Altadena couple recounts making remarkable discovery after losing their home in Eaton Fire

ALTADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- The Eaton Fire raged for 24 days, destroying more than 9,400 structures. The historic, wind-driven firestorm obliterated the home of Chien and Kim Yu, but the couple discovered one thing flames can't destroy.

On Jan. 8th, 2025, at 3 a.m., a rumbling roar woke Kim Yu and her family. "The winds came early. We weren't expecting them in the middle of the night," she said in a recent interview.

In the dark, the Altadena resident and her husband Chien Yu scrambled to secure outdoor objects. "It was so harrowing. We had to take down our basketball hoop and lay everything down," Kim said.

Within a few hours they saw the fiery tempest approach. It was time to run. "It was an unfightable fire. It was a windstorm," she said.

But the couple were not going to leave their neighbors behind.

"He went out and started pounding on doors and getting people out while I was getting the kids together," said Kim.

Once their family was safe, Chien, a Pasadena firefighter, headed to the front lines. Kim, a fire safety specialist and newly-elected town council member, started finding refuge for fire victims. Then a neighbor called.

"She called me in tears. She's like, Kim, everything's gone. My house is gone, your house is gone. I'm like, 'My house is what?' She's like, 'I'm driving down your street right now. It's in flames,'" Kim recalled.

For Zaire Calvin, the cost of the fire was so much more than just his four family homes that burned to the ground. It was his sister's life.

All this as her husband was fighting to save other homes. Kim said the loss of irreplaceable pictures, their kids artwork and sentimental gifts hurt the most.

"There was nothing saveable that was precious to us because all the things that were precious to us were just very combustible," she said.

In the months that followed, Kim didn't dwell on her devastation. Instead, she focused on helping others.

"I know how to navigate and understand bureaucracy and I was like, I wanna take those skills and help my neighbors just figure things out," she said.

She and other council members organized relief networks with non-profits and local legislators. On their website, they created a centralized place to find resources.

"We just hope that people don't forget Altadena that we still need the support. The initial support was great, but like we still need more because we're still rebuilding, we're still going through it," said Kim.

In October, Asian Americans Advancing Justice SoCal awarded Chien the Joseph Ileto Courage Award. He told the audience that his wife was the true hero.

"I'm truly grateful, honored and humbled," Chien Yu said in his acceptance speech. "I feel like what I did that night was nothing compared to what my wife did."

The chaotic evacuation of Pacific Palisades on Jan. 7, 2025 still haunts many. Officials say traffic control and evacuation routes are being assessed.

At what was left of their house, Kim described where their bedroom used to be on the property.

The couple's dedication to each other and to Altadena's rebuilding effort inspires their community. And from the ashes, a sign of hope.

About a week after the fire, sifting through the rubble right here in what used to be the couple's bedroom, an amazing single find: her husband's wedding ring.

"I just couldn't believe it," she said. "I was just -- of all things, that ring. It signified that our union, no matter what we go through, will survive the most terrible tragedies. And that we will make it through together."