January 24, 2025 • 10 mins
Dr. Vanessa Tyler talks to victims of the recent Eaton Canyon wildfires in Altadena, California - one of a series of massive wildfires that struck Southern Califonia in January 2025. Recalling the loss of loved ones, homes and livelihood - hear firsthand accounts of stories of survival and grief as they re-live this horrific event. Part 1 of 2
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
California on fire. We hear from those and Altadena's established
black community.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
I've lived in Altadena a very long time and we
have the winds, you know, little fires breakout, but it's
never been anything like what happened here. This is like,
that's why so many people didn't take anything, or because
we've experienced the wildfires. We've experienced the wind, but it's
(00:27):
never been like this.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
What did you lose?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Oh? Everything, I didn't take anything.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
So many families lost their possessions. Then there are those
who are lost what could never be replaced.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
The coroner called and said they did go out to
the site and found human remains.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
We're headed to the fire zone in Blackland, and now,
as a brown person, you just feel so invisible. Where
we're from. Brothers and sisters are wealth.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Community just join forms.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
We celebrate freedom.
Speaker 4 (01:01):
Where we are.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
I know someone heard something and where we're going. We
the people means all the people.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
The Black Information Network presents black Land with your host
Vanessa Tyler.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
The Eaten fire is estimated to be thirteen thousand, nine
and fifty six acres with three percent containment. We have
over seven thousand structures damaged or destroyed and one thousand,
five hundred and twenty seven firefighting personnel on scene.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
The high risk of fire still persists, but for many
there is nothing left to burn. To me, and Moses
joins me from California, where she is rebuilding her life. Toma, welcome.
Where were you when the fire ran wild?
Speaker 2 (01:52):
I was actually home. I left around i'd say restaurant
two am. I saw around one thirty that it was
actually had come up around where I lived. It was
already across lake and once I saw that, I said,
you could smell it. So I got the kids up
and we left and we went to a hotel.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Now tell me what part where are you? Which fire?
Was it the Pasadena fire?
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Which it was the Eaton Canyon fire for us.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
So explain again. Everybody is probably in bed. Like you said,
you got the children up, and so did you get
any notices or any type of notification.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Well, the thing about it is they cut the power
around nine thirty PM. And in Altadena with my cell reception,
I didn't have a home phone. I used we all
had cell phones and we used that. But with the
way that it works, you don't really get good cell
reception up there because of the mountains, So I can't
(02:58):
say that they sent anything out because I didn't receive
any evacuation notification. And I didn't receive an evacuation notification
until the next morning on the eighth, when my house
was already burned.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
So it's one thirty in the morning. You smell smoke
and you look outside, what do you see?
Speaker 2 (03:16):
At that point, I was aware of the fire by
that point already. My son actually somewhere around i'd say
maybe nine o'clock, he said, Mom, the sky is red.
And then just nonchalantly, you know, I looked out the
window and I said, oh, it's probably a fire somewhere.
And after that I checked with my sister, because my
(03:40):
sister lives about four blocks from me and she's normally
like my information source. I checked with her and I said,
did you guys see that. I think there's, you know,
a fire, and she said, yes, there's a fire that's
happening in Eating Canyon. So we were both aware, but
we never thought it would get this to that side
because Eating Canyon is a pretty It's about fifteen minutes away,
(04:01):
so it's not close. We I went to the grocery
store because I was like, okay, if we're going to
be in here, we know the power was going to
be off, Let's go get some snacks through that kind
of stuff. And I wanted to check to see visually where,
like how far away, like what was the fire doing.
So we drove me and the kids went to go
(04:21):
check to see where the fire was, to see if
it was safe to go back home. And it was
far away, you know, we saw it. It was fine,
So we decided to go to the grocery store and
get some snacks and go back home. And then the
power was off by that point, and we just kind
of just did little you know, snacks and things like that,
just kind of killing time, never once thinking that it
(04:42):
would make it that far over, but definitely.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
Paying attention that far or that quickly.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
That's why they call it wild for to me and
Moses and her two children, ages fourteen and eight, it
was like running for their lives.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
We should have already been gone. Someone should have alert us,
because when I left, the fire had already like it
was too close for comfort, like the fire had already
made its way around. And I was pretty shocked because
I thought that, you know, the sheriffs or the fire
department would come around and say, hey, we need you
guys to evacuate, get out of the area. But we
(05:19):
didn't have any of that.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
But this was Alta Dina, after all, where fires are frequent.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
I don't know. I've lived in Altadena a very long
time and we have the winds, you know, little fires breakout,
but it's never been anything like what happened here. This
is like, that's why so many people didn't take anything
or it because we've experienced the wildfires, we've experienced the wind,
(05:46):
but it's never been like this.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
What did you lose?
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Oh? Everything? I didn't take anything. I had the kids
pack like a backpack. My daughter plays soccer, and odd
least she took most of her soccer stuff, but my
son packed a bag. But by the time it was
like I said, one something in the morning, he was
a little discombobulated. He forgot to grab it. I grabbed
(06:16):
my backpack. I travel a lot for work, so I
keep a backpack that I just take for work, which
has like my laptop and my credit card, scenes like
that that I travel with. And so I just grabbed
that backpack and we left. I really messed up. I
left passports, birth certificates. I had a studio in my
garage because of what I do for work. I left everything.
(06:38):
Even some of the artists that I work with, you know,
their stuff was there.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
So everything, like many in California, to me and Moses,
is connected to the business, the entertainment business. Her sister
is the incomparable R and B singer songwriter t Dra Moses,
who lost a lot of her belongings. To have you
been back to see where your house was?
Speaker 2 (06:59):
I did. Actually, it's an odd thing. The house was
burned to the ground, and I knew that early on.
I received a call around six thirty in the morning
and they said it's all gone. It's all gone. The
person that called and it still hadn't registered. So I
got up and then I made a phone call to
(07:19):
a friend. I said, can you check on my house please?
And he confirmed that it was. You know, my house
was gone, but my garage was still standing. And oddly,
I was like, okay, thank god.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
You know, her office for her entertainment related business was
in her separate garage and it was still standing even
though her house was just ashes.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
In that moment, I still at least had the means
to work the means to generate revenue. The studio equipment,
all of that stuff was still, you know, there, And
so I called my nephews and I said, you know, hey, guys,
I'm going to need your help. I need to go
(08:02):
grab this stuff out of the garage. But it was
about an hour or so after that, and by the
time we got there. I made it there first, and
by the time I got there, and when I arrived,
the garage was in flames.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
So what little help there was of salvaging anything was
gone just like that.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Yes, yes, I I guess. Like I said, it was
fully intact when I saw it, and I'd say an
hour if that later in flames.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
There, relentless flames took her business too. There is a
goalfundme for to me and Moses to rebuild from scratch.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
If I'm honest, I haven't taken the time to process.
It's simply because I have to be active for my children,
and I think processing it would be too hard.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Right now, She's lucky to find a temporary airbnb in
her area for her and the children. Her teenage daughter's
school is still standing, her son's school is not. Rebuilding
will take a long time. She hopes she can stay
in Altadena, such a lovely area with touches of old
Black Hollywood. Did you know of any neighbors who who
(09:17):
didn't make it out.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
I don't know of any on my street, but I
do know of a few farther down. A gentleman that
I grew up with his sister didn't make it out.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
A number did not make it out at last count,
at least twenty seven, including a woman who was the
epitome of old Black Hollywood.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
She was in theater and she tapped, she sang, she danced,
she acted just an overall entertainer when those type of
people still existed.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
And she was in blockbuster movies. Coming up, we speak
with the loved ones of Deleise Curry, a Hollywood queen.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
It's been pretty devastating. I like cried myself to sleep
last night again just looking at all of her pictures
and videos
California on fire. We hear from those and Altadena's established
black community.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
I've lived in Altadena a very long time and we
have the winds, you know, little fires breakout, but it's
never been anything like what happened here. This is like,
that's why so many people didn't take anything, or because
we've experienced the wildfires. We've experienced the wind, but it's
(00:27):
never been like this.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
What did you lose?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Oh? Everything, I didn't take anything.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
So many families lost their possessions. Then there are those
who are lost what could never be replaced.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
The coroner called and said they did go out to
the site and found human remains.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
We're headed to the fire zone in Blackland, and now,
as a brown person, you just feel so invisible. Where
we're from. Brothers and sisters are wealth.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Community just join forms.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
We celebrate freedom.
Speaker 4 (01:01):
Where we are.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
I know someone heard something and where we're going. We
the people means all the people.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
The Black Information Network presents black Land with your host
Vanessa Tyler.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
The Eaten fire is estimated to be thirteen thousand, nine
and fifty six acres with three percent containment. We have
over seven thousand structures damaged or destroyed and one thousand,
five hundred and twenty seven firefighting personnel on scene.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
The high risk of fire still persists, but for many
there is nothing left to burn. To me, and Moses
joins me from California, where she is rebuilding her life. Toma, welcome.
Where were you when the fire ran wild?
Speaker 2 (01:52):
I was actually home. I left around i'd say restaurant
two am. I saw around one thirty that it was
actually had come up around where I lived. It was
already across lake and once I saw that, I said,
you could smell it. So I got the kids up
and we left and we went to a hotel.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Now tell me what part where are you? Which fire?
Was it the Pasadena fire?
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Which it was the Eaton Canyon fire for us.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
So explain again. Everybody is probably in bed. Like you said,
you got the children up, and so did you get
any notices or any type of notification.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Well, the thing about it is they cut the power
around nine thirty PM. And in Altadena with my cell reception,
I didn't have a home phone. I used we all
had cell phones and we used that. But with the
way that it works, you don't really get good cell
reception up there because of the mountains, So I can't
(02:58):
say that they sent anything out because I didn't receive
any evacuation notification. And I didn't receive an evacuation notification
until the next morning on the eighth, when my house
was already burned.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
So it's one thirty in the morning. You smell smoke
and you look outside, what do you see?
Speaker 2 (03:16):
At that point, I was aware of the fire by
that point already. My son actually somewhere around i'd say
maybe nine o'clock, he said, Mom, the sky is red.
And then just nonchalantly, you know, I looked out the
window and I said, oh, it's probably a fire somewhere.
And after that I checked with my sister, because my
(03:40):
sister lives about four blocks from me and she's normally
like my information source. I checked with her and I said,
did you guys see that. I think there's, you know,
a fire, and she said, yes, there's a fire that's
happening in Eating Canyon. So we were both aware, but
we never thought it would get this to that side
because Eating Canyon is a pretty It's about fifteen minutes away,
(04:01):
so it's not close. We I went to the grocery
store because I was like, okay, if we're going to
be in here, we know the power was going to
be off, Let's go get some snacks through that kind
of stuff. And I wanted to check to see visually where,
like how far away, like what was the fire doing.
So we drove me and the kids went to go
(04:21):
check to see where the fire was, to see if
it was safe to go back home. And it was
far away, you know, we saw it. It was fine,
So we decided to go to the grocery store and
get some snacks and go back home. And then the
power was off by that point, and we just kind
of just did little you know, snacks and things like that,
just kind of killing time, never once thinking that it
(04:42):
would make it that far over, but definitely.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
Paying attention that far or that quickly.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
That's why they call it wild for to me and
Moses and her two children, ages fourteen and eight, it
was like running for their lives.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
We should have already been gone. Someone should have alert us,
because when I left, the fire had already like it
was too close for comfort, like the fire had already
made its way around. And I was pretty shocked because
I thought that, you know, the sheriffs or the fire
department would come around and say, hey, we need you
guys to evacuate, get out of the area. But we
(05:19):
didn't have any of that.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
But this was Alta Dina, after all, where fires are frequent.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
I don't know. I've lived in Altadena a very long
time and we have the winds, you know, little fires breakout,
but it's never been anything like what happened here. This
is like, that's why so many people didn't take anything
or it because we've experienced the wildfires, we've experienced the wind,
(05:46):
but it's never been like this.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
What did you lose?
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Oh? Everything? I didn't take anything. I had the kids
pack like a backpack. My daughter plays soccer, and odd
least she took most of her soccer stuff, but my
son packed a bag. But by the time it was
like I said, one something in the morning, he was
a little discombobulated. He forgot to grab it. I grabbed
(06:16):
my backpack. I travel a lot for work, so I
keep a backpack that I just take for work, which
has like my laptop and my credit card, scenes like
that that I travel with. And so I just grabbed
that backpack and we left. I really messed up. I
left passports, birth certificates. I had a studio in my
garage because of what I do for work. I left everything.
(06:38):
Even some of the artists that I work with, you know,
their stuff was there.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
So everything, like many in California, to me and Moses,
is connected to the business, the entertainment business. Her sister
is the incomparable R and B singer songwriter t Dra Moses,
who lost a lot of her belongings. To have you
been back to see where your house was?
Speaker 2 (06:59):
I did. Actually, it's an odd thing. The house was
burned to the ground, and I knew that early on.
I received a call around six thirty in the morning
and they said it's all gone. It's all gone. The
person that called and it still hadn't registered. So I
got up and then I made a phone call to
(07:19):
a friend. I said, can you check on my house please?
And he confirmed that it was. You know, my house
was gone, but my garage was still standing. And oddly,
I was like, okay, thank god.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
You know, her office for her entertainment related business was
in her separate garage and it was still standing even
though her house was just ashes.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
In that moment, I still at least had the means
to work the means to generate revenue. The studio equipment,
all of that stuff was still, you know, there, And
so I called my nephews and I said, you know, hey, guys,
I'm going to need your help. I need to go
(08:02):
grab this stuff out of the garage. But it was
about an hour or so after that, and by the
time we got there. I made it there first, and
by the time I got there, and when I arrived,
the garage was in flames.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
So what little help there was of salvaging anything was
gone just like that.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Yes, yes, I I guess. Like I said, it was
fully intact when I saw it, and I'd say an
hour if that later in flames.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
There, relentless flames took her business too. There is a
goalfundme for to me and Moses to rebuild from scratch.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
If I'm honest, I haven't taken the time to process.
It's simply because I have to be active for my children,
and I think processing it would be too hard.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
Right now, She's lucky to find a temporary airbnb in
her area for her and the children. Her teenage daughter's
school is still standing, her son's school is not. Rebuilding
will take a long time. She hopes she can stay
in Altadena, such a lovely area with touches of old
Black Hollywood. Did you know of any neighbors who who
(09:17):
didn't make it out.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
I don't know of any on my street, but I
do know of a few farther down. A gentleman that
I grew up with his sister didn't make it out.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
A number did not make it out at last count,
at least twenty seven, including a woman who was the
epitome of old Black Hollywood.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
She was in theater and she tapped, she sang, she danced,
she acted just an overall entertainer when those type of
people still existed.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
And she was in blockbuster movies. Coming up, we speak
with the loved ones of Deleise Curry, a Hollywood queen.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
It's been pretty devastating. I like cried myself to sleep
last night again just looking at all of her pictures
and videos
Host
Vanessa Tyler
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