Remains of Karen Bagnards Altadena, California, house, after burning forest fires in the Los Angeles region in January 2025.
With kind permission: Chelsea
On the night of January 7, Karen Bagnard was sitting in her Altadena, California, in the house in the dark.
Strong winds had made her home lose electricity, and she also had no flowing water, apart from a bathroom.
“My daughter called and said: 'Mom, do you notice that there is a fire?',” Said Bagnard, who is 79 years old and legally blind. “I had no idea that there was a fire.”
At this point, the evacuation zone for the Eaton fire was far enough to feel safe.
“I thought: 'Oh, you will never come to my house,” said Bagnard.
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About 30 minutes later, her daughter Chelsea Bagnard called back. Since the fire spread quickly, Bagnard's house was now near the border of the evacuation zone.
After Bagnard's grandson Dalton Sargent, who is 32 years old and also lives in her house, came back from work, the two decided to go for the night.
In the more than 50 years in which she lived in the house, Bagnard had been shortly before the evacuation, but never left.
“I thought 'Okay, we'll evacuate this time, but we'll be back,” she said.
That was the last time she stepped at home.
The next day, Bagnard's daughter and grandson returned to the neighborhood to think about the house before the authorities dried up the area. What they found was a “smoldering bunch of debris”, her daughter wrote on Facebook with only larger devices such as the fridge and the stove.
It was January 22nd until Bagnard was able to return to her neighborhood to see the devastation for himself.
“You brought a chair for me and I was sitting in the entrance and I could only see the country,” said Bagnard about the surreal scene. “I started, how would we rebuild it? '”
The 79-year-old Karen Bagtard sits in the ruins of her Altadena, California, at home after burning in the forest fires of Los Angeles in January 2025. “I hope to live long enough to see it rebuilt,” she said.
Kind approval: Chelsea Bagnard
Older adults who are particularly susceptible to natural disasters
The forest fires from the Los Angeles region destroyed tens of thousands of tomorrow and ruined houses and entire districts. Insured losses could increase to 50 billion US dollars, according to JP Morgan estimates.
In addition, an unknown number of residents was homeless.
For older people, the disaster can be vulnerable in their lives if it can be more demanding to shift and deal with physically difficult conditions.
By 2034, according to Danielle Arigoni, an expert in urban planning and resilience and author of the book “Climate Effecting for an aging nation”, we have more people over 65 than 18 in our country.
In most cases, however, this demography is not used as objectively for planning the climate resilience, she said.
“In two decades, we have not improved the death rate of older adults in such disasters,” said Arigoni. “If you see this type of trend line, this only screams for me for a different approach.”
The forest fires from the LA region forced some facilities for assisted living to evacuate, and some burned down, according to Joyce Robertson, CEO and managing director of the Foundation for Senior Services.
After the fire, the public charity organization focuses on the provision of stocks, including wheelchairs, and works with facilities for nursing and assisted living to close gaps for services and resources.
“You can imagine the stress for all of these seniors who have to evacuate,” said Robertson.
For older people who live alone and specialist knowledge to help older inhabitants age on the spot.
“In the case of natural disasters, they are disproportionately affected, which is more likely to be found in their houses because they could not evacuate,” said Ross.
The hardest hit of the municipalities of the village movement – Pasadena Village – had around 60 members who were driven out by the fires and 19 lost their houses, including Bagnard.
“It was heartbreaking,” said Katie Brandon, managing director of the village of Pasadena.
“But it was also very nice to see how the older adults really support each other, are there for each other and see the communities of support that they have really worked for them in recent months and years,” said Brandon.
When Bagtard was looking for a new residence, one of the members of the village appeared in Pasadena to offer her a six -month temporary rental agreement to live with her in her house, although the two women had not met before.
According to Brandon, Bagnard has been an estimated member of the village of Pasadena for many years.
While Bagnard is re -grouped, the Pasadena -dorf replaces the computer she needs due to her visual loss, with the accessibility features it needs. The community organization works with other affected areas to provide the devices you need such as air purifiers and computer printers. If possible, it also encourages older residents to continue to gather socially.
“The insurance companies seem to be pretty good at reacting and seeing what they can replace, but sometimes it's quite a process,” said Brandon. “The earlier we get our older adults the resources and equipment they need, the better they will be during this recovery period.”
Older victims are exposed to greater health and financial risks
Experts emphasize that older people could be exposed to a longer recovery.
After a catastrophe, a lot of people who help, provide donations and other support tend to be said, said Joan Casey, deputy professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Washington.
In the following reconstruction, however, there is often a break in which voluntary efforts and donations dry out, she said.
In more than a year, the same disaster victims may be sold out of their houses, she said.
“It is this medium -term disaster period in which we still want to check in,” said Casey.
You may be more susceptible to certain health and financial risks, especially if you do not have a security net in the municipality.
Almost 80% of the older adults have two or more chronic diseases, according to the National Council. If this includes breathing or heart diseases, the deteriorated air quality can be even more harmful to your health.
Older adults may also have paid their houses, which means that they may not be obliged to have home owner insurance. As a result, some cannot be completely insured, while others may be under insurance to keep their monthly costs low, said Arigoni.
According to Casey, scientific literature about how disasters affect older adults is “quite mixed”, especially in terms of mental health. Some neurologists have found that natural disasters for older adults could be a turning point in the cognitive function, she said.
However, there are also indications that older people are more resistant because they have developed better strategies to deal with stress over time, said Casey. You may have already experienced a disaster beforehand and may therefore be better prepared for another event.
“I hope to live long enough to see it rebuilt.”
Remains of Karen Bagnards Altadena, California, house, after burning forest fires in the Los Angeles region in January 2025.
Kind approval: Yesterday my mother saw her home for the first time since the burning sensation for over 50 years
Before she lost her home at the running fire, Bagnard, a professional visual artist, recently had a great adaptation of life when she dealt with her vision loss.
At the beginning of 2024, she held a show at Pasadena Village, where she talked about groising with blindness. Her favorite piece – from a ball that falls – played a symbol for her own journey on the dark and light in the middle of a color scheme made of blue, blue -green and black.
“Knowing that you become blind is like a free case in the dark, and then you will notice at some point that you bring the light with you, so it's not really dark,” said Bagnard. “You have a different kind of light; the light is inside.”
This piece has been destroyed and is now together with most of her other works of art under the ashes of her house.
During most of her life, Bagnard made pen-and-in-in-in drawings with watercolor washing. Since the beginning of her visual loss, it has switched to other methods, with decupation and handmade papers as well as haikus being written.
The process of coping with her visual loss helped her to keep the recent loss of her house in perspective, she said, even though she admits that she still has moments of frustration.
To rebuild again, she applied for a loan for a small business management and her daughter has founded a Gofundme account.
In addition to the village of Pasadena, other community organizations have also supported to offer support.
A local non -profit organization, Better Angels, has made Bagnard and her grandson Grant available to money. And Journey House, a provider of nursing hearings, has promised to help Bagnards grandchildren, a former care youth, who has also lost everything in the fire.
In the middle of the debris of her house, Bagnard said she also saw signs of hope. A Danish plate with a mermaid who sees Bagnard as an art muse survived the fire and cement stairs that she had painted with pictures of the four seasons.
She said to her two daughters and grandson that it is up to them to decide what to do with the property that they will finally inherit.
“I will be 80 next month and hope to live long enough to see it rebuilt,” said Bagnard.