A California single mother who lost everything in Altadena in the Eaton Fire this week praised the community's resilience, telling FOX News Digital, “We haven't lost our tenacity and our spirit.”
Brenda King said Friday that although she has lived in California and Los Angeles for more than 20 years, “I always knew there was something special about the energy in Altadena,” and called it a place “thanks to all the tender love and care.” “It's a paradise.” What the whole nation put into it, and how they saved everything. ”
“The day the fire happened, it was so weird because I literally just thought of it. I was just trying to get myself a little promotion at work,” said the author and intimacy coordinator. she told FOX News Digital. The eldest son was going to get his own room in the property she was renting.
King remembers finding her son's “first big boy bed” on Facebook Marketplace and organizing the shelves with toys and favorite books. But that vision was shattered when the Eaton Fire began ravaging her home.
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Brenda King (left) said her children were in elementary school at the time of the fire. Her chickens and dog were safely evacuated from the property she was renting in Altadena. (Courtesy of Brenda King)
King told Fox News Digital that he was out with friends and was driving when “all of a sudden I saw this hellish landscape on top of a mountain.”
“There was this long line coming from the top towards my house, and we were just looking at it and we were like, 'Oh my god, where is that? It's near my house. 'I thought, 'I'm going to do that,'” she continued.
“I thought, 'They'll take care of this, but I have to go home and pick up the dog,'” she added.
King said she returned to the home to rescue her pet and retrieve some other items, including her son's belongings and a childhood photo album.
She then fled Altadena, but then her father called a neighbor who remained there, “and she just said, 'Okay, Brenda, you're gone. Everything's gone. 'And I couldn't believe it. ”
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The remains of the home Brenda King rented in Altadena, California, after the Eaton Fire in Los Angeles County. (Courtesy of Brenda King)
Despite losing her home and nearly all her possessions, King said her Altadena community “is not going away.”
“I was watching the news and I saw my beloved city burning everywhere,” Dr. King told FOX News Digital. “And the news reporter — I don't even think she was a resident of Altadena, but she had been in other fire areas and there were so many people there and they were still helping. They were watering their neighbors' lawns, trying to protect what was left of our city, nothing but our lives. I was just there fighting.”
A charred car is left inside a dealership in the aftermath of the Eaton fire in Altadena, California, Friday, January 10, 2025. (Jae C. Hong/AP)
“People lost their lives in Altadena. We are truly sorry, but we have not lost our tenacity and our spirit,” Dr. King said.
a gofundme The project, titled “Helping Brenda Rebuild After Wildfire Loss,” was established to support Martin Luther King Jr. in the wake of the tragedy.
Shane Torre, left, and Stephanie Rodriguez embrace as they look over the remains of their home destroyed by the Eaton Fire on Thursday, January 9, 2025 in Altadena, California. (AP/John Locher)
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“I've lived in many places, but Altadena has always been my heart,” King told FOX News Digital. “I have never found the happiness, community, and love that I have personally found in LA anywhere else in LA.”
