Although my mailing address is Pasadena I am a resident of the little 'village in the city' of Altadena. Been evacuated since the beginning, walking distance to Eaton Canyon. After several days in a hotel near LAX we relocated to a friends house nearby. We are very lucky, our house is in some kind of pocket area that did not burn despite fires in all directions and all hell to the north and east. We have a 100 year old oak tree in our backyard that if it caught fire our place would be toast.
Yesterday they pushed up the control area and I can now freely access my house , before that I had snuck in a few times. Mostly wind damage and pervasive burnt smell in the house, no power or gas. we would stay there with gas (and flashlights & candles), just run the fireplace for heat but no gas. The devastation is real, our church is gone, 37 members lost their homes. Five public and several private schools are gone. All of the cute village downtown area is gone.
I can't wait to get in, our immediate area looks good but I guess we are on a grid and the houses/ruins a couple blocks away are holding things up.
Who knew that retirement would be such an adventure?