After being largely reduced to ashes by wildfire, Altadena was being patrolled by National Guard soldiers on Friday.
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For residents of this devastated Los Angeles suburb, the arrival of these men in uniform is too little, too late.
“We didn’t see a single firefighter while we were throwing buckets of water to defend our house against the flames” on Tuesday night, said Nicholas Norman, 40.
“They were too busy over in the Palisades saving the rich and famous’s properties, and they let us common folks burn,” the teacher said.
But the fire did not discriminate.
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In the upscale Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, the first to be hit by the flames this week, wealthy residents share the same resentment towards the authorities.