ALTADENA, Calif. — For 18-year-old Ryanne Arbet, the number five always carried a certain magic.

It was her lucky number..

So when she found the number five first among the ash and debris left behind by the Eaton Fire, the significance was unmistakable.

She then found the other three digits that had adorned the front of her family home in Altadena for over 25 years, a home now reduced to rubble.

“This is kind of the only thing that is left of the house,” Arbet said, holding the weathered numbers. “It’s like the only thing…a core memory, I guess. Every time I would come home, I would always look at these, and it was just 3825 — that’s my home.”

Arbet’s family — her grandparents, mother, siblings and stepfather — had scrambled to pack what they could in the dark, evacuating with no power as the flames approached. 

In hindsight, Arbet wishes she had known it was the last time she’d see her home intact.

“If I would have known that I was never going to come back, and it was going to be full of rubbish and smoke and fire, I would have grabbed things that meant a lot to me,” she said, her voice heavy with sorrow.

Among the lost items she mourns, most are her uncle’s military flag, baby pictures and her grandparents’ wedding photos. These are all the things she said she would have liked to show her own children one day. 

Yet even in her grief, Arbet holds onto a silver lining.

“The good thing is that we’re all safe,” she said. “What made the home, a home was the people in it.”

Ryanne’s stepfather, Francisco Rodriguez, recalled going back to save the home and their neighbor’s cat.   

“Everything was black and you couldn’t really see anything,” Rodriguez said, describing driving through the back roads to get to the neighborhood. 

When he finally arrived, little remained of the house and what did was in flames. 

“I looked up, and the house was gone,” he continued through tears. “There was nothing left.” 

Rodriguez recalls houses burning everywhere but said he managed to get the cat out safely before leaving the neighborhood. 

“It was just horrible,” he said.  

The Douglas and Rodriguez family loved their home in Altadena, a community steeped in history and resilience.

Known for its diversity and deep ties to the Great Migration, the city provided refuge to Black families fleeing the Jim Crow South. 

For Arbet’s mother, Amber Douglas Rodriguez, the family home represented more than just a house; it was a tapestry of generational memories.

“My kids have been there for their childhood, so it’s my childhood, their childhood and my parents’,” Amber reflected through tears. “All our memories are deeply woven into that home, so it’s really special to us.” 

The fifth-grade teacher recalled that she initially took refuge in the parking lot of her school while the family calculated their next steps.  

But the fire didn’t just claim possessions and memories — it upended lives.

The family is currently staying in a hotel as they navigate a labyrinth of next steps. It’s their second hotel as they had to be evacuated from their hotel in Hollywood because of the threat of the Sunset Fire. 

Family matriarch Earlie Douglas said she’d spent hours trying to reach insurance to no avail and that their FEMA application was denied, but they were told it was an error. She admits the road ahead feels daunting.

“I don’t think I have the bandwidth right now to deal with all that — adjusters, negotiations and things like that are normally, you know, welcome,” she said. “But right now, it’s difficult. But I’m thankful for all the support,” she said as she looked up to find family friends bringing a round of supplies.  

Earlie said the family plans to rebuild even if the next steps weren’t yet clear.  

The family sat together, comforting each other as they told their stories, Amber encouraging her husband and daughter to talk about it. 

Holding her young son in her arms, she noted that her family was not alone in their struggles.

“We’re not the only ones,” she said. “We do lend our support and love and care for everyone else who’s going through something like this, especially those that have small children,” she said, tears once again forming. “Whether they’ve lost their homes or just been displaced, we are thinking of them as well.”

For the Douglas Rodriguez family, rebuilding starts with their most unshakable foundation: each other.

As Arbet holds the numbers 3825 in her hands, she isn’t just remembering the past; she’s holding onto hope for the future.

The family has set up a GoFundMe to help them rebuild their lives. To donate, visit https://gofund.me/fb1ac9f2.