The Eaton fire wiped out a century-old Sierra Madre lodge in January, but not the determination of its members who celebrated their signature Oktoberfest on Saturday. Once the rubble was removed and a stage was built on top of the ruins, the 200-member Nature Friends club lit up the grill in their biergarten to shouts of prosta! and beer mugs raised. The children climbed rehabilitated paths and some danced schuhplattlera Bavarian folk dance with lots of stomping and slapping of the thighs and feet.
Friends of nature The hostel, built in a picturesque Bavarian style by German immigrants in 1923, had been reduced by the fire to piles of charred wood, twisted metal and broken dishes. Nine months after the destruction, the club was ready for its phoenix moment.
Nature Friends, a 100-year-old rustic mountain retreat, hosted its annual Oktoberfest on new platforms built on the rubble left by the Eaton Fire.
(Gary Coronado / For The Times)
“Our members have seen the fire as a challenge, not a deal breaker,” said Nature Friends president Jim Angus. “There is a new sense of opportunity and even excitement about reimagining the property.” The nonprofit plans to rebuild the three-story lodge in stages as the founders did, preserving its alpine look but adding modern innovations. Fundraising efforts They have raised about $140,000.
Nature Friends is a branch of Nature Freundefounded in 1895 by social democrats to enrich the lives of factory workers in Vienna. The parent organization It champions ecological and socio-political causes and operates 700 lodges around the world offering affordable accommodation and nature activities.
Although dirndls and leather pants predominated at the Oktoberfest, which was attended by about 60 people, Nature Friends is not a German social club, but rather a paradise for lovers of nature, art and culture.
“I love Nature Friends because it reminds me of home, north of Tehran, a place called Darband,” said member Lila Ghobady, who hosted Nowruz, the Persian New Year celebration, at the lodge in 2023 in memory of her sister, Fereshteh.
Sierra Madre Clubhouse, Nature Friends lodge, newly built in 1924.
(Courtesy of Nature Friends, Los Angeles)
A dreamy mountain town, Darband reflects the simplicity of canyon life along Woodland Drive, which leads to Nature Friends. The path is lined with stone walls and cabins adorned with flags, painted rocks, wind chimes and gnomes – a mini Topanga Canyon anchored by Mary's Marketa 103-year-old eclectic country restaurant and store.
Ghobady said Nature Friends recalls her free-spirited teenage days in Darband when, with friends, she escaped the strict dress code laws. “We would take off our hijabs, eat good food and party together,” she said. “Nature Friends has the same kind of rich Persian culture, a community that celebrates life, nature and beauty.”
Wielding a sledgehammer to help clear debris from the shelter in February, I found remnants of that community that the fire had saved: an iron triangle we pounded before community dinners, a cup of coffee I drank after late-night binges with friends, and a handprint pressed into cement by a long-time member. Countless acts of love had gone into maintaining and beautifying the lodge.
As a member for 30 years and past president, I have seen the organization evolve into a center for diverse groups, some nonconformist: drum circles, shamanic trainings, sweat lodges, yoga retreats, sound baths, ecological conferences and the Body Electric School, founded in San Francisco during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s to teach Taoist and tantric massages.
But long before the fire, the shelter had already reinvented itself several times.
At first glance, the organization offers potlucks, movie nights, and holiday gatherings open to all. But dig deeper and what Angus calls the club's “hidden history” emerges.
“We have never been exactly what we appear to be,” he said.
The club had largely been a German expatriate club that also had Jewish members. That began to change in the early 1990s.
1. Six-year-old Lionel Gaimari, left, imitates Julian Hasenfratz, out of frame, during an Oktoberfest dance contest at Nature Friends. 2. Joan Waller, 87, left, and DeeAnne Gunnemann help themselves to German food. 3. Grilled cheddar sausage. (Gary Coronado / For The Times)
“We brought friends, a gay element and free spirits,” said Bruce Anderson, whose house across from Nature Friends was saved from the fire. Her Cuban-born husband, Ken Symington, became Nature Friends' caretaker in 1993, a position he held until his death at age 90 in 2022. Symington mentored hundreds of seekers who gathered at the lodge for events and concerts. He also became the driving force that kept the club solvent and prosperous, in part by offering the property as a wedding venue.
After meeting Symington, he invited me and others to co-found the Invisible Theatre. Starting in 1998, our group of 30 celebrated a decade of annual performances, an underground event that explored themes of masculinity. It was a rare collaboration that deeply connected our tribe through art, play, and self-expression.
For the record:
7:17 pm October 22, 2025A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Zak Clark is the manager of the club. He is director of operations.
After Symington's death, the club began another reinvention. Zak Clark became the club's first director of operations and lived in the bunkhouse on the property that later survived the fire. It attracted younger members and encouraged hands-on participation.
“We're emphasizing the importance of volunteerism and people love it,” said Clark, who led the rehabilitation effort. “They want to work with their hands and feel like owners, just like the immigrants who founded the club.”
Nature Friends built a temporary platform between the remaining walls and foundation of the lodge after debris from the fire was removed. (Courtesy of Nature Friends, Los Angeles)
Darrell Goodwin holds a German stein during the Oktoberfest celebration. (Gary Coronado / For The Times)
Two dozen volunteers have worked to make the property usable for outdoor events. Retired contractor Darrell Goodwin, who lives at the end of the canyon, built the 750-square-foot stage and will spearhead the volunteer-led reconstruction of the building. His wife Heidi Goodwin and their family have been regular customers of Nature Friends since the early 1960s, when his German emigrant father, Benno Werstein, joined.
“It was so heavy to see it burn, all that time and love we had poured into the building,” said Lori Werstein, Heidi Goodwin's sister. Months before the fire, she and her mother Barbara Werstein created a Bavarian decoration for the shelter's facade: fake shutters, planters, and door and window moldings. Undaunted, Werstein created new Alpine touches that adorn the ruins' freshly painted concrete walls.
The Eaton Fire destroyed more than 9,400 structures, most in Altadena; Sierra Madre was not as affected.
For members, the fire was just the first in what Clark called a “trifecta of horror.” Winter downpours caused a torrential river to cascade down Yucca Trail, which is located between the level lodge and bunkhouse. Landslides followed, burying parts of the property under four feet of mud.
Then came the bears.broke into Clark's cabin several times, smashing the cabinets and refrigerator; it has been bear proof ever since.
Nature Friends members examine the ruins of the lodge after the Eaton Fire destroyed it in early January.
(Courtesy of Nature Friends, Los Angeles)
By early summer, the cleanup was paying off. The club's rehabilitation effort is focused on expanding its nonprofit status. TO new foundation It is dedicated to restoration, education and dissemination. “The fire gave us permission, or perhaps a mandate, to evolve,” said Angus, who plans to establish family and scouting programs and conservation internships.
Member Jeff Cain took the opportunity to reinvent the surrounding tracks. After clearing swaths of burned aloe plants, he dug up about 500 native plants that he said “will look spectacular in a few years.”
At the Oktoberfest they tied me to a schuhplattler dance contest, losing miserably to 6-year-old Lionel Gaimari. (The dance group Die Gemütlichen Schuhplattler performed at no cost). The winning times for the jug-holding contest (jugs of water held with outstretched arms) were 5 minutes, 57 seconds for the women's group and 7 minutes, 20 seconds for the men's group.
We dug into the potluck and enjoyed member Michael Swain's impromptu band playing classic rock. Lead singer Maggie Moran is no stranger to the risk of fire. Your nearby business, Adams Charging Stationwhich runs donkey supply trips to historic cabins, was financially affected during the 2020 Bobcat Fire.
“She came out to support us and we have done the same,” Clark said. “We are all very vulnerable to fire in this area; we stick together and help each other.”
Verona Gaimari, 3, center, dances at the Oktoberfest at Nature Friends.
(Gary Coronado / For The Times)
Nature Friends to hold its annual “Dezemberfest” night market 4 to 8 pm Dec. 13. Open to all, the event includes craft vendors, a silent auction, live music, and appearances by Santa and Krampus. Price to be determined.
