By: Altadena’s Christmas Tree Lane Assn. relies connected much than 100 volunteers to instal its yearly vacation ray show and shape its free wintertime show and lighting ceremony, scheduled for Dec. 6 this year.
But pinch the organization successful ruins and much than half of its volunteers displaced by the Eaton occurrence successful January, will the relation person capable helpers — and bosom — to get the occupation done?
Actually, says relation President Scott Wardlaw, the bigger interest now is whether the statement will beryllium deluged pinch volunteers erstwhile activity originates this period hanging agelong strands of lights connected the monolithic droopy limbs of the 135 deodar cedars that statement either broadside of Santa Rosa Avenue, a.k.a. Christmas Tree Lane, for about a mile.
The 135 deodar cedars lining some sides of Santa Rosa Avenue, a.k.a. Christmas Tree Lane, successful Altadena survived beautiful overmuch intact aft the Eaton occurrence successful January, isolated from for a fewer ample branches that were surgery by the fierce winds that fueled the fire.
(Jeanette Marantos / Los Angeles Times)
That’s why this twelvemonth — the event’s 105th day — relation leaders are asking for volunteers to motion up ahead of time, Wardlaw said, truthful they could guarantee that they person capable helpers and capable jobs for those helpers complete the adjacent 10 to 12 weekends it mostly takes to put up the lights.
The relation started getting inquiries this summertime from group about Southern California, said Mikayla Arevalo, the association’s unpaid coordinator and communications director. People wanted to cognize if the trees survived the occurrence that destroyed much than 9,400 structures successful Altadena and whether they could thief the celebrated wintertime show and lighting ceremonial return again this year.
One of the miracles of the occurrence is that the cedars did survive, mostly intact isolated from for a fewer limbs that were surgery successful the fierce winds. Some residents in installments the monolithic trees for sheltering the homes beneath from the wind-driven embers that destroyed galore different structures.
The lights were still connected the trees erstwhile the winds began successful January, but respective strings were broken. Most of the association’s instrumentality survived successful retention bins contempt their proximity to different structures that burned.
In November 2024, Christmas Tree Lane volunteers Casty Fortich, from left, and Temple City High School student Patience Cam effort to plaything strands of lights onto 1 of the monolithic deodar cedars that statement the road, while unpaid Feli Hernandez, acold right, waits pinch different strand. In the center, Scott Wardlaw offers proposal and encouragement.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Things didn’t spell truthful good for Christmas Tree Lane’s longtime Santa, Jim Vitale. The 1905-era home, wherever he and his wife, creator Dale LaCasella, had lived since 1993, burned on pinch each their belongings.
Despite the aftermath of the fire, the longtime volunteers for the relation will beryllium backmost this twelvemonth astatine the festival, moreover though they now unrecorded 25 miles eastbound successful La Verne. Vitale and LaCasella started playing Santa and Mrs. Claus, respectively, for the wintertime show about 15 years ago.
Jim Vitale sits successful his surviving room wearing his individual Santa Claus costume successful 2023, about 13 months earlier his location and costume pieces were destroyed successful the Eaton fire.
(Dale LaCasella)
Vitale’s elaborate Santa costume, including his 130-year-old strand of brass sleigh bells and hand-carved belt, were each destroyed successful the fire, on pinch LaCasella’s handmade green-and-red felt elf shoes and vest.
“We managed to time off the tract pinch 2 cars, 2 laptops, our feline and the apparel connected our backs,” Vitale said. “All our buildings, my [backyard] winery, my wife’s workplace successful our aged carriage house, my room pinch 10,000 volumes about architecture and the history of California ... each gone.”
LaCasella, a retired attorney, said she and her hubby decided against rebuilding “because we’re excessively old. I’m almost 80 and I decided I couldn’t hold 2 years successful immoderate impermanent location” until the location was rebuilt. But she’s still very progressive successful her aged organization arsenic the president of the elder center, which was destroyed successful the fire.
She drives into Altadena a fewer days a week to thatch creation classes and thief find a caller spot for the seniors to meet until the halfway could beryllium rebuilt.
Vitale, a retired location inspector and accessibility master for the state, is engaged reassembling Santa costume parts. He has played Santa for years astatine various locations successful Southern California, including Riverside’s Mission Inn, but his daylong unpaid stint arsenic Altadena’s Christmas Tree Lane Santa is dearest to his heart.
Jim Vitale and his wife, Dale LaCasella, sojourn the barren remains of their Altadena beforehand gait successful August, 7 months aft their 1905 Craftsman location and outbuildings were destroyed by the Eaton fire. They judge they’re excessively aged to rebuild, and now unrecorded successful La Verne, 25 miles east.
(Marcus Ubungen / For The Times)
“As agelong arsenic I could still locomotion and talk, and whether I unrecorded successful La Verne aliases wherever, I’ll will ever beryllium their Santa until the Lord says, ‘Hang it up,’” Vitale said. “It’s for the emotion of Altadena and the history down Altadena. You spot different [communities] wherever group aren’t talking to each different and they person walls each around, but that’s not what Altadena and Christmas Tree Lane are about. It’s about talking to your neighbors and welcoming people. There’s conscionable a consciousness of pridefulness you don’t spot successful different places, and I want to sphere that history and that feeling.”
It’s difficult to pinpoint what makes Christmas Tree Lane’s bare-bone ray show truthful popular. Visitors won’t acquisition immoderate flashing lights, dancing elves aliases blaring carols. It’s conscionable a quiet thrust beneath a adjacent mile of stately cedars bedecked pinch strings of multicolor lights.
“I deliberation the simplicity is what really draws people,” Arevalo said. “That and the tradition. ... We’re a humanities landmark, and I deliberation group conscionable emotion the mini municipality feel. When you’re driving through, it seems for illustration you’re retired successful the woods somewhere, not successful a city. It conscionable feels magical.”
A vintage postcard base a 1947 postmark, from Times writer and columnist Patt Morrison’s collection, tells the communicative of Altadena’s Christmas Tree Lane. If that twelvemonth was the 22nd lighting, past the 100-year day successful 2025 is quickly approaching.
Christmas Tree Lane attracts thousands of visitors each year, who slow thrust for about a mile nether a quiet canopy of monolithic cedar branches and lights. “I deliberation the simplicity is what really draws people,” said unpaid coordinator Mikayla Arevalo.
(Los Angeles Times)
But creating that magic requires weeks of strenuous work, Arevalo said. Volunteers typically commencement stringing lights the 2nd play of September, but the commencement day hasn’t been group yet this twelvemonth because the relation is still trying to finalize its required permits pinch the county.
Volunteers activity each Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to noon until the activity is finished, usually by early November. The workers cheque and switch the ample integrative bulbs connected the agelong strings of lights and past usage pulleys and hoists to bent and sometimes musculus those agelong strands of faceted lights onto the branches.
This year, workers will besides request to combine caller 15-foot-strands of lights because galore were surgery during the windstorm that fueled the Eaton fire, Wardlaw said. Volunteers request to beryllium astatine slightest property 13 to help. Many section precocious schoolhouse students are regular volunteers astatine the light-stringing sessions and gain the 40 unpaid hours they request to graduate.
That’s really Warren and Isabelle Skidmore’s family sewage progressive galore years ago, erstwhile their daughters Hannah, 19, and Tessa, 17, started helping arsenic freshmen astatine John Muir High School. Ultimately, the girls earned much than 400 unpaid hours, chiefly from moving connected Christmas Tree Lane.
Hannah Skidmore, 19, left, and her sister, Tessa, 17, person been devoted, longtime volunteers of Christmas Tree Lane and intend to proceed this twelvemonth though their Altadena location was destroyed successful the Eaton fire. They now unrecorded successful Sierra Madre until their puerility location could beryllium rebuilt.
(Marcus Ubungen / For The Times)
Initially, they showed up conscionable to get their hours, Hannah said. But they soon came to recognize that the activity they were doing was continuing a contented they had loved arsenic small kids — and taken for granted, ne'er realizing really galore group it requires twelvemonth aft twelvemonth to make it happen.
“When you spot thousands of group show up [for the lighting ceremony], it feels bully to cognize you helped make it happen,” Hannah said.
Tessa said she was initially motivated to put successful each those other hours for the situation of earning the 200-hour unpaid medallion offered astatine the precocious school, but by the end, she said, “We were doing it for the emotion of being connected the lane.”
It’s not for illustration the Skidmores aren’t busy. Their location — the only location the girls person ever known — was 1 of immoderate 6,000 destroyed successful the Eaton fire, truthful now the family is fundamentally camping retired successful a Sierra Madre flat until their location could beryllium rebuilt. Warren, an astrophysicist, is acting arsenic the subcontractor for their rebuilding project, but he besides accepted a caller occupation successful Hawaii correct aft the occurrence arsenic lawman head of NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility astatine the University of Hawaii.
Warren comes location to Altadena arsenic galore weekends arsenic he could manage, but Isabelle said she stayed successful Sierra Madre to beryllium his “boots connected the ground,” making judge the various jobs are completed, while their daughters spell to schoolhouse astatine Pasadena City College.
Isabelle Skidmore, left, her husband, Warren, and their 2 daughters Hannah, 19, (in the tree) and Tessa, 17, person been longtime volunteers for Christmas Tree Lane and intend to proceed this year.
(Marcus Ubungen / For The Times)
Tessa, who was the valedictorian astatine John Muir High School successful June (see her reside here starting astatine 45:40), entered assemblage arsenic a sophomore because of each the assemblage credits she earned successful precocious schoolhouse (“I for illustration challenging myself,” she said). Tessa wants a profession successful criminal justice, and Hannah is an aspiring schematic creator and musician who plays bass successful a section band, Exit 23.
Despite their schedules, uncovering clip to activity connected Christmas Tree Lane feels much important than ever this year, Tessa and Hannah said, because they recognize the contented could person been mislaid on pinch truthful galore different things destroyed successful the fire.
Hannah said 1 of her and her sister’s first thoughts aft the occurrence was about the destiny of Christmas Tree Lane.
“I conscionable deliberation this community, Altadena, is truthful special,” Hannah said. “It’s for illustration what Joni Mitchell says, ‘You don’t cognize what you person until it’s gone.’ That’s why we’re truthful tight-knit, moreover though we’ve been truthful dispersed. We cognize what we had, and that’s why it’s truthful valuable to us.”
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