ALTADENA, Calif. -- NEARLY FIVE MONTHS after the Eaton fire reduced his rented home to ashes, Carl Walton still lives mostly out of his car. Walton, 42, stashes most of his belongings in a storage unit more than an hour from his former home, and he sometimes showers at the gym. His workout gear and other necessities are stuffed in duffel bags he keeps in his burgundy-colored Jeep Compass.

One for martial arts and boxing. One for yoga. And yet another, along with his portable table, for massages. There was a bag he used for his job loading trucks at UPS until he was laid off in March. There is also a bag for running, something he started taking more seriously two years ago when he joined the Pasadena Run Club.

Before the fire, running had become a way for Walton to recalibrate and to

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