Ember Duke | layout editor

For two brothers on opposite ends of the country, grappling with the aftermath of losing their home to California’s recent bout of wildfire looks a bit different, but they both have their mind set on two things: family and the future.

Carlos Ramirez always planned to move back to California, so when he graduated from Duquesne with his degree in communications and minor in business management in December 2024, that’s what he did. His younger brother Adrian Ramirez, sophomore business marketing major, followed in his footsteps all the way to Rooney Field, where both played defensive line on Duquesne’s football team.

The evening of Jan. 7 the brother’s were headed to In‘N’Out one last time before Adrian had to catch his flight back to Pittsburgh. They saw flames on the horizon over the freeway.

“We thought it was probably a couple miles away and then next thing you know it just kept growing and growing,” Carlos said. “Then by the time we got home [from the airport] it was … ash everywhere. It was dark. The smoke was really bad around our house.”

The Ramirez family left their home in Altadena at 4 a.m. and made their way to the grandmother’s house in Fontana, about an hour east, expecting to only be gone for a few days, Carlos said. However, around 6:30 a.m. Carlos Ramirez Sr. got a call that there were sparks around the house. When he went back to the house to save some items, like photos and the family’s beloved vintage cars, half of it was already engulfed in flames, Adrian said.

At the same time, Carlos, his mother, grandmother and sister were watching the news and the fire burning their neighbors’ homes. Their entire block was lost to the fire, Carlos said.

“I was kind of sick, because I didn’t get enough sleep … I didn’t want to fall asleep. I didn’t know what was going to happen. I didn’t know what kind of call or text I was going to get,” Carlos said.

Meanwhile, Adrian was in the air with no way of knowing what was happening on the ground. It wasn’t until he got back to his dorm and called his brother that he found out the house burned down.

The next day at weight training, he saw the videos of his home in flames.

“I see a video of my dad trying to turn on the hose … he’s trying to turn on the water, just to stop everything,” Adrian said. “The water system from the city was turned off. So, he couldn’t do anything … I was just heartbroken [for] the rest of … the day.”

He broke down in the locker room, but said he was grateful for his teammates who have done nothing but look out for him — one friend even brought him his go-to Chipotle order, knowing that he hadn’t been eating since the news broke.

“This is my second … family out here,” Adrian said.

Duquesne offered to fly him back to California, he said, but it was advice from his brother that kept him in Pittsburgh and helped him take the first step in moving forward.

“He said ‘I’m gonna take care of my family. I will take care of mom, dad and my sister. What I want you to do is just take care of football. Take care of school. We’ll be fine,’” Adrian said.

Despite it all, the Ramirez brothers and their family have their eyes set on next steps. For Carlos, that’s meant working long shifts at his uncle’s restaurant to keep his mind off things — where he said he’s seen the community support first-hand.

“It’s a new day every day, and we’re just trying to do something positive, something that influences some work toward our goal, which is getting our house and family back together,” Carlos said.

Justin Magallenez, the brothers’ former strength trainer at Pasadena City College — which they attended before Duquesne — said the Ramirez brothers are everything a coach wants in a player. He called them both family oriented.

“I always tell my sons you are a reflection of us. So how you act on the field … and out in public, remember its your reflection of your mother and father,” Magallenez said. “I know their parents are doing very well, showing some type of strength. So I know that they’re a reflection of them. So I know they’re going to be very strong and they’re going to group together … to rebuild up the house again.”

“Nothing’s breaking us apart, even though I’m all the way out here, I call them every single day,” Adrian said. “I’m hearing the change of their voice … every day and I just hear that they’re doing better.”

Approximately 7,000 structures in Altadena have burned down, according to the Los Angeles Times. Altadena is their home, and Carlos said they aren’t going anywhere.

“All over social media, I’ve been seeing ‘Altadena is not for sale.” They don’t want investors coming in and taking over beautiful land,” Carlos said. “That’s something I agree on too. ‘Altadena is not for sale,’ and I just hope the people that are out here plan on rebuilding this beautiful community that I’ve been a part of my whole life.”

The family intends to rebuild on the same land their home was on – his father already is in conversation with architects, he said. In the meantime, Adrian said his mother’s work has paid one month’s rent at an apartment near their neighborhood for the family. Adrian said he’s going home for spring break to help rebuild in lieu of his original plans to go to Florida.

“I hope I see my dad rebuilding [the house] when I get there, hopefully … I know my brother’s gonna help him a lot,” Adrian said. “I hope seeing my mom work again, her work also burnt down … Hopefully, I see my sister playing basketball again. She’s missing basketball right now.”

The grandparent’s home on the same land was also lost to the fire.

“I just want to be there for my grandparents, who sacrificed a lot to get to where they are right now and to see it fall and just disappear in just a matter of minutes and hours. That was probably the hard part for me, the saddest part.

Following the fire, Carlos started a GoFundMe, which has accrued $26,663 — just a few hundred shy of the $30,000 goal.

“I feel like a lot of the Pittsburgh, Duquesne family donated a lot and I’m thankful for them,” Carlos said.