Kim Cantin, who lost her husband David and her son Jack during the 2018 debris flow, was recently reunited with a piece of her family’s history — a fragment of her late husband’s grandfather’s ceramic Christmas tree. The fragment was discovered on one of Carpinteria’s beaches just after Christmas, by beachcomber and Carpinterian Candi Burquez.
Cantin said the discovery felt significant, especially so close to Christmas and the eight-year anniversary of the debris flow. “It was really meaningful that we found a piece,” Cantin told Coastal View News. “It shows that the compassion of the community endures.”
Burquez explores Carpinteria’s beaches often, especially following a heavy rain, Burquez said. After the heavy rainfall Carpinteria received in December, Burquez set out to comb the shores and discovered the Christmas tree fragment on Dec. 29, 2025…