Elsa Van Der Laaken is no stranger to difficult times. Early in her life, she lived through the Nazi Occupation of her home in the Netherlands. Now in her 80’s, she once again had to draw on her reserves of strength to face a frightening evacuation from the Eaton fire in Pasadena.

A few days before Christmas, Elsa had moved into her new home at an assisted living center near the beautiful Eaton Canyon.

“That’s why she picked the facility,” says Elsa’s daughter Anna, “because it was so close to nature, because we’re nature lovers.”

Just two weeks later, the night of January 7th began with an ominous warning when Elsa went into the dining room.

“There was a note on our plates saying, ‘Please do not go outside. The wind is very strong and dangerous,’” she said.

The facility also warned the power would be turned off at 7 p.m. due to high winds. After dinner Elsa decided to read in her recliner. She fell asleep and woke up to find the power was out.

“I went to my window and saw a fire burning in a neighboring yard,” she said.

Then, the fire alarm went off, and a staff member came to tell her to get out immediately. All she had time to grab was her walker.

Caregivers, kitchen staff and other workers teamed up to get all the residents out safely.

“I saw all these people in wheelchairs, in beds with oxygen cylinders next to them,” she said. “And I thought ‘oh, this is a really dangerous situation.’”

Those who could walk were told to make their way to a bus, about a mile down the road.

“It was the most dangerous walk I ever did, because the winds were so strong; there were all these embers flying red-hot around me and I was so scared they would fall on my head,” she said.

Eventually, Elsa made it to a bus, where the residents were loaded inside and taken to the evacuation center at the Pasadena Convention Center.

Elsa says she was able to keep a level-head during the fire evacuation, in part because of the courage she developed living in Nazi-occupied Holland during World War II.

"Bombers were flying over and dropping bombs and we were worried. And my father always said, ‘don’t worry,’” she said.

When she arrived at a Red Cross shelter, Elsa watched as volunteers set up cots and provided other basic needs for the evacuees. It reminded her of her years volunteering with the Red Cross in San Luis Obispo County. She earned her 5-year and 10-year pins for her Red Cross work.

“I was very proud of those pins,” says Elsa. “I attended all the courses the Red Cross offered. We helped people get vouchers for food and rent and find a facility when they’d lost their home.”

The Eaton fire destroyed Elsa’s assisted living center and took all her Red Cross mementos, but not her memories. She fondly recalls helping homeless veterans and volunteering with the Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces.

Despite her losses, Elsa considers herself fortunate. Late on the night of the fire, Elsa’s family picked her up at the shelter. Now, she is living with them in the Los Angeles area, while she takes her next steps toward recovery.

“I’m so lucky that I have family, and they care for me,” she said.

The Red Cross is providing financial assistance to people who lived in the perimeter of the Southern California fires. To apply, visit redcross.org/gethelp or call 1-800-REDCROSS.