For 366 days, Darlene Hamilton began and ended her days with the same heartbreaking ritual. The 66-year-old would wake in the pre-dawn darkness at her rental home in Altadena and scour websites for local humane societies and lost animal groups, searching for two familiar feline faces. This relentless routine followed the catastrophic night in January 2025 when wildfire consumed her community and separated her from her two beloved cats.
A Community and a Home Lost to the Flames
The fire struck on the windy evening of 7 January 2025, part of a "life-threatening" windstorm described by the National Weather Service. It ravaged the town of Altadena, home to 43,000 people, where Hamilton had lived with her NASA-employed husband since 2012. Their green home on a slope, with its cherished rose garden and lifetime collection of Christmas ornaments, was utterly destroyed.
Most painfully, Hamilton lost her two cats: Merlyn, a 17lb Maine Coon, and Kiki, a petite Calico. She had owned them for twelve years, through marriage, career changes, and personal loss. As a graphic designer working from home, Merlyn was her constant companion, while the shyer Kiki was always nearby.
The Night of Chaos and a Heartbreaking Choice
Hamilton and her husband believed their home in the middle of town was safe. As winds howled, her husband secured the yard. Inside, Kiki hid nervously while Merlyn stayed close. Late in the evening, Hamilton dozed briefly before being jolted awake by a loud crackle and the sight of a neighbour's bamboo stand ablaze, casting a golden light.
In the ensuing chaos, she managed to get Merlyn into a carrier but, as she turned to find Kiki, he broke free and ran. Thick smoke filled the house as her husband and two strangers fought the fire outside. With alarms blaring and visibility near zero, Hamilton made the agonising decision to flee, leaving the doors open as an escape route for her pets. "I would never think that he would be able to break out like that," she later reflected.
The Unrelenting Year-Long Search
Returning the next day to find their home completely gone and no sign of the cats, Hamilton made a silent promise. She committed to searching for Merlyn and Kiki for a year and a day. She immediately set out food and water, called every rescue centre from local to distant, installed cameras, and blanketed the devastated area with posters.
Even as strict evacuation orders blocked access, she persisted. A volunteer group later helped sift through the rubble, but no animal remains were ever found. Inspired by community stories of pets found months later, Hamilton expanded her search. She drove to shelters across the region, enlisted friends statewide to check local listings, and once travelled into the valley chasing a potential lead on a cat resembling Merlyn.
A Promise Kept, But Hope Endures
A year on, Hamilton and her husband have returned to Altadena, living in a rental in an untouched neighbourhood. The pain has softened, but reminders are everywhere—from avoiding pet food aisles to seeing pets on Zoom calls. As the self-imposed deadline passed, she prepared to step back from the intensive search, but her hope persists.
During the holidays, the couple hung posters along Altadena's famed Christmas Tree Lane, where thousands saw the faces of Merlyn and Kiki. Hamilton holds onto the possibility that someone may have taken them in. "At this point even if somebody said, ‘well, he’s a beloved family member now,’ I’d rather know he’s alive," she said.
While building a new, temporary life in a beautiful home her cats would have loved, Hamilton's commitment stands as a testament to the profound bond between humans and their pets, and the enduring hope that survives even the most destructive forces of nature.
