Ashes and piles of rubble surround neighborhoods dotting the streets of Altadena, California. Trucks full of the debris of burned down homes rumble through neighborhoods. The mountains in the background, once full of life, are now a desolate landscape of black dots of burnt bushes. A fire and a strong wind took homes and memories in an instant.
In the aftermath of this catastrophic event, crews continue to work tirelessly to clean up the debris from each property. Signs with addresses stick up from the ground where homes once stood. As well as cones and caution tape surrounding the area to prevent any people from walking onto the property.
Destroyed, abandoned and burnt cars surround the empty lots. Some homes and businesses still stand as well, despite the burned-down houses next to them.
Back in January 2025, the Eaton fire lasted more than three weeks and caused devastation to 14,021 acres of Los Angeles County and mainly Altadena. More than 100,000 people evacuated their homes to escape the flames.
A lifetime resident of Altadena Sergio Cuellar witnessed both the fire and the wind near his home and evacuated with his parents.
“When we were evacuating, I saw embers flying and falling down next door on our neighbors’ [house],” Cuellar said.
Cuellar’s neighborhood survived the fires, but much of the surrounding area did not.
“I was [under] the belief that it burned down,” Cuellar said. “I [didn’t] think our house made it. I mean the school burned down, and it’s [right] next to us.”
For Cuellar and many others, they only took what they needed and left as quickly as they could, with an uncertainty of the future.
“I just took a few clothes, I left everything, and that’s another thing too, since I thought the house had burned down, [I realized] I spent so much on things that I knew weren’t worth spending [on],” Cuellar said. “After that, I [realized] I need to stop spending on [unnecessary] stuff. Our lives are more valuable than materialistic things.”
Recovery efforts for those who lost their homes are still in progress as well. Churches, shelters, food banks, and other charity organizations in the Altadena area still provide for those impacted by the fires.
Click here for a link to organizations providing help for those impacted.
