Grandma who went viral after Los Angeles wildfire engulfed her home optimistic about starting over at 90

close Video

California grandmother discusses path forward after losing everything in wildfires: ‘Know what’s important’

Ruth Jenkins, a nearly 90-year-old from Altadena, California, shared with Fox News Digital her hope for the future after losing everything in the wildfires.

Join Fox News for access to this content Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account – free of charge. By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News’ Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive. Please enter a valid email address. By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News’ Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive. Having trouble? Click here.

A nearly 90-year-old grandmother of four in Altadena, California garnered millions of social media views after her granddaughter shared her words of wisdom after she lost everything following the devastating California wildfires.

For Ruth Judkins, who turns 90-years-old next month, the devastation from the Southern California wildfires has been a time to recalibrate and simplify her life. 

“Know what’s important in your life, and hopefully you have the strength, the energy, the faith to go on and rebuild your life,” Judkins told Fox News Digital. “You may want to change it. You may want to simplify at whatever age you’re at.” 

“But the important thing is to know what’s important and live by what you believe,” she said.

Her simple words of wisdom have struck a chord on social media, where her granddaughter’s Instagram video has racked up over 3 million views and thousands of comments.

NEW WILDFIRES ERUPT IN CALIFORNIA AS FLAMES CONTINUE TO RAGE ACROSS LOS ANGELES

WATCH THE VIRAL VIDEO:

Video

Judkins’ longtime home in Altadena was one of the many thousands devastated in the horrific wildfires. 

“My street has 12 single-family houses. Six of them remain. Six burned,” she said.

Horror struck after Judkins spent a typical day of spending time with her daughter and granddaughter and catching up on reading in her home that she lives alone in.

“I heard all the noise. The wind, I would say, was going 70 to 80 mph at that point,” she said. “You could hear it even though I have double pane glass windows, it was horrendous,” she said. “Eventually I did go out and look, and I could see the fire was to my east.”

The decades-long Southern California resident had lived through other devastating wildfires, sharing that they typically start in the mountains instead of in the canyons.

“But this started out at our level of latitude. So, therefore, it was a new ball game,” she said. “This has never happened. It was directly to my east and I guess because of the winds, it was fast moving. 

Ruth Judkins’ home in Altadena, California following the Eaton Fires. Judkins had lived there for 48 years and hopes to rebuild. (GoFundMe)

Moments after surveying the rapidly growing blaze, Judkins received an alert saying that it was time to evacuate.”

“I got a really noisy alert on my phone that said, ‘Get out,'” she said. “I grabbed what I thought was essentials and packed my car and left.”

“I was so confident [that the fire] was going to be resolved,” she said. “I would have grabbed one wall of irreplaceable photos. That’s all I would have grabbed. Maybe my recipe box too.”

Ruth Judkins, who turns 90-years-old next month, said that she is simplifying her belongs after she lost everything after the Eaton Fires swept across Altadena, California. (Fox News Digital)

Judkins shared that most belongings in life are replaceable, saying that at her age, “you don’t need things.”

“Most things are replaceable, you know, and a lot of things when you’ve been in your house 48 years, as I have, you don’t really need,” she said.

The nearly 90-year-old shared that she was brought up in the 1950s and taught that while “you need money to survive, but money doesn’t make you happy.”

“I used to have three sets of dishes, but I just need one set of 12 for my family and a set of four for everyday,” she said. “That’s enough. Same with clothing.”

A satellite image shows smoke covering houses after devastating wildfires in Altadena, California on Jan. 8, 2025. (Maxar Technologies/Handout via Reuters)

Moving forward, Judkins is looking towards the future where she hopes to rebuild her home, commenting that she hopes to build it sustainably.

“I know it’s going to take a while to rebuild the house, but I’m very anxious to do so. At my age, I don’t have that many more years left in that house,” she said. “I just saved for five years to get an all-electric kitchen and everything was perfect. I didn’t even mind doing the dishes because there was a place for everything! It was just the best kitchen!” 

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES: ESSENTIAL PHONE NUMBERS FOR LOS ANGELES-AREA RESIDENTS AND HOW YOU CAN HELP THEM

“And I want to redo the house. Same footprint. I don’t want anything different except I want a sustainable house with electric heat and an electric water heater.”

A house burns as powerful winds fueling devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area force people to evacuate, at the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, U.S. January 8, 2025.  (REUTERS/David Swanson)

Her daughter, Carolina, launched a fundraising effort for Judkins after her mother lost everything in the fire.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“When the fire broke out, my grandma had only minutes to evacuate and was able to grab just her dog, leaving everything else behind,” Caroline wrote in the GoFundMe post. “She also lost her rental properties, which were her primary source of income at the age of 89. This has left her with no safety net.”

Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. 

Story tips and ideas can be sent to sarah.rumpf@fox.com and on X: @s_rumpfwhitten.

Related Topics

• LA Fires
• US Fires
• Wildfire
• Disasters
• California
• Los Angeles