It was “just a normal day” when Ariyana Griffin, a doctoral student studying occupational therapy at the Ostrow School of Dentistry, packed up her belongings, grabbed her dog and fled her home in Altadena. She and her family went to her grandmother’s house for safety. The next day, she learned that the Eaton Fire had burned down her house. 

“I was just at home with my mom and my boyfriend. We were baking cookies for some new year’s thing I was going to do the next day. Right after the power went out, we saw all of our neighbors fleeing,” Griffin said. “We wanted to be better safe than sorry.”

Griffin is one of many Trojans who lost their home due to the multiple Los Angeles wildfires. Because her father passed away on Dec. 24, 2024, Griffin had taken time off from school and said after losing her home due to the fires, she felt “selfish” for thinking about going back. She is currently staying in her brother’s apartment in Orange County.

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However, with encouragement from her mom, Griffin returned to USC to continue her doctorate but said she needs to look for scholarships to make it possible for her to complete the program. 

While USC’s spring semester began as planned, at least 42 USC community members lost their homes to the fires, according to a Morning, Trojan estimate published on Jan. 12.

Ali Rachel Pearl, a lecturer for the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences’ writing program, also lost her home due to the Eaton fire. After the fire began Jan. 7, Pearl stayed home in preparation for evacuation.

Throughout the day, Pearl monitored evacuation notices, but her house was never given an evacuation order. To “[not] take any chances,” Pearl evacuated with her pets and several belongings at around 7:30 p.m. When she received photos of the fire on her street, visible from her house from a neighbor at 2:30 a.m., she said her area was still not under evacuation orders. Pearl said she is currently staying in her friend’s guest house while she searches for a new place to live.

Pearl said while the Federal Emergency Management Agency denied her application for $771 due to needing proof her insurance would not cover the money, she said she had received support from the community including a GoFundMe created for her by a former student. Pearl said because of the GoFundMe, she was able to go to a clothing popup to buy professional clothes to wear to school.

“There’s a stark difference between government institutions and nonprofit institutions that require a lot of bureaucracy and paperwork, versus community who is not going to ask questions, not going to make you re-traumatize yourself in order to access resources,” Pearl said.

Zachary Steel, an associate professor of theatre practice at the School of Dramatic Arts, also lost his home to the Eaton Fire. Steel said it was a “devastating feeling” to be in Hong Kong when the fires broke out and said he wished he was home with his family. They are currently still in the process of rebuilding a place to stay.

“All I can say is this is going to be a very up-and-down experience for me and for everyone. There’s so much loss and tragedy and grief about what has burned down and what has been lost,” Steel said. “We’re just trying to pick up the pieces and collect stuff from friends and family, [such as] beds, a place to stay and things like that.”

Despite losing her house and many of her belongings, Griffin said she remains “hopeful” for the future.

“I am grateful every day that I’m still alive. We made it out very early and very safely,” Griffin said. “But all those things have memories in them, and it’s hard to replace certain things that are irreplaceable.”