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Aurielle Hall knew she had little time to get herself and her daughter out of Altadena. Convincing Aunt Cheri would be a different challenge.
By Corina Knoll
Reporting from the Eaton fire zone in Los Angeles County
- Jan. 10, 2025Updated 2:48 p.m. ET
There was, at first, not even a whisper of fire.
Aurielle Hall had heard about the blaze that had broken out in the coastal neighborhood of Pacific Palisades that morning.
But she was in Altadena, a hillside community 40 miles away and outside the eastern edge of Los Angeles.
It was Tuesday evening, and Ms. Hall, 35, figured she would head to bed early. She was exhausted, having spent an hour commuting home from her job with Los Angeles County’s probation department. And she had not gotten much sleep the night before because she was startled awake early by the winds that pounded on her walls.
She had grown accustomed to Altadena, the kind of place where residents raise goats and chickens and pride themselves on rustic living. It is also where high winds, power outages and spotty cell service are not unusual.
The community had a down-to-earth vibe, far from the glamour of Pacific Palisades where nannies driving children to elite private schools was common. Altadena was also more racially diverse. In the 1970s, it had attracted middle-class Black families who saw it as a refuge, and their children and grandchildren often stayed put. One in five households speak Spanish at home.
Just before 7 p.m., Ms. Hall texted her friend. “It’s really bad out here,” referring to the wind. Her daughter, Jade, 12, was taking a nap.
