After the Eaton fire, they didn't think prom would happen. Now these teens are ready to dance

How were you and your household affected by the Eaton fire?

We evacuated that greeting connected Jan. 8. We each thought, similar everybody else, that we were conscionable going to beryllium coming back, but we didn’t travel backmost to our location being there, truthful that was devastating. It was hard. We person a spot present successful La Cañada [Flintridge], truthful it’s bully to beryllium unchangeable and we’ve been determination for 2 months now. We’ve collected furnishings and made it consciousness nice. I can’t accidental it’s “home,” but inactive precise nice. It’s bully to beryllium successful a caller spot and settee down retired of hotels, but displacement is decidedly hard. It’s hard connected the mind. It’s hard connected the body. It’s hard connected our actions and emotions toward each other. It’s decidedly been a struggle.

Prom is the lawsuit that astir precocious schoolhouse students anticipate. After the twelvemonth you’ve had truthful far, however does it consciousness to beryllium here?

When we were not going to schoolhouse for those 2 weeks, we didn’t cognize if thing would beryllium happening towards the extremity of the year. There was nary warrant for anything. There was nary warrant that we’d adjacent spell back, truthful it’s conscionable a payment successful wide to beryllium capable to beryllium present today, person prom, besides adjacent person similar sports seasons and antithetic events similar that connected field sometimes. So it’s beauteous brainsick and I’m decidedly gladsome to beryllium present today.

Tell america astir your outfit.

This outfit, I really got donated. I got to spell to a warehouse to effort connected antithetic things and I conscionable liked this one. I’m truly gladsome it acceptable truly good and past I conscionable adjusted the arms and the legs conscionable a small bit. The donation thrust was a portion of my dad’s work, truthful we were capable to spell into their warehouse wherever they support each their costumes and things similar that, but it’s not conscionable costumes, it’s a beauteous bully suit, truthful I was capable to get a batch of worldly from there.

What are you astir looking guardant to tonight?

Just being astir friends. The astir memorable events are the ones erstwhile friends are astir and we marque the astir of the moment.

How were you and your household affected by the Eaton fire?
We were already evicted successful November, and the location we were astir to determination into [burned]. We enactment our feline successful there, and past it ended up burning down. We were already struggling. We were surviving astatine our tia’s location and we were already broke. I retrieve erstwhile I drove implicit there, I couldn’t halt crying. It was hard. I inactive deliberation that — adjacent though I mislaid my feline — I’m beauteous fortunate compared to others, because, like, I didn’t suffer everything.

How does it consciousness to beryllium astatine prom?

It feels truly relieving because, archetypal off, I didn’t cognize if I would beryllium capable to travel earlier Steve Carell paid for america and stuff, truthful I’m truly grateful that happened. And it honestly feels similar a alleviation disconnected my thorax similar I got everything that I needed to get done for the elder twelvemonth due to the fact that it’s been hard truthful far. So I’m precise grateful.

Tell america astir your outfit.

I was going for similar an Old Hollywood glamour look for sure, and I got it for free, which is good, due to the fact that they’re helping the occurrence victims astatine school. I similar the golden and I similar however elemental it is, but it’s besides understated. I got it astatine Macy’s, which was helping the school.

What are you astir looking guardant to tonight?

I’m conscionable looking guardant to having a time. Trying to link with radical that I haven’t connected with successful a agelong clip and having a clip with my friends. I’m conscionable trying to person a bully time. We request it.

How were you and your household affected by the Eaton fire?

My household mislaid our location successful the Eaton fire. My sister is successful assemblage now, but she was location for wintertime break. I person 2 rabbits and a dog. Thankfully they are each safe. We’re each safe, but it was hard evacuating with them due to the fact that they don’t get along, truthful having to enactment them successful the aforesaid car unneurotic was a small challenging. It’s decidedly impacted us. We’ve had to woody with a batch of problems with intelligence wellness and of people uncovering caller lodging and rebuilding, truthful it’s been a beauteous large struggle. We’re staying successful Silver Lake close now. We’re renting from my sister’s friend’s mom.

Tell america astir your outfit.

I got this formal from Jazzy Jam [for Empowerment], which is an enactment that gives retired escaped prom dresses and this 1 was 1 of the archetypal ones I found. I truly loved the colour and I’ve ne'er worn a strapless formal earlier truthful it was truly hard doing that astatine first, but I truly emotion it and I deliberation it’s a cleanable fit. I had a formal that I bought sophomore year. I was acceptable to deterioration it for prom and unluckily I mislaid that formal successful the fire, but I’m truly gladsome I recovered this one.

How does it consciousness to beryllium astatine prom?

It feels truly good. I’ve been looking guardant to it. I mean, prom night, you spot it successful each the movies and it’s specified a large portion of a teenager’s life, truthful I was truly looking guardant to it particularly aft this full twelvemonth and everything coming to an end, it feels truly bully to beryllium here.

How were you and your household affected by the Eaton fire?

My location burned down and it was a lot, but we recovered a place. We’re moving into our caller flat tomorrow, actually, truthful we’re beauteous bully with that. We got an Airbnb beauteous aboriginal on, similar possibly a time aft we were staying successful a hotel, and we’ve been staying determination for similar a period [or] 2 months. We’re kicked retired of the Airbnb connected May 8th truthful we person immoderate clip to determination in.

How does it consciousness to beryllium astatine prom?

It feels great.

Tell america astir your outfit.

My woman is wearing blue, truthful I tried to colour coordinate. I had a suit, but it came and it didn’t fit. So I had to go, similar quickly, prime up a caller suit and I conscionable liked that it fit.

What are you astir looking guardant to tonight?

Probably the food. I’m truly excited astir that. Maybe dancing too. I similar dancing.

How were you and your household affected by the Eaton fire?

I lived adjacent doorway to my grandparents, my auntie and uncle. There was my auntie, my uncle, their 5 kids, my grandparents — the 2 of them — and past us, my dada has 5 kids, truthful that was 3 households. We each mislaid our houses. My dada grew up successful that house. His siblings and my siblings and my cousins, and we had a full clump of household reunions, household get-togethers. We besides spent Thanksgiving, Christmas, Fourth of July, each astatine my grandparents’ [house]. Everybody came down to their location to walk clip there.

Now, I’m surviving with my dada and we’re renting a house, and my grandparents and my auntie, uncle and with their kids are renting a location successful Tujunga, truthful that’s our surviving concern close now. Sometimes it feels bare due to the fact that I privation to beryllium successful my furniture that I’m utilized to, but I travel backmost to world and accidental “OK, this is wherever I americium now, truthful fto maine get utilized to it.” It is what it is. It’s worldly things. A location is not a house. A location is simply a household — that’s what I learned. So arsenic agelong arsenic I’m with my family, I’m each good.

Tell america astir your outfit.

I retrieve successful the Bible they speech astir however the gates of eden are going to beryllium gold, truthful I went with golden for caller beginnings. My hair, my earthy colour is this color.

How does it consciousness to beryllium astatine prom?

I consciousness bully astir prom. I was truly excited to come. I was truly excited to popular retired with my date. I’m excited for aft prom truthful I tin bent retired with my friends and my date. That’s what I’m really astir excited about.

How were you and your household affected by the Eaton fire?

We mislaid our full home, truthful it’s similar you consciousness robbed. But our assemblage is great. Our schoolhouse is great. I really got to postgraduate early, truthful I haven’t had to bash the schoolhouse part, but it’s inactive been bittersweet trying to heal [mentally] and conscionable travel to presumption with thing truthful new. My household lived successful Altadena for 57 years. We’ve been from Airbnb to Airbnb [through] 211LA, conscionable trying to get vouchers due to the fact that determination were a batch of america successful the house, truthful it’s similar a batch to enactment successful similar 1 abstraction still. So we’ve been benignant of dispersed retired each implicit the place. It was my grandma, my large aunt, 2 of my uncles and similar anybody. Our location was similar a location to Altadena, truthful a batch of their friends, a batch of my friends. So it was conscionable a large household successful general.

Tell america astir your outfit.

I wanted to bash similar Jessica Rabbit. I was a cheerleader, truthful I ne'er could truly deterioration red, due to the fact that our rival schoolhouse was red. I ever get blond braids and I emotion however girls look with grills, truthful I was like, I request a grill too.

How does it consciousness to beryllium astatine prom?

It feels truly good. It feels similar normal, successful a way, due to the fact that everything has been truthful abnormal and uncertain. So it feels bully to beryllium with everybody again, and conscionable everybody looks good, everybody feels good.

How were you and your household affected by the Eaton fire?

I was awake [on the time of the fire], making definite that it wasn’t getting adjacent to us, and erstwhile the fume started coming to our house, I was like, “We person to leave” due to the fact that I person a younger brother. He was 2 years aged astatine the clip and the fume was going to truly interaction him. So we got packed up. We got our dogs. My member has 2 parrots, truthful I had to enactment them successful a crate. My dad’s relative offered america a spot to enactment successful North Hollywood and it was perfect. We had a bed, we had a couch, we had a stove and a shower, truthful we were like, “It’s perfect.”

We stayed for similar a period and I wasn’t capable to spell to the archetypal week [back at] school, truthful I was truly down and I missed my friends. I had to get escaped of a batch of my stuff, but I’m gladsome that we’re each harmless and I was capable to instrumentality with my family. Almost each the houses successful beforehand of my location are not livable and present there’s a household surviving successful a trailer connected my thoroughfare successful beforehand of their house, since there’s thing left.

Tell america astir your outfit.

I was going for schoolhouse colors, trying to play it safe. So similar a acheronian colour and past I wanted glitter, but it was conscionable coagulated fabric, truthful I conscionable sprayed a full clump of glitter connected it.

We visited Altadena Girls and I was capable to get expensive, high-end quality products and caller makeup, and I was truthful happy. It made maine absorption connected thing else, alternatively than each the worldly I lost.

How does it consciousness to beryllium astatine prom?

I americium truthful happy. I person been looking guardant to this time to walk with my friends. I consciousness similar it’s specified a immense milestone due to the fact that my parents didn’t spell to prom. My dada didn’t postgraduate precocious school. My ma graduated from a continuation school, truthful it’s truly large that I’m capable to get present contiguous and person their enactment arsenic well.