Altadena’s Christmas Tree Lane set to light up again 11 months after Eaton Fire

Altadena’s historic Christmas Tree Trail will shine again on Saturday; This is a hopeful milestone in society’s recovery from the pandemic. Eaton Fire.

Widely considered the nation’s largest and oldest outdoor holiday lighting display, the tradition dates back to 1920 and relies entirely on volunteers who work for months to string the lights with string and pulleys.

Starting Saturday, more than 20,000 lights will be back on along trees lining nearly a mile of Santa Rosa Boulevard, near the fire’s burn scar.

For most of its 105-year journey, Altadena’s Christmas Tree Lane went dark only in moments of true crisis (during World War II and amid the energy crisis of the 1970s). In the wake of the Eaton Fire, organizers briefly debated whether this would be a year like that, too.

Organizers are expecting a higher-than-usual turnout for Saturday’s 6pm kick-off. The ceremony will feature many new touches, including a moment of silence for the 19 Altadena residents who died in the disaster. Longtime volunteer families will help make the transition, along with LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Altadena in District 5.

When the lights come back on Saturday, visitors may notice the display shining brighter than before. A donation from the Walt Disney Company, which employs many Altadena residents, funded thousands of additional lights for this year’s show.

But the brightest part of the exhibition’s return isn’t the new lights; Volunteers who didn’t let the tradition fade after the Eaton Fire.

SEE ALSO: Disney Imagineers to help rebuild beloved Altadena park destroyed in Eaton fire

The Walt Disney Company announced that its Imagineers are helping to rebuild and redesign public spaces lost in the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles County.

The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of this ABC station.

City News Service contributed to this report.