Latinos in Altadena Mourn Their Community: "It's Not Only the Rich and Famous Getting Burned"

Thirty years ago, the García family decided to set roots in Altadena. Today, their tight-knit community seems like a memory as unprecedented wildfires continue to engulf entire neighborhoods in southern California.

As of Friday morning, at least 10 people have died and tens of thousands have been forced to evacuate. As many as 10,000 structures have been destroyed by the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire, per state authorities.

"It's a nightmare. My soul and my heart ache. Everything is gone. Houses, schools, churches, banks. Everything," Teresa García, who is originally from Poncitlán, Jalisco, a small town in Central Mexico, told The Latin Times. Teresa and her husband had settled in Altadena because many people from her small town lived there. They lost everything as well.

The García family evacuated their home on Monday, but not because of the Eaton Fire—at least, not initially. "Every year, the Santa Ana Winds hit our area, and we were afraid a big tree might fall on our house, so we decided to stay at a hotel," explained Mayte García, Teresa's daughter. "We had heard about the Eaton Fire, but we never thought it would reach our home," she added.

By Tuesday, with just a change of clothes, their wallets, and their dog, they left their house, unaware it would be the last time they saw it intact. "I woke up at 5 a.m. on Wednesday to check my phone and saw that the fire had already reached our neighborhood," Mayte recounted.

At 8 a.m. the family drove toward their neighborhood only to find the streets leading to their home blocked. Some neighbors were evacuating while others stayed behind, desperately throwing buckets of water from their roofs in a last-ditch effort to save their homes—but it was all in vain. "Every single house on our street burned down," Mayte said.

"It's blocks and blocks of houses burned to the ground. So many neighbors, friends, working class people. We all lost everything," Teresa added. "It's not only the rich and famous getting burned."

A few blocks away, their neighbor, María Flores from Mexcaltitan, Nayarit–an autonomous indigenous community in Mexico–also lost everything. At 2 a.m. on Wednesday an evacuation alert sent to her cell phone by local authorities woke her family up.

"We got out of the house in that same instant with only our pajamas and slippers," she recounted. "Our neighborhood looks like a dynamite field."

The family initially found refuge in a Pasadena shelter, but they had to leave due to heavy smoke that went into the building. "The smoke caused my chest to ache. They gave us face masks and water, but it didn't help," she said.

Both María and Teresa told the Latin Times that their community has been a crucial lifeline amid what they described as a "living nightmare." Neighbors were the ones sending them videos and updates of their homes. Teresa and her husband own a small apartment complex, which was saved by their renters.

"They climbed onto the roof and threw buckets of water at the flames," she said. "They called my husband and told him they would stay as long as they could. We are so grateful for our community." Their renters, mostly construction workers, have offered to rebuild the García family's home for free during their spare time.

The Flores family has found temporary refuge in a friend's home, while the García family is staying at their eldest son's house in Pasadena, located just 20 blocks from the Eaton Fire at the time of the interview. "We've heard the fire is getting closer—it hasn't been contained," Teresa said. The family expressed frustration over the state's apparent lack of resources and water to combat the fire.

Meanwhile, about 8,000 fire personnel are responding to at least five fires in the region, with the Eaton and Palisades fires being the largest. Together, the fires have scorched approximately 35,000 acres as of Friday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

As of Friday morning, around 180,000 people have had to evacuate and another 200,000 people are under evacuation warnings, per the LA County Sheriff's Department. In a recent press appearance, LA Sheriff Robert Luna said, "Unfortunately I think the death toll will rise–I hope I'm wrong."

Firefighting efforts have been hindered by unusually dry conditions and strong winds, which have grounded firefighting aircraft. The National Weather Service reported wind speeds have slowed down, but they "will still be strong enough to be of concern" in the coming days.