On that cold, blustery night of Jan. 7, Karen Bagnard of Altadena was getting ready to go to bed, unaware a raging fire was headed her way.

Bagnard, who just turned 80, is blind. Fortunately, her 32-year-old grandson, Dalton Sargent, came by her place after work. But even after talking to firefighters a few blocks away on Lake Avenue, they didn’t say evacuate. They said just be ready, Bagnard said.

“I didn’t know there was a fire until my daughter from West L.A. called,” she said. “We hadn’t gotten any notices, nothing. My grandson has a new iPhone and he never got a notice either.”

Hours after deciding to evacuate her home of 51 years at 9:30 p.m., it was consumed by an unprecedented conflagration that tore through central and west Altadena, destroying thousands of homes and killing 18 residents who stayed or were trapped.

Protecting the elderly

The average age of those who died in the Eaton fire was 77, L.A. County reported, leaving many to conclude more should be done for elderly and disabled folks during a future fire, earthquake, flood or some other life-threatening emergency to rapidly escort them to safety.

L.A. County first responders do not have a list of names of older and disabled persons they should contact. That’s why the Board of Supervisors voted on April 1 to pursue a four-month study on how to create a registry of vulnerable persons for use during a fire or other emergency, in order to notify them and their caregivers, but also help those who are immobile reach safety.

“When the next disaster hits, we need to be better prepared to evacuate people who cannot evacuate themselves,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn, who authored the motion. “In an emergency, our first responders should know who our most vulnerable residents are, where they are, and how to reach them when minutes matter and lives are on the line.”

Often overlooked is the fact that the majority of those who died in the Eaton fire, recently upgraded from 17 to 18 deaths, were elderly. Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Altadena and Pasadena, said she was devastated by this statistic.

Some say it clearly points to a failure of L.A. County to protect its most vulnerable residents.

“It’s a tragic reminder of the urgent need to safeguard seniors and people with disabilities during emergency evacuations. We have a duty to ensure no one is left behind,” Barger said.

Even board-and-care facilities — locations where the elderly and disabled are known to reside by authorities — were left stranded in parking lots as the buildings caught fire. It took the heroism of Pasadena Transit drivers to transport them to a safe space on Jan. 7.

Developing a registry for early evacuations

The first objective of the study is to create a “comprehensive emergency registry system for older adults and persons with disabilities in Los Angeles County,” dictated the motion adopted by the board on April 1. This registry would share the locations of the county’s most vulnerable with responding agencies, while also adding “recommendations on protocols for proactive outreach during an emergency where evacuation assistance may be required.”

Working on developing a registry are several county departments: the Department of Aging and Disabilities, the Chief Executive Office, Office of Emergency Management, Sheriff’s Department and the LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone.

They are looking at other states and counties that already have registries to consult during an emergency. Florida has a statewide “Special Needs Registry” to warn elderly and disabled residents to evacuate before a hurricane, said Laura Trejo, director of L.A. County’s office of Aging & Disabilities.

“In Florida, they have many years of experience in navigating (the registry), in terms of how to use it,” she said. First responders would get the list. But it would also be shared with community groups, senior citizen centers and cities and town councils.

During the horrific January fires that devastated L.A. County, there was no such registry, she said.

“If an older person lives alone, we don’t have any kind of information. That is why registries are so important,” Trejo said. “We don’t want to be reacting all the time, not knowing.”

Needing a wider safety net

Zaire Calvin lost his home, his mother’s home and three Accessory Dwelling Units in the Eaton fire.

Amidst flames and smoke, Calvin evacuated his mom, Evelyn Cathirell, who is in a wheelchair, and his wife and children. He looked back and saw his sister packing her car, then lost sight of her. Evelyn McClendon, 59, was found dead in her home by firefighters.

“There were no real notifications. All the services were down,” Calvin said. He advocates for early notifications by physically knocking on doors of the homes of the elderly and/or disabled. “Anyone with a disability should get early alerts.”

Connie DeVaughn, pastor of Altadena Baptist Church, said her church is setting up its own registry of older and disabled congregants in order to be prepared for future emergencies. The church building was destroyed in the fire. They are holding services at Highlands Church in La Crescenta-Montrose.

“This is a way of us saying we need to have a bigger net around people, more safety things in place for our seniors,” DeVaughn said.

‘Neighbors helping neighbors’

As to a county registry, she said she supports the idea. In her meetings with churchgoers, she said many did not get help from first responders. She said most of the knocking on doors and assistance with evacuating seniors came from neighbors helping neighbors.

She said one family was waiting for an official word to leave but never got one. “Neighbors came over and said: ‘You’ve got to go,’” she said.

“We had two neighbors who went to their neighbor’s house and woke them up and got them out of bed,” she said, saving their lives.

She knew of one instance in which an Altadena resident and church member near 80 years old was asleep during the fire. “Her daughter went over there and that felt like a close call,” she remembered. Both mother and daughter lost their homes.

Special needs must be considered

The motion by the supervisors asks to talk to seniors and other groups who advocate for the elderly to find out the special needs of this cohort. Some in the motion include mobility; cognitive, visual and hearing impairment; wandering risks; communication barriers and technology literacy.

DeVaughn, who lives near Washington Boulevard and Allen Avenue, did get a phone notification, as did her family members, telling them to evacuate around 7 p.m. Her home did not burn. Many in central and West Altadena may not have heard sheriff deputies shouting on bullhorns, telling residents to evacuate.

Many elderly residents told her they turn off their cell phones at night when they go to bed.  “Also, we have older people who don’t have cell phones, or don’t leave them turned on.” Some inadvertently turn down the ringer.

“I know some people did hear the sheriff deputies’ bullhorns saying evacuate and that did save some people but not everyone heard that,” she said.

Many seniors with hearing aids turn them off before they go to bed. “I doubt people go to sleep with their hearing aids on,” Bagnard said.

Trejo wants the effort to include not just a registry, but an education component. “For example, the person that turns their phone off, that would be part of the outreach, that you are going to have to leave your phone on at night,” she said.

Helping people plan for an emergency ahead of time is also key, she said. The county advocates the  File of Life Program that involves a form seniors fill out with personal and medical condition information they leave on their refrigerators. Firefighters know to look there, Trejo said.

The state Department of Aging has a website where seniors can get an emergency preparedness guide.

What about after evacuation?

Calvin, who brought his mother to the shelter at the Pasadena Convention Center, said there was no one there to help someone in a wheel chair use the restroom, or find a handicapped suitable placement.

“I think this is a step in the right direction but it is not nearly enough,” Calvin said. “What happens after they are removed from their home? What happens to the elderly and disabled when they need help throughout the ordeal?” he asked.

He suggested that FEMA have convalescent homes available to take elderly and disabled fire victims with no place to go. “They need to have a plan for these people. To have a place they can set them up in and help them separately.”

His mom went to live with her sister, who is in her 80s. That did not work out because her sister could not take care of his mom. So, he took out a loan to pay for his mom to go to an assisted living facility. “A loan that I cannot afford,” he added.

A graying population

Creating a registry to better notify seniors is already an issue and one that will become more important, as the county’s population of people aged 60 and older grows. In 2020, this group comprised about 2 million residents. By 2030, it is projected to reach 2.5 million, accounting for 26% of the county’s population. By 2030, that number will reach 3 million.

Also, the number of individuals in L.A. County that have a disability equals 1,004,632, or about 10% of the county population.

“We need to make sure the elderly and anyone with a disability gets out (to avoid a fire),” said Bagnard. “Also, they need to help those with special needs at evacuation centers.”

The rough draft for the registry and how it would work will come back to the Board of Supervisors in about four months.