"Today, I have a home but no home. My days are filled with the beeps and growls of bulldozers. My nights are draped in the silence of emptiness. What was once one of the coolest secrets in Los Angeles has become a veritable ghost town, the vast empty spaces populated by howling coyotes and scrounging bears. And I'm one of the lucky ones."
"A lot has changed in the 12 months since the Eaton Fire spared my house but destroyed my Altadena neighborhood. I say a daily prayer of thanks that I did not endure the horror of the 19 people who lost their lives and thousands more who lost their homes. I am beyond fortunate to live in what was left behind."
On Jan. 5, 2025 I marveled at a football team's gumption, then two days later fled a fast-moving wildfire through Altadena. The Eaton Fire spared my house but destroyed my neighborhood, killing 19 people and displacing thousands. Venerable homes became weed-choked vacant lots, local businesses turned into empty parking lots, and many For Sale signs lingered. Daily life alternates between bulldozer noise and empty nights, with wildlife in abandoned spaces. I endured months in hotels and Airbnbs, later returned to a remediated home, and carry survivor guilt alongside gratitude for being spared.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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