January 15, 2025: Los Angeles wildfires, Palisades and Eaton fires, Auto fire in Ventura

The final time Shaw Zhao spoke to his 84-year-old father, Zhi Feng Zhao, was round midday on January 7, he instructed CNN.

Shaw primarily lives in Portland, Oregon, however his father lived alone of their shared residence in Altadena, California – an space ravaged by the Eaton Fireplace.

Shaw, 54, was planning on flying to Altadena the subsequent day for causes unrelated to the fireplace, and his father known as him on January 7 to verify his flight time and ask what he wished to eat the subsequent day.

Round 8:30 p.m., a long-time Altadena neighbor knowledgeable Shaw concerning the fireplace. Shaw stated he tried to get in contact along with his father all evening and the next morning however couldn’t.

He took his scheduled flight and landed on the Burbank airport at round 7 a.m.

When his Lyft driver Gilian “Ian” Villatoro picked him up, Shaw defined the state of affairs.

Ian tried to drive Shaw to his Altadena residence, however it was nonetheless blocked off due to the fireplace, Ian stated. Although Ian tried many backroads for just a few hours, they couldn’t get in. They finally gave up and Ian dropped him off on the Pasadena Conference Middle, the place evacuees have been staying.

“I walked via 1000’s of beds twice. I couldn’t discover him,” Shaw stated. “My coronary heart sank. I do know one thing horrible might’ve occurred.”

They saved in contact that evening, because the state of affairs hit near residence for Ian who unexpectedly misplaced his mom in October to a coronary heart assault.

The subsequent morning, Ian provided to drive Shaw in his SUV again as much as Altadena to see if they might discover a means to have a look at his residence. The neighborhood was nonetheless blocked off once they arrived, however Shaw, Ian and Ian’s spouse all determined to make the 3-mile trek via the rubble to attempt to discover the home utilizing Google Maps.

After they lastly discovered Shaw’s residence of 20 years, it was destroyed. They noticed a coyote within the yard – what Ian described as a foul omen.

Ian later found Shaw’s father’s stays, sparing Shaw from having to see them up shut.

“I cried very dry and my pals (Gilian and his spouse) tried to carry me,” cried Shaw. “I really feel so grateful for Gilian and his spouse, they spent a day and a half serving to me … you may see the generosity of individuals.”

Shaw described his father, who was born in China, as a wise and gifted individual. All through Shaw’s whole schooling and profession, he felt like he adopted life classes that his father taught him.