Altadena care facility pushes back on state citation for Eaton Fire evacuation

The daughter of a woman state regulators concluded was left in her room at an assisted living facility during Eaton Fire evacuations confirmed recently that her family did not call 911 about the incident.

Joyce Bush also said, in an affidavit signed last month, that her family does not have any complaints about how the staff at The Terraces at Park Marino responded on Jan. 7 of last year before the mother was rescued by firefighters.

The information could bolster The Terraces’ argument that the state unfairly cited the facility for leaving the woman behind. Bush’s affidavit is included in the facility’s ’s latest appeal of a citation issued by the state.

“Throughout the evening, I was in clear and ongoing communication with staff… and was provided with clear information and instructions regarding the evacuation process,” Bush wrote.

The California Department of Social Services found that staff at The Terraces abandoned Bush’s mother, Myrtis Walker, for two hours while moving other residents down to the lobby.

Pasadena Fire personnel carried Walker, who uses a wheelchair, down from her room and out of the building. She was the last resident out, authorities said.

The Terraces, which was destroyed in the fire, was one of two residential care facilities cited by the state for leaving residents behind during evacuations last year. The state found that The Terraces violated Walker’s personal rights as a facility resident.

But leaders there have said repeatedly that staff followed evacuation protocols until firefighters arrived and took over. They said fire personnel restricted the facility’s staff from going back inside the building.

In December, the state denied an initial appeal filed by The Terraces. Last month, the facility filed another appeal, challenging the state’s findings and “procedurally defective investigative methods.”

No calls or complaints 

On the night of Jan. 7, 2025, Walker remained in Room 326 as staff at The Terraces moved other residents down to the lobby.

According to the state investigation report, the Pasadena Fire Department told investigators that its first responders removed Walker from her room after her family called the police. But Walker’s daughter tells a different story.

In the  Jan. 12 affidavit, Bush wrote that no member of her family called 911 in connection with the fires or filed any complaints about evacuations at The Terraces.

When reached by phone, Bush declined an interview request from LAist but confirmed what she wrote.

The Terraces’ leadership argues that staff knew Walker was still in her room, and they notified firefighters at the scene that she needed help.

Dennis George, the facility’s vice president, wrote that residents and staff were sheltering in place from about 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. that evening, when the Pasadena Fire Department ordered evacuations.

Facility questions investigation

The California Department of Social Services started its investigation in February 2025, based on an allegation that The Terraces had left a different resident in her room on the night of the evacuations.

Jim Benesh told the L.A. Times that facility staff left his mother Dorothy Benesh alone in her room for hours, and that he drove there and carried her down the stairs himself, shortly before the building went up in flames.

Days before that story was published, state licensing authorities began investigating an allegation matching Jim Benesh’s at The Terraces. He told LAist he did not contact investigators to file a complaint but did tell them what happened when they called with questions.

State investigators could not substantiate the complaint or find witnesses to corroborate the story matching Benesh’s, according to state records.

However, during interviews with The Terraces staff and first responders, state investigators learned that Walker had been rescued from her room by firefighters. The state cited the facility for that incident.

In its appeal, The Terraces accuses the Social Services Department of conflating the two investigations and violating California public records law.

“Separate residents, separate allegations, and separate investigations cannot lawfully be merged absent notice, justification, and evidentiary support,” George wrote.

The department said it cannot comment on an open appeal. But the appeals process requires the state to review the citation and amend or dismiss it if the department finds it was not issued lawfully.