What I Learned From the Eaton Fire

Editor’s Note: This article was featured in the Special Edition of Eaton Fire, which was officially released in print on Wednesday, January 15, 2025.

The day after…a burnt sign (Photo – Melissa Michelson)

I don’t live in Altadena, but it has been a second-home community for me for the past 15 years.

By Melissa Michelson

I was on the ground in the area the day after the windstorm, witnessing fire burning, smoke billowing, and block after block of 100% destruction.

This is what I’ve learned in the past few days.

• People who have lost their homes don’t have an immediate need for massive amounts of clothes, kitchen supplies or food. Their cars might be burned out and they don’t have a home to take the items back to. They may be staying with family or friends outside the area. Donation drives need to continue, but later.
• People who have lost their homes need to know the status of their homes as soon as possible to see it with their own eyes, and they need to start paperwork.
• When you ask people who have lost their homes, and who are standing on the rubble of their homes if they need help or need anything, their disbelief and sorrow doesn’t allow them to answer with something definitive, so the answer is ‘no, we’re ok.’ Or maybe what they need, like to file insurance papers, is out of our reach.
• There are bad actors who will try to profit from the loss: looters, scammers, etc.
• There are a lot of people that are not affected that want to help and are there. This gives me hope. People showed up with tons of water bottles, pizzas, etc. Neighbors really do care about neighbors.
• Fires don’t just stay high up in the mountains.
• Don’t expect the fire trucks to be where fires are. Don’t expect them to even have enough water in the fire hose.
• Don’t be upset if the power company turns off your power. You won’t have internet, Netflix or social media, and you may lose the food in your fridge. It may be pre-emptive so electric fires in other areas don’t get started, with embers floating over your area and burning your neighborhood down.
• People start freaking out when they are miles away and hoard, when they are nowhere near harm’s way.
• Evacuation orders are there for a reason. Follow them.
• N-95 masks aren’t just for COVID.
• Make an evacuation list of essentials to grab n’ go, and update it every year, with a reminder to do so. It can help you focus in a time of chaos, and if you’re not nearby, a friend can follow your suggestions for you. Room by room, or in order of most important to least.
• Most of us will be affected by a major earthquake rather than fire. We need to have multiple, annually-updated disaster kits in car, at work, and at home, ideally outside.
• Self-care, including talking to others about your grief and anger, is important.
• Massive fires will happen again, given the lack of rain and the abundance of dry land.