For Japanese Americans displaced by war and now wildfire, roots remain elusive

Johnny Kamon's house before the fire, and after the fire. Photograph: Courtesy of Johnny Kamon

The beige ranch house on Mariposa Street had a tatami room with paper windows – a love letter painstakingly built by Johnny Kamon for his bride as a tribute to their Japanese heritage.

Since purchasing the home in 1965 in Altadena – a suburb nestled against the San Gabriel mountains about 15 miles north of Los Angeles – multiple generations of the Kamon family have poured their woodworking skills into making the home their sanctuary.