Blind Southern California boy and his family lose home in Eaton Fire

After the family of Grayson Roberts, a Southern California boy who is blind due to a rare eye condition, lost their home in the Eaton Fire, community members are coming together to support them.

The wildfire ignited on Jan. 7 and before long, 10-year-old Grayson Roberts’ home was in the path of danger. His family recalled the moment they knew something was very wrong.

“The sky was red, which isn’t typical,” said Grayson’s mother, Terica Roberts.

It was Grayson’s older brother, Gavin Roberts, 16, who first noticed the smell of smoke.

“When I walked out the door, the fire was just right there,” Gavin recalled. “You could see it from the mountains and it was just blowing towards our house.”

“At the rate the wind was blowing, I knew we had to go,” Terica said.

With only minutes to escape, Terica and her three sons grabbed whatever they could and fled from the home to safety. The next day, they discovered their house had burned down. 

Grayson, who has a passion for music and raising awareness for other blind children, lost all of his instruments, along with his Braille materials.

“Grayson was born completely blind,” Teria explained. “He has aniridia. It’s a chromosomal defect where his eyes never completely developed. So that’s basically the cause of it. And he has glaucoma.”

Terica says it’s been an incredibly tough time, but her family is grateful to have each other and Grayson’s unshakeable optimism as they navigate the long road to recovery.

“I told everyone while we were staying at my uncle’s that when life gives you lemons or burnt houses, you make lemonade,” Grayson said. “To the people of Altadena — let’s rebuild and make our community better and bigger.”

Over 5,700 structures, many of them homes, were destroyed in the Eaton Fire, according to CalFire.

A GoFundMe page to help the Roberts family can be found here. A fundraiser to help the family rebuild can also be found here.