Rasheed and Gayle Nicholls-Ali returned from the Bahamas, where they had celebrated their 43rd wedding anniversary, to find their home destroyed by the Eaton Fire.
Even though Gayle’s sons and neighbors had kept them informed about the flames while on vacation, she and her husband went to bed the night of the fire, believing “everything was okay,” especially since there were reports that the fire was moving away from their house.
But when the couple awoke the following morning, they discovered that the devastating fire had spread to more than 10,000 acres. Their worst fears proved true when a neighbor texted them a picture of the house they had lived in for more than 30 years.
“I just screamed,” Gayle told People. “We lost everything. We were on FaceTime with my younger son, and he was crying, almost inconsolable because this is his parent’s house, our first house.”
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Beyond losing the home where they raised their two sons, they also lost cars and sentimental items that can’t be replaced. Gayle, a retired teacher and photographer, said that “the most hurtful” part was losing all of the artwork she and her husband created and collected over the past 30 years.
She lost all of her hard drives, SD cards, and film, while her husband’s recording studio, where he was working on music and an audiobook, also went up in flames.
“We’re not rich people,” she expressed. “We spent years accumulating these tools and accumulating this art, and for it to be in ash just is devastating.”
Gayle, who retired last year after 17 years of teaching at La Cañada High School, is also facing the fact that her next stage of life will be significantly different from the “eclectic life” she was hoping to lead in Altadena, where she would have worked on her photography and relaxed.
Gayle fears the cost of rebuilding will be “much higher” than the amount her insurance company pays, and despite the company’s “proactive” efforts, she doesn’t expect to receive nearly the full worth of her house.
She is also concerned that once it is rebuilt, it will no longer be “as special as it was before.” Nonetheless, Gayle and Rasheed do not intend to leave Altadena.
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According to Gayle, the racial diversity and abundance of artists in Altadena were the main reasons she and her husband chose the area. She added that it was a community where they could “feel safe,” where you can eat with your neighbors and not have to lock your doors.
Meanwhile, Gayle and Rasheed said they’ve been overwhelmed by the support they’ve received as they embark on a long journey of healing.
As of Friday, January 24, the couple had raised over $54,000 through two different GoFundMes, and La Cañada High has a link on its website where Gayle and 26 other impacted teachers and staff are listed.
The retired educator expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to serve at the school, where parents have given money to support her family and even offered them housing because of the positive influence she had on their kids. She also said she received a box of clothes from a former student who works for Gap.
She said, “It makes me cry at night. I get emotional about it because I taught for so long, and, when you’re going through the motions of teaching, you don’t realize what impact you’re making on people, not just the teaching part.”
“I delivered a great lesson, but that you’re impacting people’s lives, maybe changing the way that they see things, maybe making them kinder, maybe making them more aware.”