Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Wall Street Hits Over One-Week Low on Tariff Uncertainty, Data in Focus

2 hours ago

US Judge Blocks Trump Administration’s Use of Troops in Los Angeles

2 hours ago

Garnet Fire in Fresno County Grows to 26,982 Acres, 12% Contained

3 hours ago

US Construction Spending Dips in July

3 hours ago

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Signs Law Redrawing Congressional Maps

4 days ago

US Air Force will Offer Military Funeral Honors to Slain Capitol Rioter

4 days ago

US Republican Senator Joni Ernst Will Not Run for Re-Election, CBS News Reports

4 days ago

Minneapolis Children Revealed Courage, Absorbed Fear During Church Shooting

5 days ago
Looking for His Father, a Worried Son Went to Fire Evacuation Zone but Found Death and Devastation
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 8 months ago on
January 16, 2025

A son's desperate search for his father in a wildfire evacuation zone ends in heartbreak and loss. (AP/Ryan Pearson)

Share

LOS ANGELES — Shaw Zhao was worried even before he arrived in Los Angeles last week: His father’s neighborhood was in an evacuation zone as deadly wildfires raged in the metropolitan area, and Zhao hadn’t heard from the 84-year-old the previous night.

As he made his way from the airport to Zhi-feng Zhao’s home in the Altadena neighborhood on Jan. 8, he was stopped by police blockades. So he went to a shelter for evacuees, searching every bed for his father’s familiar face to no avail.

The next day, he got into the neighborhood on foot, walking for an hour with his Lyft driver and the man’s wife — two strangers who had agreed to help him.

Devastating Discovery Amid Destruction

Approaching his father’s home, the houses along the entire block were all but gone. A coyote sniffed around the debris where his father’s home once stood. When he went to inspect, he was horrified to find his father’s remains.

“It was very difficult,” Zhao said, crying.

Zhi-feng Zhao, who was among at least 25 people killed in one of the most destructive natural disasters in Southern California’s history, had come to the United States from China in 1989, his son said, speaking partially in Mandarin.

His father, who was orphaned as a child and grew up in poverty in China, earned a college degree in math and mechanical engineering. After he immigrated to the U.S., he was unable to continue his academic work in his field because of the language barrier and instead worked in the restaurant business, his son said.

A Home Filled with Memories

Shaw Zhao said he bought the Altadena home for his parents in 2003. His mother, a local Chinese schoolteacher, died from cancer in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic when she was afraid to go to the hospital because she didn’t want to be isolated from her family.

Both his parents loved the neighborhood near Pasadena. The ranch-style home had a tree in the yard that produced a bounty of avocados for them and their neighbors every year.

“He just loved the peace, the fresh air above Altadena,” Zhao said of his father, noting that he was an avid hiker, active and strong until his wife passed away. He’d since required the help of a caregiver, who was out of town when the fires started.

Numerous older photos of his parents, his mom’s extensive stamp collection and sweaters she knit for him before she was diagnosed with cancer were also lost in the fire.

His dad had told him, “Shaw, Mom will leave you. But you will always have something to warm your body.”

Honoring Family Legacy

Shaw Zhao plans to take both parents’ ashes to China, where they have side-by-side burial plots in Shanghai. He also plans to rebuild the home, even though he lives in Portland, Oregon.

Zhao said he was close to his father, a “smart and talented” man who often gave him advice on how to speak up for himself and handle challenges when he was growing up.

Whenever he visited Los Angeles, his parents would prepare fish and his other favorite dishes. Even when his father couldn’t cook anymore, he’d instruct his caregiver to make food or order authentic Shanghainese food from Alhambra, an LA area with a large Chinese population.

In his last conversation with his dad — the day before he flew to Los Angeles — his father carried on that form of love: “When will you be here at home? What do you want to eat?”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

CA Law Silences Abuse Victims in Court. The Legislature Could Finally Change That

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Nab 11 DUI Suspects During Saturation Enforcement

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Make DUI Arrest During Weekend Saturation Patrol

DON'T MISS

US Issues Iran-Related Sanctions on Network of Shipping Companies, Vessels

DON'T MISS

Wall Street Hits Over One-Week Low on Tariff Uncertainty, Data in Focus

DON'T MISS

US Judge Blocks Trump Administration’s Use of Troops in Los Angeles

DON'T MISS

Thousands of Israeli Reservists Report for Duty, as Military Chief Clashes With Ministers

DON'T MISS

Vogue Appoints Chloe Malle to Succeed Anna Wintour as US Editorial Head

DON'T MISS

Garnet Fire in Fresno County Grows to 26,982 Acres, 12% Contained

DON'T MISS

US Construction Spending Dips in July

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Nab 11 DUI Suspects During Saturation Enforcement

UP NEXT

Clovis Police Make DUI Arrest During Weekend Saturation Patrol

UP NEXT

US Issues Iran-Related Sanctions on Network of Shipping Companies, Vessels

UP NEXT

Wall Street Hits Over One-Week Low on Tariff Uncertainty, Data in Focus

UP NEXT

US Judge Blocks Trump Administration’s Use of Troops in Los Angeles

UP NEXT

Thousands of Israeli Reservists Report for Duty, as Military Chief Clashes With Ministers

UP NEXT

Vogue Appoints Chloe Malle to Succeed Anna Wintour as US Editorial Head

UP NEXT

Garnet Fire in Fresno County Grows to 26,982 Acres, 12% Contained

UP NEXT

US Construction Spending Dips in July

UP NEXT

New Quake of Magnitude 5.5 Shakes Devastated Afghan Region as Death Toll Exceeds 1,400

US Issues Iran-Related Sanctions on Network of Shipping Companies, Vessels

2 hours ago

Wall Street Hits Over One-Week Low on Tariff Uncertainty, Data in Focus

2 hours ago

US Judge Blocks Trump Administration’s Use of Troops in Los Angeles

2 hours ago

Thousands of Israeli Reservists Report for Duty, as Military Chief Clashes With Ministers

2 hours ago

Vogue Appoints Chloe Malle to Succeed Anna Wintour as US Editorial Head

2 hours ago

Garnet Fire in Fresno County Grows to 26,982 Acres, 12% Contained

3 hours ago

US Construction Spending Dips in July

3 hours ago

New Quake of Magnitude 5.5 Shakes Devastated Afghan Region as Death Toll Exceeds 1,400

3 hours ago

Trump Set to Move Space Command Headquarters to Alabama From Colorado, Sources Say

3 hours ago

Tulare County Authorities Investigate Porterville Shooting

16 hours ago

CA Law Silences Abuse Victims in Court. The Legislature Could Finally Change That

This commentary was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Thirty years ago, I did the bravest thing I could ima...

31 minutes ago

San Diego Courtroom
31 minutes ago

CA Law Silences Abuse Victims in Court. The Legislature Could Finally Change That

50 minutes ago

Fresno Police Nab 11 DUI Suspects During Saturation Enforcement

2 hours ago

Clovis Police Make DUI Arrest During Weekend Saturation Patrol

United States Department of the Treasury logo and U.S. flag are seen in this illustration taken April 23, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

US Issues Iran-Related Sanctions on Network of Shipping Companies, Vessels

A view shows the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Wall Street entrance in New York City, U.S., April 7, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Wall Street Hits Over One-Week Low on Tariff Uncertainty, Data in Focus

National Guard troops wear gas masks during protests against federal immigration sweeps, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

US Judge Blocks Trump Administration’s Use of Troops in Los Angeles

An Israeli soldier stands on top of a military vehicle at the Israel-Gaza border, as seen from Israel, August 26, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Thousands of Israeli Reservists Report for Duty, as Military Chief Clashes With Ministers

Anna Wintour attends opening remarks during a press preview of The Costume Institute's exhibition "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, U.S., May 5, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Vogue Appoints Chloe Malle to Succeed Anna Wintour as US Editorial Head

Search

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Send this to a friend