Wildfire-torn Altadena Hardware faces destructive Santa Ana winds, brick wall tumbles over

Strong Santa Ana winds knocked down a portion of what remained of Altadena Hardware over the weekend, adding another blow to the Eaton Fire-damaged business.

Around 8 p.m. on Saturday, as Debbie Collins was leaving her neighboring business, Ms. Dragon Print & Copy, she saw the toppled bricks, once an exterior wall, scattered onto the street. She said she had parked her car near the hardware building, and firefighters told her to move her car before more of the building came down.

Collins said the wall collapse damaged some parked cars. "The bricks were halfway across the street here," she said. "I know they are in here today to knock this historic building down. Everybody knows Altadena Hardware here."

Altadena Hardware opened its doors more than 90 years ago, and in January 2025, store owners helplessly watched it burn as the Eaton Fire tore through town.

Jim Orlandini rushed to check on the store as his sons, Jimmy and Rob, battled the flames threatening the family's three Altadena homes. He says his sons, the fourth generation of a hardware store family, considered being able to buy Altadena Hardware back in 2010 a privilege.

"It was like a firestorm, and the street was burning on both sides. The first thing I thought to myself, I have to tell my two boys that the hardware store they built up and put their whole life into is gone," Orlandini said.

One month after the fire, store owners told CBS LA they were developing an online shopping site to personally deliver to customers in the hard-hit community. Rebuilding the hardware storefront was expected to take several years. The family saved their three homes and their neighbors' homes.

Collins stood in front of the partially toppled building and told news reporters, "I'm glad you're here to record it. Because once it's gone, it will be gone."