In the aftermath of the LA fires, these car enthusiasts meet up weekly to honor their lost classics

A few months on from the LA fires, car enthusiasts are meeting up weekly to honor their lost classics.

The fires that ripped through Los Angeles in January 2025 left devastation in their wake.

More than 18,000 homes were destroyed, and over 57,000 acres of land were torched to the ground.

Cars also faced the flames, and their owners are still paying tribute to them.

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How these car owners remember their classics in the wake of the fires

In the weeks that the fires raged through LA, we heard a lot of stories about the cars that got caught up in the flames.

There was one man who came up with a genius way to protect his multi-million dollar collection.

We also heard about some cars that made it through the blaze, like this Volkswagen Beetle.

But not all cars were so fortunate.

However, a car being burnt doesn’t mean that its owner forgets about it and moves on entirely.

The Altadena Cars & Coffee meetup takes place every Saturday, and is a gathering for owners who lost their classics in the fire.

The Eaton Fire was the deadliest of the fires that hit the city in January, killing 18 people and leaving a lot of destroyed cars in its wake.

Dave Stone estimated that somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000 cars were burnt in the Eaton Fire alone.

He spent months documenting the wreckage, and his Instagram posts were what inspired the weekly meet-ups.

What do the car owners say about their lost cars?

For people attending the meet-ups, they have a lot to mourn.

“We lost a ‘64 Impala convertible, a ‘79 Monte Carlo, two ‘87 Cutlasses and an ‘83 Coupe de Ville,” Traivon Jackson told The Los Angeles Times.

Stone hoped that by sharing photos online, he could help owners mourn and heal from their car losses.

And the group is doing that for many of its attendees, including Lauren Ward.

Ward lost her 1957 Chevy 3200 pickup truck, 2004 Volkswagen MK4 R32, and 2001 Volkswagen MK4 GTI VR6.

“You need something that feels normal,” she was quoted as saying.

“A lot of us don’t have homes or we have homes that we can’t live in, but coming here with a car – any car, really – makes you feel like there’s still a sense of community.

“Our neighborhoods might be gone and our neighbors might be gone, but through cars, you can still connect,” Ward explained.

To learn more about Altadena Cars & Coffee, head over to their Instagram page.

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