Hopes are crushed when Altadena residents get false message to access homes in evacuation zone
- The city of Pasadena posted an erroneous message, suggesting Altadena residents could visit their homes located in an evacuation zone
- Residents who showed up to access their homes were turned away by the National Guard.
One by one, Eaton fire evacuees showed up to a National Guard blockade in Altadena on Friday afternoon, believing they would be allowed to make one trip into the mandatory evacuation zone.
They flashed screenshots of a Facebook post from the city of Pasadena to perplexed National Guard members.
The post read: “Law enforcement is allowing residents in the evacuation area a single [time] to access their homes with reasonable verification. We encourage residents to be prepared to gather any and all documents or items needed during this one-time entry.”
But no entries were allowed.
The Facebook post, according to Pasadena city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian, was “an error.” It was deleted within about an hour of going live, she said. But the city offered no clarification.
It was posted long enough for screenshots to speed through neighbors’ text message chains and for the text to be copied onto neighborhood Ring camera chat groups and the Watch Duty app.
For hours on Friday afternoon, hopeful evacuees rushed to barricaded roads only to be frustrated and confused when they were given no access. At New York Drive and Sinaloa Avenue, some residents waited for two hours.
“We’re dealing with an unprecedented incident, so there are bound to be some missteps,” Derderian said. “We apologize.”
Some Altadena residents returned to find their homes standing, while others are left reeling from the immense loss.
She said she was glad people were paying attention to the city’s social media accounts.
At a 4 p.m. community meeting on the Eaton fire, Altadena Sheriff’s Station Capt. Jabari Williams apologized for the misinformation circulated online.
“I understand there may have been some rumors spread that if you have your ID you can come in,” he said. “That is not the case. As of right now all of Altadena is still considered an evacuation area and all of the roads are closed for people coming in.”
Williams said that a repopulation plan is in the works and that sheriff’s deputies will remain in the area to assist with the repopulation process.
“It’s not like we’re just going to walk away and tell you all it’s OK to go in. That could cause problems,” he said. “We will have personnel in place and we will do extra patrols just to make sure your guys’ property is still protected.”
The mistake came as residents throughout the region are questioning officials’ emergency communications capabilities. County officials apologized Friday after residents across the Los Angeles area continued to receive erroneous emergency alerts that urged them to prepare to evacuate, even though many were not close to any of the fires sweeping across the foothills of the sprawling metropolis.
Altadena is an unincorporated portion of Los Angeles County and not part of neighboring Pasadena. But the Facebook post was sweeping enough that numerous Altadena evacuees who saw it quickly tried to get to their homes.
The post also included some accurate information: “In response to a request from Los Angeles County, Governor Newsome [sic] deployed the California National Guard to the Los Angeles area including Pasadena to assist with law enforcement duties in communities affected by the wildfires. Members of the California National Guard are in Pasadena and Altadena to help protect the homes, businesses and properties impacted by the Eaton fire.”
KTLA posted a story citing the erroneous post Friday afternoon, prompting at least one evacuated woman who saw that story to rush to New York Drive and Sinaloa Avenue, where one National Guard member called his commander to clarify and was told to continue keeping people out.
The Guard member was apologetic as people kept coming up, begging to get medication, clothes and insurance papers from their homes.
“I’m sorry,” he said to one woman. “I hate to keep you out of your home.”
Residents gathered around the intersection, frustrated there were no details about when they would be let in.
Some residents flee, others stay and fight as Eaton fire tears through unincorporated community of Altadena: ‘The whole city just got erased’
Among those who drove up were Cydney McCurdy and her evacuated parents, who are both in their late 80s and have lived on La Paz Road since 1986. They have been saying with McCurdy at her home in Sylmar all week and needed to get financial documents and papers for insurance companies.
The trio showed up at New York Drive and Sinaloa Avenue after a neighbor texted a screenshot of the Pasadena Facebook post. They parked their car on the curb and waited for two hours after a Guard member said he would contact his commander about the request to enter.
“You get one shot to wrap your life up in 30 seconds or less,” McCurdy said of the evacuation. “So everybody’s gonna come to get that one shot just to get in.”
Her father, Roy McCurdy, an 88-year-old drummer and music teacher, said he and his wife were eating dinner Tuesday night when a neighbor banged on the door and said to leave immediately. His son, who lives nearby, lost his home.
On Friday afternoon, McCurdy was tired and frustrated, waiting at the blockade, the air ashy.
“They put up a notice saying you were allowed to come in for one visit,” he said. “That’s why everybody’s showing up. … It is frustrating.”
He and his daughter and wife waited two hours before concluding the Facebook post was not true.
At New York Drive and Allen Avenue, a Guard member at the blockade said a man had shown him the Facebook post then ducked under the yellow police tape and ran past the guards. At about 3:30 p.m., he said people had been showing up at the barricade for hours, confused.
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