After the Fires, an LA Neighborhood Tries Building Back Together

Kim and Chien Yu’s love story began with a giant dalmatian costume. Kim was donning the head of a Sparky the Fire Dog suit for a public awareness day at the Pasadena Fire Department when she spotted Chien, a former high school classmate turned firefighter. Kim, who’d recently started a job as a hazardous materials inspector for the city, struck up a conversation—easy to do in the guise of a friendly canine. Their shared history led to a date, and within a few years they married and had two sons. In 2018 they bought a house a few doors down ...