Beauty from Ashes: Journey From the Eaton Fire
On the evening of January 7, 2025, every television channel…
On the evening of January 7, 2025, every television channel in Los Angeles seemed to be airing nonstop coverage of the Eaton Fire. This was not the first fire to destroy homes near Eaton Canyon. My wife and I prayed for the safety of the homeowners and their properties.
Our home was at least five miles west of Eaton Canyon. We didn’t sense a threat from the fire. Around midnight, the power went out in our home. I listened for updates on my battery-operated radio. The mandatory evacuation notice had moved westward to Lake Avenue, about two miles east of our home.
Still, the reports indicated that the fire hadn’t advanced near Lake. Nevertheless, I pulled out my evacuation list. My wife and I packed a suitcase apiece. I gathered most of my small watercolor paintings and several paint kits. My wife placed her sewing machine near the front door with some of her supplies.
Estimated Timeline
1 AM: Power is out. I sat in the back of our house, candle burning, listening to the radio. There was still no indication that the fire was approaching our neighborhood.
2 AM: I told my wife to go to bed, assuring her I would monitor the fire. No alerts, no indication that our neighborhood was in danger.
3 AM: I decided to get up and move to the living room, which faced the San Gabriel Mountains. The face of the mountain was ablaze. The flames had reached the foothills, less than a mile from our home.
I called my daughter, who lived even closer to the inferno in the foothills. She was asleep, like many people on the west side of Lake Avenue in Altadena. I shouted into the phone, “Get out now!”
Art Eaton By Fire
My wife and I threw the few belongings we had gathered into our cars. At the last moment, I thought to grab as many of my daughter’s Metro panels as would fit in my wife’s minivan. Only four of about a dozen fit.
We all met at my daughter’s studio, several miles further away.
4 AM: We finally received a mandatory evacuation notice on our phones. We left my daughter’s studio and retreated to her friend’s house.
January 9th (Happy birthday to my wife)
I returned to Altadena to check on the condition of our home. I had been warned that there wasn’t much left to check on. Police had cordoned off all intersections. However, because I had painted so many sites on the streets, I knew how to proceed on foot. I was wearing a respirator and goggles.
I first checked on my daughter’s studio. It appeared to be undamaged. From there, I walked north toward the scorched mountains. The first charred remains of a home were only a block from the studio.
As I continued northward, I saw several homes on each block destroyed, while others stood—often without any clear pattern. As I neared my home, the ratio of burned to unburned homes increased. By the time I was two blocks away, nothing stood but chimneys.
I greeted a few neighbors standing in the ashes of what they once called home. Once I continued my trek toward my daughter’s house, our parting sentiment was something like, “I wish you well.”
I stepped around burned-out cars and over downed power lines. Small flames flickered from many foundations where gas lines remained open. I walked up the cul-de-sac past the burned-out El Comeno, which my daughter’s neighbor had been restoring. I didn’t see flames coming from her foundation, but the strong gas odor was unmistakable.
I left the area and made my way down Lake Avenue, where I finally met my distraught daughter on the other side of the police line. Our embrace and tears said what words couldn’t.
Moving Forward
Since then, I’ve been going through the arduous process of filing insurance claims, searching for housing, and handling the countless other tasks necessary to begin putting life back together.
But true restoration isn’t just about new roofs and lawns—it happens on the inside. My faith in God and my relationship with Christ have carried me through one of the toughest seasons of my life. In a way, I’m grateful to have survived an even tougher time as a young man because it reassures me that I can endure and move forward once again.
One very important coping mechanism I have is my artwork. I’ve been capturing scenes in Altadena and Pasadena since 1977. Many of the homes and businesses I’ve painted in the past were leveled in the Eaton Fire. I am now returning to as many of those commercial sites as possible to paint them as they exist today before the bulldozers roll in. As I do this, I am repainting the commissioned homes that were lost in the fire. I’m calling this series of watercolors Beauty from Ashes, inspired by Isaiah 61:3.
I retired from taking commissions in 2020. Still, I receive many requests to paint people’s homes, and many of them are now from those who too lost homes in the fire. Maybe I’ll start again.
Keni,
Please contact Samaritan Purse as they are providing a service to meet with homeowners and renters to perform a directed sifting to try to locate items valuable to you and your neighbors from the homes. It may be a Bible, ring set, a porcelain frog, coins or a nick knack from grandmother, just something before the lots are cleared.
God Bless everyone in Altadena and Pasadena
Proverbs 22:6-7
I was happy to read this. When I saw your last post, “somewhere to lay my head ,” it really made me sad. So unreal-apocalyptic! On the news this evening they showed families camping in the rubble that was their homes, and it all looked so much like here-just crazy. Keep the faith. 🙏
Hello Keni,
Greetings from Italy 🙂 I’m so sorry for your loss, a house is more than just a roof over your head, and I hope you, your wife and daughter will have the strength to re-start. I wonder if you were able to save (or maybe was already sold) the painting you did about the Tournament of Roses. You had the painting for sale for almost 400 USD. If you wtill have it, I would like to buy it. Would/could you ship it to Italy, pease ?? I used to live in PAS, on north Oak Ave, just a few blocks west of Sierra Madre. I had to sell after 9/11 as both of my jobs went down. I moved back to Italy, then in 2004 I moved back to USA, but I ended up in Long Beach, then Las Vegas, then Florida where I first landed back in 1983 : just a slow move back East till I ultimately left for Italy for good. I miss America, the people, the atmosphere, everything. Your painting would be a beautiful memoir for me of those wonderful years I spent in your country. I would send the money by wiring it and in advance, so you can trust me. Just tell me the amount with shipping and handling.
If you can do it, I’ll be so appreciative and happy.
Wishing you all the best, much strength, hope, belief that you will re-start and find appiness again. You have your family with you and that’s a lot. I lost a lot of friends, my companion, my mother (she was 100 years and 7 months old!!), two great friends in USA, 6 of my 10 American cats I took with me when I moved back : 6 from the streets, 4 from the last one I picked up … look mom, you saved me and I felt so good I got pregnant … SMILE !!
I still have 3 of the 4 babies, now 15 yrs old, and 1 from Long Beach, 20 yrs old !! I cherish them every day.
Stay strong and I hope to receive good news from you.
Kind regards,
Rita
PS: my belated Birthday wishes to your wife and YES, START AGAIN. PAINTING IS YOUR LIFE, YOUR SOUL, YOUR HAPPINESS. Please do !!
I hope you publish your Beauty to Ashes paintings in a book format. Your paintings are beautiful and the collection tells a story that is sad but filled with hope. A book would be awesome.
It would indeed be awesome.
I hope you do start again. I would like to get my husband one who grew up in Altadena and one for the current owner. I am sorry for your loss. Altadena is a special place. People don’t realize that the history is a major part of it. Praying for all to get through all the red tape. Take care
Keni, I’m sorry for the loss of your home, I was relieved to know you and your family were safe.
This is a unimaginable tragedy to so many citizens of Los Angeles and my heart aches for those who lost their lives, the one silver lining is your strong faith in God and I pray God will comfort all who are suffering and bring hope to your community…
Happy belated birthday to your wife P 💐❤️🙏🏾
Oh, Kenny, this brought tears to my eyes, as did the LA Times video on TikTok. All the things lost, the homes, the community. My daughter and I got in on Jan. 8, the perimeter wasn’t as tightly closed as the next day, and she drove a bit east to Santa Anita. We came up that way. She pointed out the destroyed homes of friends, including artists and musicians.
My son and I had packed a few things, but not as much as we would have if we had been given a “get ready to evacuate” notice. I had forgotten about the loss of power. I have a fireproof satchel that I’m sure would not have survived this fire. I got it mainly for eqrthquakes. I grabbed it on my way out. My son grabbed his two kids and a few things for them. We got the “Evacuate Now!” notice at 3:25 a.m. We both left by 3:50. There was no chaos or impatience, we Altadenans just took our places in the queue and left our homes behind. One of my neighbors got a shot of my house engulfed in fire, time-stamped 4:45 a.m. Less than an hour after we pulled out, yet we never saw any flames.
All the W. Marigold folks I met the few times I’ve been up there want to rebuild. That gave me hope for our community, our common identity on W. Marigold. Isaiah came to my mind, too. “Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.” –Isaiah 58:12
I haven’t allowed myself to have a thoroughly good cry yet, but I know it will come.
God is good.
It breaks my heart to read this story and to hear that you lost your home. I love seeing your art in various buildings around town and have intended to buy several these past few months since I discovered your work. We intended to hang it in our home in Altadena, which we also lost. Now we will most certainly be purchasing art from you, but it hits very different. I hope you are well and keeping your spirits up. If there is anything else we can do, please let us know.
I am so thankful you are all safe. I am so sorry for you losses. I am so thankful you listened carefully and saw the fire before the phone alerts. I am hopeful that your finding beauty in the ashes will inspire others to do the same. Fire brings harsh perspective.
I am still in Texas and an artist friend, Abi Salami, partnered with other artists to raise funds for LA artists whose studios were lost. Write when you have the bandwidth/energy to share. What art supplies do you need to complete this work? Maybe I can send watercolor paper or paints. I am sending hugs and prayers.
Hi Gwen, Good to hear from you. Indeed, family first…all are safe.
As far as art supplies go, I got out with my small wc kit. I’ve been so busy looking for housing and filling out forms that I haven’t taken time to itemize my tool needs. I’m suggesting that anyone who wants to help in that area get a gift card. I buy from Blick (and of course, Amazon). keniarts@gmail.com
Thanks for your concern,
Keni