Actor Cameron Mathison is opening up about how he and his family are picking up the pieces and rebuilding their home one year after the Eaton Fire tore through Altadena and Los Angeles County in California.
According to Cal Fire, the Eaton Fire destroyed or damaged nearly 10,000 structures, burned over 14,000 acres, and displaced tens of thousands of people from Jan. 7, 2025, until it was contained 24 days later on Jan. 31, 2025.
"I'll never forget walking up to what was left of my home while the Eaton Fire was still burning," Mathison said Friday on "Good Morning America."
"It really truly has been a year of pain and loss, but also learning and growth and coming together like I could have never imagined," the actor continued.
Mathison and his family lived in Altadena, California, for years, and affectionately called their home "Casa Lula" after Mathison's children, Lucas and Leila.
Mathison said he was "in utter and complete shock" seeing his home after it burned.
Over the last year, Mathison and his family recorded their rebuilding process, including sorting through their items while wearing full personal protective equipment, or PPE.
Mathison said they managed to recover "some really beautiful pieces" like golf clubs and a sentimental "Casa Lula" sign.
Mathison's 22-year-old son Lucas, who studies fashion, even designed a look that was inspired by the sifting of ashes.
"[It's] so incredible. I could take some notes from them, being able to utilize some of the pain and the loss and making meaning out of it," Mathison said.
The family also came together, in what Mathison called the first step in their healing process, to hold a goodbye ceremony and honor the memories they had in their home and the community they lost.
"We sat in silence. We played music. We talked about memories. We laughed. We cried. We did everything that we felt we needed to do to sort of begin the healing process and be ready for what the next chapter was," Mathison said.
During the ceremony, they planted a succulent to symbolize the hope they hold for the future.
"Succulents, obviously, are very resilient," said Mathison. "It was going to be the first thing of this next chapter of … what is to be. It was very, very helpful. I don't think any of us realized how much we needed that ceremony to help start to say goodbye to what was and the over a decade and a half of being there together as a family -- and also, to begin to embrace what is potentially to be."
Now, Mathison said he and his family are looking forward to rebuilding their home.
"The plan is to rebuild. Can't wait for that to happen. It's going to take a little bit of time," he added.
