ALTADENA, Calif. — Candace Frazee recently walked through the burnt remains of The Bunny Museum, searching for anything that could be salvaged before workers cleared the land.
The Eaton Fire in Southern California in January scorched more than 60,000 bunny objects and memorabilia, leaving behind mounds of ash, steel and concrete littered across the landscape. Giant bunny statues that once greeted guests were left just wiry, hollow skeletons. Her home in the back was also gone.
Yet amid the debris, there are valuable materials being redeemed: Metal, concrete and some trees are being recycled and given new life.
“It’s fantastic. It’s absolutely fantastic,” said Frazee of recycling the materials, who co-founded the museum with her husband. “That’s the right thing to do.”
After the Palisades and Eaton fires scorched entire neighborhoods, the Army Corps of Engineers set up operations to recycle concrete and metal from mostly fire-damaged homes. Metal is