Night has fallen on Mandeville Canyon,
the multimillion dollar homes here are glowing with fire. The daylong aerial assault from helicopters and planes dropping retardant has largely stopped. A few firefighters are resting in folding chairs or on curbs, watching the cliffs.
In Altadena, a residential area north of Pasadena with a population of about 43,000, it’s easier to count how many structures haven’t been destroyed by the Eaton fire. I drove the length of Fair Oaks, one of the area’s principal north-south avenues, this afternoon. Between Glenrose Avenue and East Harriet St, a more than mile-long stretch, I counted just two houses – out of well over 100 properties – that had not been completely burned.
