Officials lay out top priorities in Eaton Fire recovery process at community meeting

PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- Thousands of people impacted by the Eaton Fire are still trying to figure out what's next.

To help share some insight on the recovery process, officials held a community meeting Sunday night at the Pasadena City College.

The gym was filled with people, many of whom lost something or someone in the fire.

"I didn't know what to expect," said Altadena resident Ron Carter, who drove home on Wednesday to find he lost his neighborhood. "I mean, after seeing all those homes just flattened, I said, 'Oh, well, I guess we lost our home.' But then we got there and I saw my house standing there it was like, 'Oh no. I can't believe it.'"

Like many, Carter attended the community meeting to hear from officials directly.

Various departments provided updates on the firefight, doubled down their commitment to rebuild Altadena and shared a timeline of priorities, such as clean-up efforts before residents are allowed back to their homes.

"When I do go back, it's myself and two other individuals whose homes are not burned for like a mile, and I'm wondering what's going to happen," said Carter.

Officials said they gathered five pages of written questions from community members. Among them was Shari Shaw's, whose brother Victor died holding a garden hose.

READ MORE | Man died with garden hose in hand in Eaton Fire, family says

Victor Shaw is among those who lost their lives, with his sister Shari Shaw telling ABC News he died in a heroic attempt to protect his home in Altadena.

She tells us she felt in the dark then - and now.

"It's difficult to get anybody to help me at the time that my brother needed help getting out of the house," she said. "I was a little upset with not getting any phone calls with the status of retrieving his body."

She was also encouraged by the full federal reimbursement for the initial disaster response and the repeated calls to bring the people of Altadena back home.

"There was a lot of promises made, and I hope that they can keep those promises," she said.

As of Monday morning, the Eaton Fire was 27% contained.

In all, four fires have consumed more than 62 square miles, an area larger than San Francisco.

The Eaton Fire and the Palisades Fire alone accounted for 59 square miles. They each gained some containment over the weekend.

And the forecast was worrying. The National Weather Service issued a rare warning of a "particularly dangerous situation," beginning overnight Monday into Tuesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.