The owner of an Altadena bike shop is giving back to those impacted by the LA County wildfires even after losing his own business to the Eaton Fire.
Steve Salinas, owner of Steve’s Bike Shop, was helping hose down the homes of his brother and Altadena neighbors while the Eaton Fire swept through his storefront.
“Tuesday night I got a call from my brother that there was a fire started in Eaton Canyon and we know the drill cause we’ve been through a few fires,” said Salinas.
The business owner closed shop and headed two miles northeast towards the mountains with his son Raleigh to help protect his brother’s home.
More than eight hours later, Salinas drove to his house in Pasadena for a quick break before checking on the Altadena home of his friend Jimmy Orlandini.
“I decided to stop because his front yard was starting to catch on fire,” said Salinas.
Together, Salinas and Orlandini got on the roof and began hosing down the home as well as the neighbors.
Steve was able to help save three homes that night but was surprised to find that his business did not have the same fate. The storefront where he’s worked 40 years, along with dozens of vintage bikes were all gone due to the Eaton Fire.
“In the time I’ve spent looking through the rubble, there’s some stuff that we can bring back. And then there’s some stuff that is aluminum that melted and we can’t bring back,” said Salinas. “So we’ll find more stuff. It’s okay, people have lost a lot more.”
Faced with the ashes of burnt bicycles and totaled tools, Salinas put out a flyer asking for bike donations to once again help those in need.
“We’re still collecting bikes, giving them to people that have lost everything,” said Salinas. “There are people who have lost their bikes that use them for transportation so those are the ones that we’re trying to get taken care of first.”
So far, Salinas said he’s received more than 100 donated bikes from people across LA County and was even surprised to find four more bikes left in front of his business as he spoke with NBCLA.