raze

Ms Townsend said she believes buildings should be repurposed rather than razed to the ground:

Heavy earthmoving equipment had been driven off road, large perennial shrubs were uprooted and an acre under active restoration was razed by bulldozer, the letters state.

The library and the area around it are an example of the changed Altadena landscape: dozens of homes razed, while many appear minimally damaged.

Some will move to new neighborhoods and those who remain will be hesitant to visit the surviving shops surrounded by razed rubble that, in some places, looks like a war zone.

Lawmakers announced the effort just weeks after two devastating fires razed parts of Los Angeles County in January — typically one of the slowest months for fires.