To our readers, these stories are heartfelt from those affected by fire. We hope in reading this that it will make you think how important it is to be prepared.
PROFILES FROM THE ALTADENA FIRES
Resident JOE SIERRA
By Christopher Nyerges
Joe Sierra grew up in Altadena, attending St. Elizabeth parochial school through 8th grade, and then graduating from Pasadena High School.
Around 1967, when the 210 freeway was being built through Pasadena, Joe’s father purchased one of the houses that was being displaced. His father, Jesus, moved it to the family property on North Marengo in Altadena, and re-built it, with his son Joe. The family lived in the smaller, older house in the rear for the new house was being repaired. That “new house” was bigger, grander, and was the center of countless family gatherings all these decades. Until January 7, 2025.
THE FIRE!
Joe recalls that Tuesday, January 7 was extremely windy, and in the early evening, he could look to the east and see the entire hillside north and east of Eaton Canyon on fire.
“Of course, I didn’t think it would get to me. We’ve seen many fires in Altadena, and they always stay in the mountains,” commented Joe.
“We kept on eye on the fire,” continued Joe, “and we checked the progress on the news. But our power went out around 9 p.m., and so we had no more information from the news channels. We were using candles and various flashlight, and the neighborhood was dark, and it was still very windy.”
The power came back on at about 11 p.m., for about an hour, til midnight. During that hour, they had light and they got vital information from the TV. Then the power went out again.
Joe learned that a mandatory evacuation was in effect from Lake Avenue eastward.
“So we thought we were OK,” said Joe. “Marengo is quite a few blocks to the west of Lake.”
He dozed off a bit, and then the wind apparently shifted. He received an urgent phone call from his uncle around 4 a.m, saying, “Joe, are you leaving? Are you leaving?” The high wind made it hard to hear.
At this point, while still on the phone, Joe’s roommate yelled to Joe, “The house across the street is on fire!” Joe said he wasn’t certain what was going on, and the roommate repeated with emphasis, “The house across the street is on fire!”
“So I told my uncle that we’re going too,” said Joe.
They were going to drive away in Joe’s Chevy Malibu, so he put his laptop and some clothes in the Malibu. They put their 3 cats in crate but the crate wouldn’t fit into the Malibu, so they put in Joe’s truck instead. Joe described those short tense moments before departing.
“I grabbed some things, like my wallet. I figured we’d be coming back, but I knew we had to get out right then. Smoke was billowing and gusting with huge embers. My roommate saw flying embers the size of her hand, and I really wasn’t thinking that straight. I think I should have shut off the gas to the house before leaving. I did remember to go back in and get my medications, which I’d just renewed. So we pulled out in the truck, not the Malibu where I’d left some clothes and my laptop. We saw other neighbors also pulling out as we left.”
“Houses were on fire as we were driving down Marengo, and the smoke was very thick. It was hard to think about things. We saw others leaving their homes, and everyone was driving very slow. It was hard to see with the smoke and lashing 90 mph wind. I was on auto-pilot.”
Joe drove south on Marengo to Woodbury, and then drove east to Los Robles and went south. He didn’t notice houses on fire south of Woodbury, but it was too smoky to see well..
“We saw on the news that the Pasadena Civic Center weas the relief center, so that’s where we headed,” said Joe.
Joe described the scene as chaotic. They sat in the truck for a while in the mall parking, and watched people showing up. At the Civic Center, buses were coming from nursing homes, and buses were parked wherever they could. People from the nursing home were going into the large conference room, and Joe saw people in chairs and cots everywhere, with the Red Cross handing out blankets and other emergency things. “It was hard to know what was going on,” he commented.
Joe reported that he had to use the bathroom and there were staff people constantly cleaning it that first night, working hard to keep it clean.
By approximately 7 a.m., Joe and roommate walked west on Green to Ralphs grocery store to purchase some food, such as fruits, protein bars, protein drinks.
Back at the Civic Center they talked with various Altadena neighbors about their experiences. Later in the day Wednesday, things got more organized at the Civic with a lot more people showing up.
Joe got the word that the Altadena area would be off limits for a bit, and he figured it was highly likely that his house was gone, though he didn’t yet know that.
“I called my friend in NC and she told me that I should go put in a claim for house immediately” explains Joe. “So I went to the Pasadena AAA office and waited in line to put in my insurance claim. (Joe had all his insurance with AAA).” The AAA offered a discount coupon to go to Glendale Hotel Windam, on Pacific, just below freeway, and so he went there for the first two nights. “The air was definitely better in Glendale,” he adds, “since it was still very smoky in Altadena.”
He did go back to the Civic Center to get updates and giveaways, and on the following weekend, went there to talk to FEMA advisors. “I learned that my house was destroyed and that I couldn’t immediately go back to see it.”
I wondered how Joe was dealing with the loss of a family home, and all the keepsakes that come from two generations. “The feeling of loss comes in waves, here and there, so I just try to keep dealing with what I need to do at the moment. I made a to-do list and just keep moving forward, just trying to complete what I need to do.”
Joe is not involved in any of the various groups that have sprung up since the fire. “I have been media deprived, actually,” he explains, and he’d not familiar with any of the community activism. He did opt to have the EPA do his property clean-up. He’s kept in touch with what’s happening by talking with others who are in touch with Supervisor Barger
Joe noted that Edison cut lots of tall bushes and trees and an oak tree. “I agree some needed to be trimmed way bac, but they just cut it out entirely.”
Army Corps of Engineers will then take 6 inches of topsoil away and will do no testing for toxins. Though, due to the size of the burn area, Joe has no idea when they will get to his 1/3 acre property.
“When all is done, my thought is to try to rebuild,” says Joe. “I would like to. It depends on many factors.” Though Joe is a retired carpenter and built houses lifelong, there was always someone else who had the blueprints finalized with approved plans. So though he’s done lots of work on commercial buildings, he never built a house before from step one. But he knows the building industry, he explained with a positive tone, and he intends to take the process step by step.
In reviewing what he did right, Joe was glad that he departed when he did. “I don’t think it would have been smart for me to stay and try to fight the fire.”
Joe comments that he wishes he’d been more prepared, and had grabbed more stuff like passport and photos and tax papers. However, “But it all happened so quick!” he said.
