Marcus Betts, 52, and his wife, Tawana Carter, 51, pose for a portrait in the remnants of their family home that was destroyed during the Eaton fire.
LOS ANGELES — Marcus Betts and his family lived in Altadena for generations, so the 52-year-old was no stranger to the blazes that plague the Golden State. But as the Eaton fire broke out on the evening of Jan. 7, it was whipped up by staggeringly powerful Santa Ana winds.
A friend of Betts’ mother first texted them that the fire was just a few miles away.
“I went upstairs to my mom’s room and looked out her east-facing window, and I could see a red glow. And that’s when I knew that this is different,” said Betts, who works as an analyst in the baking industry…