When he settled in west Altadena, Carl Dyson Sr. was determined.

Determined to build a home. Determined to make the “perfect place” that would sustain generations of his family beyond him.

It was the late 1970s. And Altadena represented a new horizon — an American town where the elder Dyson and his family could build a future.

Little could he have foreseen back then the catastrophe that would come a handful of years since his passing amid the Covid-19 pandemic years:

That dark morning, 3 a.m.-ish Jan. 8, 2025, when the next generation of his family watched the Eaton fire burn closer and closer to their Grandeur Avenue property.

No official evacuation alert came . Only instinct, and a belated recognition from family and friends that there was no way to stay. It was time to go. They

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