Christmas Tree Lane stretched for a mile on Santa Rosa Avenue each year, bringing holiday cheer to the community. However, after the Eaton Fire ripped through the area in January, the street has gone dark.
Over the weekend, volunteers began the hard work to put up thousands of lights along the street, brightening spirits and shining a light on the community's resilience.
After the devastating wildfire, there was concern the 105-year tradition saw its last holiday season.
"I was worried about the tradition, it has been apart of my life since early childhood," South Pasadena resident Joshua Tomoyasu said. "I was definitely praying the trees would make it through."
Many of the homes along Santa Rosa Avenue were destroyed in the fire, and there was concern that the giant cedar trees would be also damaged or destroyed too. The area has been closed since January, and volunteers didn't know what the street would look like until they got in.
Volunteers were surprised and relieved to see that every single giant cedar survived.
"When we finally got the OK, we came in, we had HAZMAT suits for volunteers, and took the lights down," Christmas Tree Lane Association President Scott Wardlaw said. "And then, we were able to assess what we had to work with."
Taking down all the lights take were still up from last Christmas was a herculean task in itself, which took about eight weeks.
Now that it's fall, the lights are going back up -- and there are more volunteers than ever before.
"It's a very meaningful part of Altadena's history, and I want to be part of that," volunteer Kristan Ginther said.
Volunteers will be out here every weekend until the big lightning ceremony on December.
"I think it's going to be even more special," Tomoyasu said. "I think it's something that Altadena cherishes. I think now it stands as a symbol of the community's strength and resilience at anything that gets put in front of it -- we'll overcome it."