Pasadena boys basketball coach Tony Brooks’ home in Altadena was spared during the Eaton fire that broke out last week, but nothing has returned to normal.

The power in his neighborhood has been out for more than a week. Residents have been told to not drink the tap water and they should avoid brushing their teeth with it.

“I have a Coleman camping stove that I’m going to have to use for hot water,” Brooks said. “I don’t think I’ve taken a warm shower in a week.”

Although there are National Guard troops to provide security in the area’s neighborhoods, Brooks said he trades shifts with a neighbor to protect their homes from looters, especially at night.

Brooks said his wife is living with family in Glendale, where she works, while he has remained at their home, living like he’s on a camping trip. He worries that if he leaves the area he might not be allowed to get back in.

And yet, Brooks feels like one of the lucky ones. His mother lost her Altadena home in the fires and two players on his basketball team lost their homes as well.

When Brooks has ventured out to look around the area, he sees so much loss and heartache from so many who have lost it all.

“As the days go on, I sort of feel remorse,” Brooks explained. “I feel like I was in a plane crash and I survived. You can’t see anything but all the dust, but you lived. You’re asking yourself, ‘Why did I survive? Why are things OK for me and not this person next to me?’

“I saw a neighborhood the other day where every house on the block was gone except for one in the middle of the block. On my mom’s street, there were 15 houses in her immediate area, out of those only two are still up.

“So don’t feel sorry for me, I’m going to be fine. We’re going to get through this. But the devastation for so many others, like my mom, it’s just unimaginable. I’m holding up, but it’s pretty cold and dark around me.”

Brooks said through all the tragedy, he has been inspired seeing the best of people in action.

When the Eaton fire broke out on the evening of Jan. 7, Brooks said he and his family stayed home as long as they could. They could see the wind pushing the fire in their direction and they finally evacuated during the early hours of Jan. 8.

When he returned the next morning, he not only saw his house still standing, he saw the best in humanity.

“There were people on my roof, people I don’t know, with hoses watering it down, keeping it safe from embers,” Brooks said. “Just people out there being good neighbors, looking out for their community, trying to help each other out. I’ll never forget that image. Not enough of those stories are being told.”

Brooks knows it’s going to take time for power to be restored, for water to be back for normal, for those who have lost homes to find temporary, long-term or permanent places to live.

Brooks also said it’s time to start finding ways to bring some normalcy to the area, and sports can help with that.

The Pasadena Unified School District has closed all of its schools, which include Pasadena, Muir and Blair high schools, until Friday.

The PUSD has not made a decision on when students can return to school, but there is hope they can return early next week, perhaps with remote learning. And if school returns, sports can resume.

“I don’t want to come off as insensitive, I know what families are going through,” Brooks said, “but part of you knows this is such a stressful time that these kids need a release. I don’t give a damn about winning, we need to get them out there to have some balance, for their mental health, for their psyche.

“We all saw what happened during COVID when kids were not in school and we didn’t play sports. They suffered. And during that time, we saw a lot of other schools and teams, especially in Orange County, going back to play. In Pasadena Unified, we were one of the most restricted. We were one of the last districts to return to sports. It was tough on us.”

Palisades Charter High School suffered extensive fire damage as the fires whipped through its community. While the school is shut down at the moment, Palisades has found ways for some of its sports teams to resume practices with the help of neighboring schools.

The Palisades Charter boys basketball team will be at South Pasadena on Monday for an MLK Showcase game.

The teams at Pasadena, Muir and Blair, however, are not allowed to practice or play games because the schools are closed.

There is only a month left before winter sports teams begin their playoffs.

“I realize we have to be patient,” Brooks said. “There are a lot of people, whether it’s fire, police and all the others responsible for getting power and water back to normal, that you have to give time to. They need to give us the clearance.

“But at the same time, it’s the middle of the season, there’s not a lot of time left and the kids need a release. I don’t know if we will be able to play games at our gym anytime soon, but I feel like we have to get back together. The kids need to see each other. They need to be back playing. They need to be in school supporting their classmates. That’s how we’re going to get through this.”