Tuesday, June 30, 2026

New Audio Documentary Tells the Story of the Altadena Sawmill Turning Fire-Damaged Trees Into Lumber

[photo credit: Angel City Reciprocity]

EagleVision Entertainment series profiles Angel City Lumber founder and the Reciprocity Project supplying wood to fire survivors

The oaks and pines that burned in the Eaton Fire are showing up in Altadena again — not as trees, but as floorboards, molding, and trim for the homes being built near where the vdery trees once stood.

A new audio documentary series now tells the story of the sawmill operator behind that transformation. Nature, Incorporated, produced by Los Angeles-based EagleVision Entertainment Corporation, launched its first episode June 29.

The episode profiles Jeff Perry, founder of Boyle Heights sawmill Angel City Lumber and the driving force behind the Altadena Reciprocity Project, according to a company press release distributed through PR Newswire.

Perry grew up in Boston and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in Hollywood, according to the press release. An encounter with a fallen tree on a path he walked with his son redirected his life, and he went on to found Angel City Lumber.

His project, operated through the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Angel City Reciprocity, mills fire-damaged trees salvaged from the Eaton Fire burn zone into finish-grade lumber and sells it exclusively to Altadena residents at below-market prices. The Eaton Fire, which began January 7, 2025, in Eaton Canyon, destroyed 9,418 structures, according to Cal Fire, and killed at least 19 people.

Perry, who has spent a decade milling fallen trees across Los Angeles County, partnered with landscape architects Ruth Siegel and Blake Jopling after the fire to launch the effort, according to LAist. The operation mills logs at a temporary site established with Las Flores Canyon Water Company. Roughly half the logs came from the Altadena Golf Course debris area, where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers set them aside during cleanup, and the other half from a U.S. Forest Service contract to remove hazard trees from the Angeles National Forest, Pasadena Now reported in January 2026.

The lumber is intended for millwork — flooring, molding, cabinet fronts, casings, and trim. Perry estimated the project could yield one to two million board feet, enough to supply material for 500 Altadena homes, Pasadena Now reported.

“Trees are a gift, from germination through death,” Perry told LAist in April 2025. “And we can continue to utilize the gift of wood from these trees, or we can squander that gift, which I believe is very disrespectful.”

The press release states Perry saved more than 1,000 trees and set up a local sawmill within a year of the fire. The documentary is hosted by Bryan H. Shepard, whom the company describes as a media veteran, author, and four-time Emmy Award winner, and produced by Monica Downer, whom the company describes as a two-time Emmy Award winner and media professional. EagleVision states it has provided broadcast production services in the entertainment industry for more than 35 years and is now primarily focused on nature-based content, according to the company.

“We created this audio documentary to shine a light on people like Jeff who are actively rewriting how humanity interacts and supports local ecosystems,” Shepard said in the press release.

Matthew Burrows, an Altadena homeowner who lost his home in the fire, told Pasadena Now in January 2026 that he hopes to incorporate wood from his property into his rebuilt house. “Bringing that tree back into our lives, it’ll just be a constant reminder of those beautiful days that were and the amazing future that it’s gonna be,” Burrows said.

The first episode of Nature, Incorporated is available for streaming at natureincdoc.com and on most podcast platforms, according to the press release. The series is also accepting story submissions from people involved in environmental stewardship at natureincdoc.com. Altadena residents who wish to purchase lumber from the Reciprocity Project can do so at the Las Flores Canyon sawmill site with proof of Altadena residence. Donations to Angel City Reciprocity can be made at angelcityreciprocity.org. Additional information about the lumber project is available at angelcitylumber.com.

“By doing this, we’re hoping that those trees and their legacy will stay in the community,” Perry told LAist. “Their stories will live on, and it’ll maintain the spirit and vibe — essentially — of Altadena.”