After the Eaton Fire, these Altadena residents return — with despair and hope — to homes in ruins

A mom and daughter, a cat-loving stage prop designer and a “Forest”-dwelling contractor are among the few who’ve gotten back to see what’s left of their homes. Each fled in a chaotic scramble last week as the winds and embers picked up. They all now wonder if the Altadena they knew can be restored.

“The Nelsons’ house is gone. Joseph’s house is gone. Luella’s house is gone.” Crystal Dedeaux and her 81-year-old mother Virginia peer from the car window and watch what is left of their west Altadena neighborhood roll by as if in a film reel. Street after street, they survey which homes are in ruins and which – by some apparent miracle – stand unscathed amid miles of devastation. “Oh my God, Nina’s house made it, Mom,” Crystal says, leaning forward to catch a glimpse. She speaks softly, almost whispering. “Some of the houses made it.” Wreckage stretches for miles in every direction in this part of middle-class Altadena at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, where the deadly Eaton Fire ignited January 7 and quickly grew into one of California’s most destructive ever. Just four days later, much of the community of about 42,000 known for its eclectic, creative spirit resembles a war zone. Armored vehicles and National Guard personnel block the entrances to still-smoldering neighborhoods, some pioneered decades ago by Black residents redlined out of areas nearby. Charred carcasses of cars flank the sidewalks, their rims melted into pools of silver. Crystal and Virginia are among a lucky few — along with a cat-loving stage prop designer and a “Forest”-dwelling contractor — who have managed to get back so soon, even as others across Southern California’s evacuation zones may not be allowed to return for weeks, or longer. Each fled in a chaotic scramble last week as the winds and embers picked up. They all now wonder if the Altadena they knew can be restored.