California wildfires: Single mother who lost everything in Eaton Fire hails Altadena’s ‘perseverance’ and ‘spirit’
A single mother from California who lost everything in Altadena this week during the Eaton fire applauds the resilience of his community, telling Fox News Digital that “we haven’t lost our tenacity and our spirit.”
Brenda King said Friday that she did lived in California and Los Angeles for more than 20 years, but she “always knew there was something so special about the energy of Altadena,” describing it as “a paradise because of all the tender love and care that all the citizens put into it and the way they preserved everything.”
“The day the fire broke out, it’s so bizarre because I literally just realized it. I just came up with a little promotion for myself at work,” the writer and intimacy coordinator told Fox News Digital, mentioning how her five-year-old son will get her room in the property that she was renting.
King recalls finding her son his “first big boy bed” on Facebook Marketplace and arranging his toys and favorite books on a shelf. However, that vision was cut short when the Eaton fire began to fall on her home.
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Brenda King, left, said her child was in elementary school at the time of the fire. Her chicken and dog were safely evacuated from the property she was renting in Altadena. (Courtesy of Brenda King)
King told Fox News Digital that she was out with a friend driving when she “suddenly saw what looked like hell break out on the mountain.”
“Just this long line, going from the top and coming toward my house. And we were just looking at it and I was like, ‘Oh my God, where is that? It’s so close to my house,'” she continued.
“I thought, ‘They’re going to get this under control, but I just have to go home and get my dog,'” she added.
King says she returned to her home to rescue her pet, grab some of her son’s belongings and other items, including childhood photo albums.
She then fled Altadena, but later called a neighbor whose father stayed there “and she just said, ‘OK Brenda, he’s gone. Everything’s gone.’ And I just couldn’t believe it.”
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What’s left of the house Brenda King was renting in Altadena, California, after the Eaton fire in Los Angeles County. (Courtesy of Brenda King)
King says that despite losing her home and nearly all of her possessions, the community she was a part of in Altadena “doesn’t go away.”
“I was watching the news and watching my beloved city burn everywhere,” King told Fox News Digital. “And the reporter — I don’t even think she was an Altadena resident, but she was saying that she had been in other fire zones and she was amazed that so many people were there and they were still helping and they were watering their neighbors’ lawns, and they were still there fighting to preserve what was left of our city, which was basically nothing but our lives.”
Cars are left burned inside a dealership after a fire at Eaton’s on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Altadena, California. (Jae C. Hong/AP)
“People lost their lives in Altadena. And I’m very sorry for that. But we haven’t lost our tenacity and our spirit,” King said.
AND GoFundMe titled “Help Brenda Rebuild After Loss in Wildfire” is now set to help King after the tragedy.
Shane Torre, left, and Stephanie Rodriguez hug as they look at the remains of their home destroyed by the Eaton fire Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP/John Locher)
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“I’ve lived in so many different places, and Altadena was my heart,” King told Fox News Digital. “I never found happiness, community and love anywhere else in LA. as I personally found it there.”
