Thursday, February 26, 2026
Their Post Office was destroyed, but they’ve stayed on the job
Employees in Altadena, CA, persevere after a devastating wildfire
USPS employees from the Altadena, CA, Post Office recently marked the one-year anniversary since their workplace and routes were ravaged by Southern California’s wildfires.
Their response, mission and resilience continue to contribute to the Postal Service’s emergency playbook. Altadena was one of six Post Offices that closed because of the disaster.
On the morning of Jan. 7, 2025, a fire started in a nearby canyon and swept through Altadena. The blaze killed at least 19 people and destroyed more than 9,000 buildings, including the Altadena Post Office. It was the fifth most deadly and second most destructive fire in California history.
However, Altadena postal employees showed up to work the next day. They reported to the Pasadena, CA, Post Office as supervisors developed a plan to reroute mail.
“Everyone was all-hands-on-deck,” said Israel Coleman, Altadena’s customer services supervisor, who explained that the letter carriers and clerks were “the heavy lifters of the effort. They were the backbone for Altadena.”
Leticia Thornton, Pasadena’s computerized forwarding services manager, worked with California 4 District leadership to integrate the Altadena team into the Pasadena Post Office.
“They just lost their Post Office,” she said. “I took it upon myself to make them feel welcome. I wanted them to feel like they were coming into their office, not our office.”
During the weeks following the wildfires, the Pasadena Post Office would serve more than 4,000 customers a day as most sought change-of-address forms and their mail.
Altadena’s response further served as a natural disaster template when Typhoon Halong devastated the Alaska villages of Kwigillingok and Kipnuk last October.
As the Altadena community rebuilds, customers have expressed their gratitude to employees.
“When our customers see us driving up just for them, it brings a sense of normalcy,” Altadena Letter Carrier Heather Gonzalez said. “It makes them feel like they’re not abandoned.”
Email us your feedback. Your comments could be included in our “Mail” column.
Off the Clock
He knows how to create a scene
This electronic technician has been painting landscapes for 40 years
My name is Gary Harned and I’m an electronic technician for the Postal Service in Grand Junction, CO.
When I’m not at work, you can find me painting landscapes — a passion of mine for nearly 40 years.
I was always the guy who would hang out in his room building models, doodling and sketching. My college roommate was an architectural student, and he introduced me to a new realm of structured art.
After I graduated with a degree in marketing management, I went back to school to study architectural design. I left after two years when I realized I preferred the art side of things.
I met a landscape painter, Ed Szmyd, through my father. Ed took me under his wing and showed me avenues I wouldn’t have considered. Even though I’m largely self-taught, you could say I became a long-distance student of Ed’s.
I lived in North Carolina in the 1980s and my landscapes reflected that environment. But when I moved to rural western Colorado in 1991, North Carolina’s dogwoods and rhododendrons were replaced by Colorado’s deserts, arroyos and canyons.
Right now, I’m working on a composition of two older gentlemen on the front porch of a country market. I first thought about that years ago but only recently got the inspiration to start it.
I’ll be thinking of something for years and not act on it until the muse hits. She’s always there. Sometimes she tells me something, but I don’t listen and it’s my mistake. She’s smarter than I am.
I was able to support myself as an artist early on, but life throws you a curve and eventually I had to get a job. I worked at an airline for 17 years until my position ended in 2011.
That’s when I joined the Postal Service.
I work a 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. shift during what they call the run tour, when machines process letters. I learned about machines as a kid from tinkering in the garage with my dad. I even ran a side business maintaining and restoring Mercedes-Benzes decades ago.
Each day I get to use two sides of my brain — the painter on one side and the technician on the other.
From late fall to early spring, I spend 2-3 hours each morning painting before work, but there is too much going on in summer to paint.
I plan on spending a great deal more time in my studio after I retire.
“Off the Clock,” a column on Postal Service employees and their after-hours pursuits, appears regularly in Link.
Mail
Everything old is new again
Reader heartened by resurgence in letter writing
Email us your feedback. Your comments could be included in our “Mail” column.
Central Area, Michigan 2 District on top in scanning
A snapshot of Postal Service scanning data shows the national rating was 97.57 percent during the week ending Feb. 20, down 0.11 percent from one week earlier.
The data was collected Feb. 25.
Central led the four areas with a rating of 97.8 percent, while Atlantic ranked last with a 97.3 percent rating.
Among the 50 districts, Michigan 2, part of Central Area, ranked first with a 98.47 percent rating, while Alaska, part of WestPac Area, ranked last with a 94.47 percent rating.
Scanning data allows customers to track their mail and packages, which helps USPS deliver excellent service, boost loyalty and drive revenue.
To see the latest data, go to the Informed Visibility website and select “Customer Experience,” followed by “DES 2 Scan Performance.” Postal Service employees must request Informed Visibility access through eAccess.
View past printouts
Printout details
What's included
-
Their Post Office was destroyed, but they’ve stayed on the job
-
Off the Clock
He knows how to create a scene
This electronic technician has been painting landscapes for 40 years
-
Mail
Featured reader quote
“I loved your story about an Associated Press article on the resurgence of writing letters. I love to see younger people turn off their phones to engage in more meaningful...”
— Zachary Laux, Pine Bluffs, WY
-
Brief
Central Area, Michigan 2 District on top in scanning