California Today: It Wasn’t Just a Diner. It Was a Hub for Altadena.

Today's top stories from California.

January 22, 2025, 9:31 a.m. Eastern time By Claire Fahy I kept clicking refresh, looking for the house on Revello Drive. I scanned the Los Angeles County recovery website for a week for any word about whether a house in Pacific Palisades might have survived the fires. I searched online for nearby landmarks — ones that survived, ones that succumbed — to convince myself the house still stood. The reason for my dedication was just how distinctive this house was, both in its character and what it marked in my life — the crossing of that elusive shadow line between childhood and adulthood. My family rented the home when I graduated from U.C.L.A. in 2017, nine people packed into its four bedrooms. It was a Spanish colonial jewel, with a terraced backyard overlooking the Pacific Coast Highway. The house was filled with rattan screens, stained glass, spiral staircases and arched decorative doors that led to all the rooms. But by far the greatest feature was what my family came to call "the gargoyle bar" — a lower-level room with fresco walls, a low-barreled ceiling and a bar propped up by two gargoyle statues. Here we ended each night, listening to music and laughing. The owner told me that the wacky house décor had all been collected from various old Hollywood movie sets, as the man who built the home was a set decorator. Some of the artistic flair also came from the owner's father. We celebrated in this house, toasting our family, who had immigrated from Ireland — far from gargoyle bars and Pacific Ocean views. As we all get older, we gather on trips less and less frequently. The visit to Revello Drive lingers in our memories, all these years later. Last week, as I refreshed the recovery website once more, the house on Revello Drive popped up — not as it is in my memory, with its white plaster facade and tile roof, but as a bright-red house icon: the county website's online marker for a destroyed home. I clicked on the two pictures accompanying the notification. The house was reduced to rubble, save for the stone chimney, which stands defiantly, ocean waves still crashing in the background. As I broke the news to my family that the house was gone, a striking thought kept coming up: What if the gargoyles survived? We reasoned that the bar was below street level, and the gargoyles were made of tough stuff. We can always hope. Today's Top Story Philip Cheung for The New York Times It Wasn't Just a Diner. It Was a Hub for Altadena. The Little Red Hen Coffee Shop offered grits and community for decades before it was lost in the Eaton fire. Read more More California News Evacuation Orders Given Late to Area Where Fire Deaths Were Concentrated All 17 people who died in the Eaton fire lived in an area where evacuation orders came hours later than others, even as homes nearby were already burning. Some people never received warnings at all. Winds relax in Southern California, but wildfire risk remains. Bone-dry air, warm temperatures and another round of winds are all in the forecast this week for Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. Their Homes Are Intact, but the Fire Damage Inside Is Unbearable Some evacuees from the Eaton fire have been allowed back into their homes, only to find that smoke and ash have made living there impossible for now. In Car-Loving Los Angeles, the Charred Remains of Vehicles Cut Deep For many residents, a set of wheels is an extension of their home, a key to their income or a source of priceless memories. 3 Small Fires Break Out in San Diego Area, Forcing Evacuations The blazes ignited in San Diego County early Tuesday, keeping Southern California on edge as dangerous fire conditions persisted. Netflix Adds 19 Million Subscribers in Latest Quarter The company said those results were buoyed by programming in recent months that exceeded internal expectations. Trump Wants to Unleash Energy, as Long as It's Not Wind or Solar Legal experts said the president was testing the boundaries of executive power with aggressive orders designed to stop the country from transitioning to renewable energy. Trump's Order to End E.V. Subsidies Draws Pushback and Doubt Automakers and even some Republicans may fight to preserve funds, and environmental activists will likely sue, but some experts said that some changes may not survive legal challenges. Local Conditions Look up the heat index in your area using The Times's heat tracker. See active fires using The Times's wildfire tracker. Today's Recipe Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Brown Butter Bucatini With Charred Cabbage  By Ham El-Waylly 45 minutes   Makes 4 servings  Play a Game The Mini Crossword Solve this bite-sized puzzle in just a few minutes. Spelling Bee How many words can you make with 7 letters? Wordle Guess the 5-letter word with 6 chances. See all our games Sign up for Your Places: Extreme Weather. Get notified about extreme weather before it happens with custom alerts for places in the U.S. you choose. Get it in your inbox Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. 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