A nearly 90-year-old grandmother of four from Altadena, Calif., is drawing millions on social media after her granddaughter shared words of wisdom after losing everything in California's devastating wildfires. collected views.
For Ruth Judkins, who turns 90 next month, the devastation caused by Southern California's wildfires meant a time to readjust and simplify her life.
“I hope you know what's important in your life, and I hope you have the strength, energy and faith to rebuild your life,” Judkins told Fox News Digital. “You might want to change that. You might want to simplify it at any age.”
“But the important thing is to know what's important and live according to your beliefs,” she said.
Her simple words of wisdom resonated on social media, with her granddaughter's Instagram video racking up more than 3 million views and thousands of comments.
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Judkins' longtime home in Altadena was one of thousands destroyed in the deadly wildfires.
“There are 12 single-family homes on my street. Six of them remain. Six were burned,” she said.
The fear struck after a typical day in which Judkins lived alone at home, spending time with her daughter and granddaughter and reading.
“You could hear all sorts of noises. I think the winds were 70 to 80 miles per hour at that point,” she said. “I could hear it even though I had double-glazed windows. It was awful,” she said. “Eventually, we went out and looked and saw that the fire was on the east side.”
Having lived in Southern California for decades, he said he has experienced other devastating wildfires and that wildfires typically start in the mountains, not in valleys.
“But this started with our level of freedom. So it was a new ballgame,” she said. “I've never had anything like this before. It was due east of me and I think the current was fast because of the wind.
Ruth Judkins' home in Altadena, California after the Eaton Fire. Judkins has lived there for 48 years and hopes to rebuild it. (GoFundMe)
Shortly after investigating the rapidly expanding fire, Judkins received an alert that it was time to evacuate. ”
“I got a very loud alert on my cell phone telling me to get out,” she said. “I grabbed what I thought were the essentials, packed my car and headed out.”
“I was very confident [that the fire] “If it were me, I would have grabbed the priceless photos all over the wall,” she said. That would have been enough for me to grab. Maybe my recipe box is like that too. ”
Ruth Judkins, who turns 90 next month, said she is paring down her belongings after losing everything in the Eaton Fire that devastated Altadena, California. (Fox News Digital)
Judkins said most possessions in life are replaceable, and at her age, “I don't need stuff.”
“Most things are replaceable, and when you've lived in your home for 48 years like I have, a lot of things you don't really need,” she said.
The nearly 90-year-old said she was raised in the 1950s and was taught that “you need money to survive, but money alone doesn't make you happy.”
“I used to have three sets of dishes, but now I only need one 12-piece set for my family and four-piece sets for every day,” she said. “That's enough. Same goes for the clothes.”
Satellite image of smoke blanketing homes after a devastating wildfire in Altadena, California on January 8, 2025. (Handout via Maxar Technologies/Reuters)
Judkins is looking to the future and wants to rebuild his home, commenting that he wants to build it in a sustainable way.
“I know it's going to take time to rebuild the house, but I'm really looking forward to rebuilding it. At my age, there aren't that many years left in that house,” she said. “I saved up for five years to buy an all-electric kitchen, and everything was perfect. I had a place to put everything, so I didn't have to worry about washing the dishes. It was the perfect kitchen!”
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“And we want to redo the house. The footprint is the same. We don't want to change anything except that we want a sustainable home with electric heat and electric water heaters.”
Catastrophic wildfires ignite in the Los Angeles area, forcing people to evacuate and burning homes as strong winds force people to evacuate during the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, United States, January 8, 2025. (Reuters/David Swanson)
Her daughter Carolina started fundraising for Judkins after her mother lost everything in the fire.
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“When the fire broke out, my grandmother only had a few minutes to evacuate and was able to get the dog and leave everything else behind,” Caroline wrote in a GoFundMe post. “At 89 years old, she also lost her rental property, which was her main source of income. This left her with no safety net.”
