696 E Calaveras is my grandma’s house.

My grandma died three years ago (at 102) and technically it’s my uncle’s house now, but it’s the house my mom and her four siblings grew up in. My grandparents bought it new in 1950. The Bourne Family was the only family to ever live there.

I have incredibly fond memories of being in that house as a kid. I remember playing in the pool. I remember sitting on the bench on the front patio waiting for my parents to take me to Disneyland for the first time. I remember the feeling of that patio on my bare feet. I remember picking strawberries in the back yard. The smell of fresh strawberries always takes me back to those moments even now.

My grandfather and my mom’s oldest brother died climbing Mt Whitney in the late 70's, so I never met them, but being in that house, I felt like I knew them, and being there, I was close to them. My grandfather was a history teacher and a traveler and a collector. The house was filled with his books, his art, his figurines, his collectibles. When my uncle died, he was an executive at a record company. He had thousands of special, unique and even unopened records. He had art and furniture and clothes with a sense of style. All of this stuff, plus the only photos we have of that family whole, was in my grandma’s house.

My uncle lives there now. But he is almost 70 years old, and has both mental and health issues. My mom and aunt continue to take care of him. And when my grandma died, they made it so that he could remain in the only house he has ever lived in.

As of 5:30 am PST, Tuesday, January 7th , the house wasn’t in an evacuation zone. Not even a warning zone.

An hour later, my uncle was driving quickly away with my grandma’s cat, his truck, his mountain bike from the 80’s, and a bronze sculpture that had always been in the entryway. There were houses on the block on fire. And no emergency services in sight.

We spent the last two days not knowing anything. My uncle has been at the evacuation shelter but isn’t capable of going back on his own. I am in Michigan. My mom is in Colorado. My brother is in Alaska. After searching for a snippet of a video or the tiniest of photographic evidence for two days, I found a TikTok from a CBS reporter and saw that she had been on the street only hours earlier. I took a chance to see if they were still around. After a long day, Ashley and her team went back, after reporting on the devastation for hours upon hours, to give us an answer. She gave us an answer about the home that has been the only constant for a family that has had so much sadness and tragedy. She helped us know.

When I showed Ashley's video to my mom she started sobbing. Not because she didn’t already think the house was gone, she kinda already felt it in her soul, but because of the kindness of a stranger.

My uncle is still in the Evacuation Shelter. We are working on getting him in temporary housing via Airbnb's program for evacuees and ultimately, in a long term rental somewhere in the area. But he has lost everything and will be starting from scratch. He needs clothes, shoes, furniture, the basics.

Anything would help him and would honor the legacy of the Bourne family and 696 E Calaveras.

#eatonfire