The Residency Project @ 880 is still standing, and we're deeply grateful, especially given the devastating losses in our neighboring community, where over 6,000 homes and countless businesses and schools were destroyed in the Eaton Fire. While some may rebuild, the impact is permanent for many. Our community is forever changed.

At the same time, the TRP team is facing our own challenges. We’ve hesitated to fully express our situation out of awe and respect for the survivors’ incredible resilience, but it’s important to illuminate the wider fallout from the Eaton Fire and the January windstorm. Many in our community are facing similar struggles with no guidance and few resources, and it's vital to acknowledge and validate their experiences by sharing our own story.

TRP's full-time residents fled the house in the middle of the night on January 7th. The power went out, flames were visible from our upstairs studio, and smoke filled our home. The windstorm that preceded the fires reached 100mph, uprooting trees, downing power lines, and causing widespread damage. The wind spread the flames rapidly, and toxic ash rained down for a week, damaging homes and businesses far beyond the immediate fire zone.

Our house needs a full roof replacement, and the smoke remediation process has been grueling. After six weeks of displacement, we’re back, but only because the residency has been professionally deep-cleaned. We had industrial air scrubbers running nonstop, and the process involved specialized hazmat cleaning of every single item in the house—from clothes and furniture to plates and cups to books and artworks. The physical and emotional toll has been significant. For weeks, we could only enter the house wearing full protective gear, and Matt even suffered a chemical burn from coming into contact with toxic ash.

Though many homes including ours were never in the direct burn area or forced evacuation zone, they were unlivable for weeks due to the ash, smoke, and wind damage. Many structures on the outskirts of the fire are still undergoing restoration, and I've spoken to community members who are still displaced these two months later, at the mercy of over-stretched disaster remediation crews, wading through arduous insurance processes.

While we’re fortunate to be back in our house, it’s still under repair, and we're not able to host residents at this time. We had to cancel our three upcoming artists-in-residence with a commitment to hosting them in the future, in some capacity at least. In truth, the future of TRP @ 880 is up in the air as we explore alternative spaces and program models that will work better for us in this next chapter of life.

In the meantime, we are focusing on supporting our neighbors and healing as a community. The broader fallout from the fire hasn't been fully acknowledged by officials, and many people in similar situations to ours are still under-resourced and under-recognized. To those in similar circumstances: We see you. We are with you.

With love and hope,
Sarah Umles
Founder & Steward, The Residency Project