On the evening of Jan. 7, 2025, a wildfire broke out in Eaton Canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains in California. The fire spread, killing 18 and destroying nearly 9,500 buildings.
Helen, a 91-year-old Altadena resident, was one of the many affected by the disaster. Her home was spared, but not her neighborhood, leaving the uninsured nonagenarian with few options. Following the evacuation, she decided to return home, where she now finds herself living in a ghost town amidst toxic debris.
The impact on her life has been devastating. "I just break down and cry," Helen told CBS News. "At night, I take my doggy out and I stand there at the fence and look at the sky. It’s so quiet. You don’t hear a sound."
Helen needs help but the government has yet to provide it. Fortunately, members of her own community have stepped in to fill the void and their assistance could be making all the difference.
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No insurance and ravaged by a natural disaster
The Eaton wildfires displaced thousands and caused untold devastation. While every victim has their own story, Helen’s is unique because she has no insurance and nowhere else to go at 91 years old.
"I put some things in the car, just a few things for my doggy. I said, I better leave," she explained about the night she first fled the fires.
After leaving, Helen spent her days and nights between hotels, family and even sleeping in her car in a church parking lot before the encroaching smoke forced her to leave that refuge too. "I have nowhere to go,” she explained. “My family is a different generation; they are different than when I grew up," she said.
Finally, with nowhere else to turn, Helen decided to go back to her house — one of the few buildings spared by the fire. There were no other neighbors left, and she returned to a home with no clean water and no electricity. This is how Helen has been living for months — and yet she has stayed.
"This is my home. This is what I worked for all my life," Helen said.
Getting help can be a challenge
Helen struggles to live in her abandoned neighborhood, and has received little formal support. When asked if someone from the government had reached out, the answer was a clear no — although she would have liked it to be a yes.
"It would have helped," she said.
Fortunately, even though the government hasn’t stepped up, her community has. A neighbor who saw her in the garden put her in touch with two women who jumped in to assist.
"I’ve taken her down and navigated her through every station," said Sakae Manning, one of the two women. "She said she had gone and couldn’t get any help. Filling out applications online when you don’t have a computer or the Internet, don’t understand the first thing about having to use [the electronic document signing platform] Docusign, for instance — all of that is really difficult."
Helen is far from the only older person dealing with these problems in the fire’s aftermath. The AARP has made clear that many older wildfire victims have been left without the home they worked hard for and the lifetime of possessions they acquired.
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There are many reasons why older people tend to be more vulnerable than their younger counterparts after disasters. "The need to request emergency assistance online is a challenge for people without access to the internet," the AARP wrote. Additionally, “Older people are a frequent target of fraudulent contractors who capitalize on distressed residents’ desperation. These realities pose fraught choices for older residents (and for those who serve them) and underscore the need to reduce every community’s overall risk.”
While Helen was fortunate to have guidance navigating the maze of steps and documents, her predicament isn’t unique.
How common is Helen’s situation?
Helen might have had more options if her home was insured. This is also a common trend among those affected by the fire. And this isn’t necessarily an issue of homeowner negligence.
One issue is that many insurers left California in the period leading up to the disaster due to concerns about the risks and costs of providing coverage in the state. One CBS News analysis found over 3,600 policies had been cancelled. Similarly, some insurers aren’t covering the cost of rebuilding destroyed homes or living costs while impacted families are displaced.
The good news is, there are some options out there even for the uninsured.
Even while an imperfect solution, FEMA can provide disaster relief funds, and homeowners can explore individual relief options on their site.
The National Council on Aging also pointed to other sources of financial relief, including benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, tax relief from the Disaster Assistance and Emergency Relief Program, energy assistance from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and disaster loans from the Small Business Administration.
Older Americans can also seek help through local nonprofits, agencies and even trusted community members willing to assist with understanding options and completing the paperwork. Here, patience and persistence may be key — as is staying focused on what you can control.
Helen herself tries to find joy in the simple pleasures that remain. "The only consolation I have is when I go to the garden and see that everything is blooming, the fire is out, there’s all kinds of birds out there."
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
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