By Christion Billy
Howard University News Service
Maureen Douglas said it was terrifying to be among thousands of California residents in the Altadena, Pasadena and Arcadia areas who were forced to evacuate their homes to escape blazing flames.
The destructive wildfires that broke out in the Pacific Palisades and the Eaton Canyon in San Gabriel Mountains left 17 dead in western Altadena, where residents received evacuation notices later than those in other areas, even across town.
The electricity went out in several neighborhoods, alerting some to start evacuating. Officers drove through neighborhoods with loudspeakers, urging residents to leave. Official evacuation notices were sent to the east side of Altadena between 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 7, but the west side did not receive an electronic alert until 3:25 a.m. the next day. The delay, initially attributed to “missteps” in a Government Technology report, is still being investigated.
“We’re on the west side,” said Douglas, who escaped the Eaton fire with her mother and teenage son. “As I backed my car up, it was so dark because there’s no power. I flipped my brights on. I saw we were surrounded by black smoke. And, that’s when I was like, ‘Oh, the fire is here.’”
“We had to be in front of the house to see that the lawn was on fire, and the winds were blowing so hard that the flames were coming horizontally across the street in front of us,” she recalled.
Douglas lost her garage and sheds in the fire, which endangered over 5,000 homes, destroying nearly 90% of them and damaging hundreds more.
Samuel Millender, a resident of Sierra Madre and owner of Resonant Energy Systems Unlimited, feels fortunate that he didn’t lose any property in the wildfires, but he and his family are extra vigilant after having to flee from their home.
“We evacuated for 24 hours,” Millender said. “The smoke was devastating, so we went to Santa Barbara for four days. We’ve been home since then. We don’t see burned houses on my street. But we live with the awareness that things can change quickly.”
The cause is still under investigation, but some wildfire survivors say they believe climate change led to the fires by causing dryer conditions and warmer environments.
Southern California has experienced a drought since the start of 2025, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System. Dryness in Southern California during January was at Level 1, meaning fires were not expected. However, the fire danger is now above the 98th percentile.
According to the California Wildfires history map, more than 20,000 fires were recorded from 1878 to 2020. For 75 years, the number of wildfires has increased each year. The extent of damage also increased, with more than a million acres burned in 2024.
Dwana Willis, an attorney who lives in Altadena, said she was surprised by the unusual weather that contributed to the wildfires.
“We weren’t expecting the fires to hit as low as they did coming into our neighborhood,” she said. “The winds carried the embers for the fires, because they were tornado-style winds.” The winds Willis referenced were 80 to 100 miles an hour.
“We’re used to some pretty heavy winds around 40, 50 miles an hour, but nothing ever compared to what we dealt with,” she said.
Many wildfire survivors took shelter at another family member’s house or a hotel. Some said they were in traffic for hours because so many people were trying to escape at once. Those who left after the 3:25 a.m. evacuation alert said traffic had slowed, making it easier and faster for them to escape.
Binny Milstein, a first-year business major at the University of California at Berkeley, was one of the many caught in the heavier traffic trying to make it to his home.
“It took me around an hour and a half to get back,” Milstein said. “Once I got back, it was already a little late. … So, then I had to quickly, with my mom and brother, grab just my expensive stuff, like my laptop, my iPad, and a couple pairs of clothes.”
Although they survived and escaped injuries from burns, residents are experiencing many health issues. The smoke from the fires can cause reduced lung function, worsened asthma and heart failure. Millender suffered breathing problems after escaping the fire.
“The next morning, I woke up, and I told my wife, ‘Look, we gotta get out of here. I feel like there’s an elephant sitting on my chest,’” he said. “It was really hard to breathe, and I was feeling the effects of the smoke and air quality.”
Families who have returned to their neighborhood described seeing “unsafe” amounts of ash everywhere.
Environmentalists, who promote fire stewardship, are conducting tests in houses and removing excess fuel before residents can return. The Department of Public Works suggests that residents who have minimal property damage call (844) 347-3332, to find out if their house qualifies for debris removal.
Still, the community is coming together to rebuild and support each other. Restaurants and organizations are providing free meals and clothes to survivors.
Moving forward, city officials will stabilize the area and secure public infrastructure. Once environmental hazards are addressed, they will conduct an assessment of the fires and inform the public.
Christion Billy, who grew up in Hayward, California, is a reporter for HUNewsService.com.
