A fundraiser for a Boonton native has raised $79,000 after her family lost their home in the devastating LA wildfires
Altadena: An online fundraiser for a Boonton native and her family has raised $79,000 after their home and belongings were lost in the LA wildfires.
Melissa Viator, her husband Jake, and their 2-year-old child are safe after losing their home to the most destructive wildfires in Southern California history.
By a stroke of luck, Viator and daughter Camellia were already staying with family in Arizona when the Eaton Fire broke out on January 7.
But her husband, Jake, was still home, overseeing a major renovation of their house in Altadena, about 14 miles north of downtown LA.
Jake was at home when the fires started. He was camping out in a bedroom while the house was under construction.
When Melissa heard about the fires, she texted Jake to warn him. He stepped outside and saw a huge plume of smoke over the mountain.
“There was no time, no emergency warning,” Jake said. He grabbed a bag, jumped in his car, and started leaving the neighborhood. As he turned the corner, he saw a wall of orange flames.
“My whole town was on fire,” he recalled.
After spotting the flames, Jake drove back into his neighborhood, honking his horn and shouting “fire!” He even knocked on a friend’s door to make sure they evacuated. But after circling the streets three times, he decided to head straight to Scottsdale to join his wife and daughter.
“They had been staying there with her family since Thanksgiving while I went back to start the renovation,” he said. “That was one of the few silver linings to all this. They didn’t have to experience that evacuation.”
Melissa, a professional photographer, graduated from Boonton High School in 2005. She shared her heartbreak on Instagram, mourning their home and the community they loved.
“The living room is gone. The bedrooms are gone. The kitchen – where we baked Christmas cookies – is gone. It’s all gone,” she wrote.
Despite the loss, she remains hopeful. “I know it will get better, one day at a time. We will rebuild eventually,” she said, emphasizing the strength of their community.
A firefighter later sent Jake a photo of their home, which burned to the ground on the first night of the Eaton fire.
Jake had experienced wildfire alerts before, but nothing like this. “We had the craziest winds I’ve ever seen in LA,” he said, recalling how it reminded him of hurricanes back in Louisiana.
After Jake escaped, a contractor friend confirmed his worst fears. “When he got there, it was like hell on earth. Every house was on fire, 20-foot flames everywhere,” he said.
Access to his neighborhood is still blocked, but a government website shows that all that’s left of his property is a chimney.
“We know how it goes, but this was beyond comprehension,” Jake said. “Every person we know in town has lost their house. It’s just a total disaster.”
Since then, the wildfires have devastated entire neighborhoods along the Pacific Coast and near the San Gabriel Mountains. As of Thursday, at least 25 people had died, and over 12,000 homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed.
The Palisades and Eaton fires have burned nearly 40,000 acres in Los Angeles County. Thankfully, lighter winds have helped firefighters in their efforts.
Jake and Melissa are still processing everything and considering their options. They want to rebuild their home and community.
They’ve been uplifted by an online fundraiser launched by Jake’s brother, which has raised almost $80,000 in just over a week. While insurance will cover some losses, they face challenges with the high cost of construction in California.
“It’s just weird to feel so blessed and loved when you’re dealing with so much catastrophe,” Jake said, noting he’s heard from many people he hadn’t spoken to in a while.
Most of their possessions are gone, but treasured family photos are safely stored “on the cloud,” thanks to Melissa’s photography skills.
When they can rebuild, the loss of their dream home and community will linger. “We saved our whole lives to be able to do this,” Jake said. “We never dreamed we’d afford a house in LA, but Altadena made that dream come true.”
Altadena is a close-knit town with many generational homes. “It was the first town in LA where Black Californians could buy a house because of redlining by banks,” Jake explained.
There was a strong sense of community in Altadena, where friends would gather at local spots like Altadena Hardware. “It was a beautiful little business district,” Jake said. “Now, it’s gone. But we’re looking forward and feeling positive. We want to rebuild the community and be part of it again.”
