Against the Odds, Altadena Holds 105th Christmas Tree Lane Lighting Ceremony

On a chilly Saturday evening, the deodar cedars of Santa Rosa Avenue — their branches once scorched by ash and wind, their nearby surroundings dotted with vacant lots and burned-out foundations — flickered back to life in a radiant green-and-white glow. For more than five blocks, from Mariposa Street to Woodbury Road, thousands of holiday bulbs emerged from the dark, flooding the historic lane in the warm, hopeful light of the 105th annual Christmas Tree Lane lighting ceremony.

It was more than a holiday spectacle. For many, Saturday’s light-up was defiance against loss and mourning after a trauma that nearly erased their town.

The tradition of illuminating Santa Rosa Avenue stretches back to 1920, when a local merchant and the Pasadena Kiwanis Club first strung electric lights along a short stretch of deodars originally planted in the 1880s. Today, residents say it is the oldest large-scale outdoor lighting display in the country.

In 1957, neighbors formed the nonprofit Christmas Tree Lane Association to take on the year-round task of caring for the trees and raising funds to keep the lights glowing. For decades the lane has drawn crowds from across Southern California, its canopy becoming a symbol of the season — and of Altadena itself.

Nearly everything changed on January 7, when the Eaton Fire swept through Altadena with frightening speed. Homes vanished. Businesses collapsed into ash. Families were scattered across the region, unsure if they would ever return. What survived — against expectation — were the deodars. Soot-covered, wind-battered, their branches were still strong enough to carry lights once again. That discovery, weeks after the fire, sparked a steady return of weekend volunteers pulling ladders from garages and boxes of replacement bulbs from borrowed trucks. By early December, hundreds of community members — many of them displaced — had rewired and rehung thousands of light strands. They built the celebration back, piece by fragile piece.

Before the countdown began, the crowd held up cell phone “candles,” and bowed their heads in a 1 minute, 19-second silence, adding one second for each of the 19 lives lost in the fire, At the Altadena Library, a white-lit memorial tree glowed softly; nestled within it, nineteen tiny green bulbs honored those gone. Elsewhere, children and adults filled a “paint-by-the-numbers” mural designed by Disney artists — a fresh splash of color against the backdrop of the recovery effort.

And then: “Three, two, one!” A collective gasp. A rising cheer. The lane was reborn in light.

“It is amazing to see this happening once again,” said U.S. Congresswoman Judy Chu, recalling how uncertain the future looked in the wildfire’s aftermath. “The community came together, and this is really a sign of resilience and hope for the future.” State Assemblymember John Harabedian, who represents the area, called the ceremony “a showing of strength … a year away from the fires shows that we’re moving forward and no one’s given up.”

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger added that the night “provides hope and brings the community back together again,” adding that Altadena “is not going to let the fire dampen what has been a tradition for 105 years.”

Event emcee and actor Edward James Olmos cast an eye over the tens of thousands of attendees and said, “I don’t think in 105 years there’s ever been a more essential need for something like this.” Longtime residents laughed and wiped away tears as they passed the dark lots where neighbors once decorated rooftops and porches. But above that darkness, the trees shone brighter than ever — a promise that the lane, and the community around it, would continue not only to endure, but to rebuild. Altadena’s lights returned not as a distraction from grief, but as a reminder that healing starts when people come home — even if that home is still being rebuilt.