A week after wildfires tore through the community of Altadena, the smell of destruction still hangs in the air. The acrid smoke seeped into the walls of homes that survived the Eaton fire, which burned 7,000 buildings and killed at least 15 people.
On Woodbury Road, where unblemished homes stand in between blackened lots of charred rubble, the devastation overwhelms the senses. The houses that haven’t completely collapsed offer glimpses of life before disaster arrived – pitchers and mugs in a cabinet, all a deep black, a bed still standing, a scorched bicycle and children’s toys.
In front of one flattened lot is a nearly untouched lemon tree, and nearby someone has set out cat food. In the distance, flame retardant streaks the hillside. Some of the burned properties have laminated papers with links to GoFundMe pages.
Jose Medina has seen fire again and again in the 40 years he has lived off Woodbury Road. But the fire that unfolded around his community last week felt akin to a world war, he said. “It was the worst fire I have ever seen in my life,” he said in the yard of his still standing home, where his family is operating a donation center for their neighbors.
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One week on, Medina and others here are only just beginning to reckon with the ways in which their lives and the entirety of Altadena have been forever changed. Large swaths of the community are cordoned off, leaving many still unable to access their properties. Law enforcement and national guards are stationed at the entrances of blocked streets.
On Wednesday, displaced residents collected clothes and shoes in front of Medina’s home, where his family normally operates a business selling churros. The family began gathering donations from individuals and community groups last week and dozens of their neighbors have come by each day. People have brought donations from all over California, said Jose Velazquez, Medina’s nephew.
The street was quiet in the morning, save for the sound of demolition workers scraping up debris and vegetation, as people silently sorted through the dozens of shoes, sneakers and tiny baby sandals.
Velazquez can tell who lost a home just by the somber looks on people’s faces, he said.
“People are all so grateful. Some people break down here, and start crying,” Velazquez said.
When the fire broke out, Velazquez and Medina stayed behind. They watered their roof and lawn for hours as well as the homes of their neighbors. But a massive burning palm tree spewed large embers directly onto the homes on the street. Soon the houses started going up one after another, the fire reducing them to rubble and turning cars into charred metal husks.
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“I knew right then we’re screwed. It was just messed up, you know, driving away, seeing your neighbor’s house on fire,” Velazquez said. The garage burned up, and with it Velazquez’s business selling Pokémon cards. But the family home made it. They quickly got to work collecting donations, he said. Some of the signs they used for their business have been repurposed to direct residents to resources.
The community has always supported them, Velazquez said, and the family wanted to do the same for them.
“From the moment we started our business to the very end, you know, like they’ve been here. It’s a very close community.”
Despite the devastation, he’s hopeful Altadena will return. “Everybody wants to come back to this community.”