Photographer shares images from his hometown of Altadena, devastated by Eaton fire
I’ve been covering major fires for 30 years, but the Eaton fire in Altadena has surpassed them all.
I was lucky enough to grow up in Altadena, a beautiful community in the shadow of the San Gabriel Mountains.
Seeing literally 1000-plus homes burn in the immediate area I was so familiar with is heartbreaking.
I don’t believe the magnitude of it has hit me yet.
I saw many homes today, which at one time many years ago, I had so many friends living in with their parents.
So many of them are just a pile of ashes now.
It was tough and heartbreaking calling a few of them to let them know their childhood home with so many memories were now gone.
All the streets and avenues I rode hundreds of miles on my bike and skateboard are now unrecognizable.
Block after block, street after street, nothing but complete devastation.
I’ve always been objective in everything I’ve ever covered in my photojournalism career, but this one has been extremely personal.
My hometown.
Heavy smoke pours out of a burning market on N. Lake Avenue during the Eaton fire in Altadena Wednesday Jan. 8, 2025. Officials announced Thursday that preliminary estimates are that 4-5,000 structures have been damaged or lost from the Eaton fire. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Large burning embers are seen flying through the air during the Eaton fire in Altadena Wednesday Jan. 8, 2025. Hundreds of homes have burned in the northern and eastern areas of Altadena which sits next to the San Gabriel Mountains north of Pasadena. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) A firefighter from Costa Mesa works to extinguish a fire burning a home on Valleylights Drive during the Eaton fire in the Hastings Ranch community of Pasadena early Wednesday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Residents along Braeburn Road rush to save property as a home burns behind them during the Eaton fire in Altadena Wednesday morning Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Eric Fiedler, left, and his son Christopher spray water on their roof in an attempt to save it along Sinaloa Avenue as his next door neighbors home burns during the Eaton fire in Altadena Wednesday morning Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) A firefighter walks past a pair of burned homes in the Hastings Ranch community of Pasadena Wednesday Jan. 8, 2025 during the Eaton fire. Officials announced Thursday that preliminary estimates are that 4-5,000 structures have been damaged or lost from the Eaton fire. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) A home burns along Page Drive during the Eaton fire in Altadena Wednesday morning Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) A home burns behind a burned out vehicle along Braeburn Road during the Eaton fire in Altadena Wednesday Jan. 8, 2025. Officials announced Thursday that preliminary estimates are that 4-5,000 structures have been damaged or lost from the Eaton fire. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) A fire truck races up Lake Avenue past burning businesses during the Eaton fire in Altadena Wednesday Jan. 8, 2025. Hundreds of homes have burned in the northern and eastern areas of Altadena which sits next to the San Gabriel Mountains north of Pasadena. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Residents look at what is left of their burned home during the Eaton fire in Altadena Wednesday Jan. 8, 2025. Hundreds of homes have burned in the northern and eastern areas of Altadena which sits next to the San Gabriel Mountains north of Pasadena. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) A California Highway Patrol officer drives through an area heavily damaged by the Eaton fire in Altadena Wednesday Jan. 8, 2025. Hundreds of homes have burned in the northern and eastern areas of Altadena which sits next to the San Gabriel Mountains north of Pasadena. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Fire trucks rush through heavy smoke down Lake Avenue during the Eaton fire in Altadena Wednesday Jan. 8, 2025. Hundreds of homes have burned in the northern and eastern areas of Altadena which sits next to the San Gabriel Mountains north of Pasadena. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) An entire neighborhood in the northern area of Altadena near Rubio Canyon Road and Alegre Lane has been destroyed during the Eaton fire in Altadena Wednesday Jan. 8, 2025. Officials announced Thursday that preliminary estimates are that 4-5,000 structures have been damaged or lost from the Eaton fire. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) A home is engulfed in flames during the Eaton fire in Altadena Wednesday Jan. 8, 2025. Officials announced Thursday that preliminary estimates are that 4-5,000 structures have been damaged or lost from the Eaton fire. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) A firefighter asks for more water as his hose goes dry along Highland Avenue during the Eaton fire in Altadena Wednesday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Homes smolder and burn along Page Drive during the Eaton fire in Altadena Wednesday morning Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) A firefighter works to keep the fire from spreading to trees as a home burns along Altadena Drive during the Eaton fire in Altadena Wednesday morning Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Christopher Fiedler, second from left, hugs his neighbor Glen Green, left, after the two paired up to save Fielder’s home on Sinaloa Avenue during the Eaton fire in Altadena Wednesday morning Jan. 8, 2025. Green’s home, two houses north, was not saved. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) A firefighter attempts to keep the Eaton fire from spreading at a home on Mendocino Avenue in Altadena Wednesday Jan. 8, 2025. Officials announced Thursday that preliminary estimates are that 4-5,000 structures have been damaged or lost from the Eaton fire. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) Residents along Braeburn Road rush to save property in heavy smoke during the Eaton fire in Altadena Wednesday morning Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) A home burns along Highland Avenue during the Eaton fire in Altadena Wednesday morning Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) The former Zane Grey adobe home on Pinecrest Drive burned during the Eaton fire in Altadena Wednesday morning Jan. 8, 2025. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG) A motorcyclist rides past smoldering home during the Eaton fire in Altadena Wednesday Jan. 8, 2025. Hundreds of homes have burned in the northern and eastern areas of Altadena which sits next to the San Gabriel Mountains north of Pasadena. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Will Lester has been a photojournalist for the Southern California News Group since 1998.
