Family remembers loved one lost in Eaton Fire and warns of the need to prepare

One year after 95-year-old Dalyce Curry died during the Eaton Fire, her family said her story is a reminder of how fast everything can be gone and why seniors need a plan before the next warning.

Dalyce Kelley said her grandmother loved her little Altadena cottage. Dalyce Curry, known to her family as "Momma Dee," had called it home for more than 20 years and it had become her safe place.

Kelley spent her grandmother's last day with her. A trip to the doctor's office, dinner and then she dropped Momma Dee back off at home. The evening of Jan. 7, 2025, felt routine until the messages started coming in.

"I did see text message number one around 2:00 a.m. and it said the power had been shut off," Kelley said. "And then I saw another text message that said, 'Did anyone get Didi?'"

Kelley said she tried calling her grandmother's landline and it went straight to voicemail.  She called for a wellness check that came up empty since law enforcement had their hands full, so she drove herself into the fire in Altadena.

"I'm coming up and there's just police barricades," Kelley said. "This whole city was just; it was on fire."

She said as she got closer, the sky was completely dark and full of smoke.

At the barricade, Kelley said she told a sheriff deputy her grandmother was still in her house, and she begged for help.

"I'm like, 'Hey, my 95-year-old grandmother is up that hill. She lives on Kranz, and I need someone to go do a wellness check,'" Kelley said.

Kelley said the deputy went to look for Momma Dee while she held onto hope.

"I was at the Convention Center, and I got a call from the officer, and he told me everything on Kranz was gone, everything was gone," she said. "I knew she wasn't alive still, because she would have called me."

Days later, Momma Dee's remains were found by the back door of her cottage.

"I know they are evaluating the situation and how they can do better, but they definitely failed our seniors," Kelley said. "Some of the people here on the west side didn't get an evacuation notice and that text alert, it's just not enough."

For families with elderly loved ones in care facilities or living on their own, state officials said planning can't be a binder on the shelf.  The California Department of Social Services told CBS LA that licensed facilities are required to have emergency and disaster plans, review them regularly, run drills and plan transportation to evacuate residents. The CDSS said it also uses mass notifications during wildfires and works with partners to track evacuations and share relocation information to help families find loved ones.

"Another big piece is making sure that they need to evacuate early if there's even a threat," said Kara Garrett, the Deputy State Fire Marshall from Cal Fire. "Especially if the household includes vulnerable members, like the elderly. Immediate evacuation steps include reviewing a checklist, so they should have a checklist. They should have a go bag in the vehicle, and they should have a plan."

Cal Fire said prevention is where families can still take back time. In a new UC-Berkeley-led study, Cal Fire helped provide strategies for seniors living alone.

"Home hardening and defensible space could reduce wildfire destruction in California communities up to 50%," Garrett said.

The California Department of Aging's Emergency Preparedness guide recommends following this checklist to prepare for evacuations:

• Identify a contact list and support network
• Have a "go bag" and a "stay box"
• Items for service animals or pets
• Transportation plan set up
• Prepare a medical information form to keep with your go bag

There is a gap, state lawmakers said, the fires exposed and it's a reason California passed AB1069 this year, aimed at helping aging and disability agencies access shelters during disasters so seniors can get the support they need when everything familiar disappears overnight.

"Families need to know, don't take an emergency for granted," Kelley said. "There should be some type of plan with her. She depended on her landline, but once the power went off, there, she really didn't stand a chance."

Kelley said Momma Dee's story is her warning to other families: plan early, check on seniors and don't assume you will get a second chance.