Residents get OK to return to fire-damaged trailer park

Sylmar’s burning again. That’s what Heidi Bayandor thought last November when she looked out her window and saw flames lapping at the foothills near her home in Oakridge Mobile Home Park.

She quickly headed to her brother’s home in Beverly Hills. The Sayre fire burned through 11,000 acres in the San Fernando Valley and destroyed nearly 500 residences -- most of them in her community.

So when her smoke-damaged home was deemed habitable by state housing officials Monday, Bayandor cried tears of joy. “It’s been devastating, but I’m grateful that I have what I have,” she said.

Of the 600 homes originally in the park, 101 were cleared for residency, 17 required additional repairs and the rest were damaged beyond repair, according to a spokeswoman for Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon, who represents the area. Electricity and water were expected to be fully functional, and residents whose homes were certified by an inspector could move back in. The park had been closed for nearly six months while crews removed toxic debris left by the six-day blaze that was battled by more than 1,000 firefighters.

Some displaced residents plan to get a new home in the park to stay close to friends.

Bayandor said the nature of her tight-knit community is evident in her garden, where roses bloom and the smell of jasmine floats in the air.

Since the fire, the association’s security guards stopped by on their own accord to water the yard.

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