Survivors in Palisades and Altadena mark anniversary of deadly fires with anger and mourning

""They let us burn,""

""This year has been the hardest year of our lives," said Joy Chen, executive director of the Eaton Fire Survivor Network. "Unimaginable grief. The 31 people who died that day, and the hundreds who have died prematurely since. Home lost. Jobs lost. Incomes lost. A sense of safety and identity stripped away.""

""The five different stages of grief - you can feel them. Sometimes people can feel them almost all at the same time," she said. "There is no right or wrong way to process grief. Everybody processes it in their own way, at their own""

Survivors of two catastrophic California wildfires held remembrance events in Altadena and Pacific Palisades on the one-year anniversary, combining mourning with demands for accountability. Hundreds gathered at a military-style ceremony for 12 Palisades families who lost loved ones. Larger crowds chanted "They let us burn," calling for comprehensive disaster planning, relief, and answers about government failures. Altadena survivors vowed to keep fighting to return home while Fair Oaks Burger reopened an outdoor kitchen and became a community lifeline. Leaders described profound grief, loss of homes, jobs, incomes, and identity, and emphasized varied, ongoing processes of grief and rebuilding.

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