister of the Buddhist Church of Santa Barbara and Oxnard Buddhist Temple, reported that a few Oxnard members were affected by the November fire that scorched the foothills of Camarillo.

Gomonshu Kojun Ohtani has expressed his concerns for those who have lost their homes in the Southern District, and the Hongwanji in Kyoto, Japan, will be sending over a simple home altar kit for families to use.  Bishop Rev. Marvin Harada will be delivering them to those families on behalf of the Gomonshu in the near future.

Relief Efforts

There has been an outpouring of support for the victims affected by the Palisades and Eaton fires.

Southern District temples are supporting community programs or holding their own events.

Two donation drives were organized in the West Los Angeles and downtown Los Angeles Little Tokyo communities over the weekend of Jan. 11-12.

Kent Marume, a member of the Vista Buddhist Temple, and his counterpart, Kiyomi Mitsuda, spearheaded the community efforts.

Contributions of water, canned foods, clothing and other disaster relief supplies were received on Jan. 11 at the Venice Japanese Community Center.

On the following day, at the Los Angeles Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple parking lot, similar donations were received with all goods sent to It’s Bigger Than Us Los Angeles, a nonprofit organization aiding fire victims and first responders.

“We received outstanding support from both the West Los Angeles and Little Tokyo communities,” Marume said. “We had community members donating water, non-perishable food, toiletries, hygiene products and clothes the entire duration of both drives.” 

According to Marume, donations from the two events totaled approximately 15 pallets worth of goods.

“It was overwhelming to see all the donations. It filled up the lobby area of the (VJCC) gym,” Venice Hongwanji Buddhist Temple President Tom Nakagiri said.

In San Diego, a campaign to collect monetary and in-kind donations of gift cards was held at its Sunday service on Jan. 12. The temple received over $3,800 in gifts. The gift cards for grocery stores, Target, Walmart, Home Depot and restaurants were sent to Pasadena.

“The gift cards were a great idea,” said Rev. Gibbs, San Diego’s Supervising Minister. “I am delivering them along with other supplies and food.”

He noted that PBT has received many donations from the Southern District temples and relief agencies.

“We received a great deal of supplies from Orange County Buddhist Church,” Rev. Gibbs said. “Water, toiletries, clothing and snacks were received, and we have been handing them out to anybody who comes to the temple.

“We received a lot of gift cards from San Diego and that has been very helpful,” Rev. Gibbs continued. “Families have been grateful to receive gift cards to restaurants, grocery and department stores.” 

OCBC President Bryan Furumoto described the damage to the area when supplies were delivered to the Pasadena Temple.

“During our drive, we witnessed some of the extensive damage the neighborhood suffered,” he said. “Upon arrival, we were greeted by grateful Pasadena Sangha members.”

In support of its Sangha and community, the Pasadena Buddhist Temple established the PBT Eaton Sangha Support Fund.

To date, PBT has reported over $34,000 in monetary gifts through the GiveButter campaign. 

“Our fundraiser for our Sangha support efforts blew past its online goal of $20,000 in about 72 hours — amazing support,” said Pasadena member Kathy Kumagai.

PBT is also supporting the GoFundMe drives for Sangha members who are in need of assistance. 

The fundraising drives can be found on the PBT website homepage https://www.pasadenabuddhisttemple.org/eaton-fire-info.html

Looking Ahead

The Pasadena Buddhist Temple has teamed up with Azay restaurant, the Japanese Cultural Institute of Pasadena, Pasadena Nikkei Seniors and the First Presbyterian Church of Altadena to deliver meals and supplies to victims in need.

“Azay, the Japanese French restaurant in Little Tokyo (formerly known as ‘Akira’ in Pasadena), reached out to us in the greater Japanese American communities in the Pasadena and Altadena area to see if impacted people could have meals,” Kyoko Gibbs said.

Azay, along with the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Little Tokyo, Mutual Trading Company, Fugetsu-Do, a manju confectionery sweet shop and Yama Seafood in San Gabriel, are collaborating with the assistance of preparing foods and delivery. 

“Akira Hirose, the former owner of Azay who passed away last year, was always a community supporter, and his family, widow Joann and son Philip, have continued to do so. We are sincerely grateful for their selfless giving,” Kyoko Gibbs added.

The NAACP, which has its Pasadena branch office at the Pasadena Japanese Cultural Institute, is also offering assistance.

“They have kindly offered their relief supplies and two attorneys who have offered their services for free to assist with homeowners' insurance,” event organizer June Chin said. “It’s very reassuring to be able to reach out to each other, whether it’s a bento or a hug.” 

Approximately 470 meals have been prepared for families in Pasadena and Altadena. Volunteers have delivered the meals and other donations, while the Pasadena temple has served as a pickup location. 

“It has been very challenging, both emotionally and physically,” Kyoko Gibbs said. “Yet, experiencing everyone's selfless action is quite touching. We are stronger together.”

Wheel of Dharma Editor Jon Kawamoto contributed to this article.