Luthier Mario Miralles lost lifetime wood collection in Altadena Eaton fire

Mario Miralles, a renowned luthier based in Altadena, Calif., lost a lifetime collection of spruce and maple and much of his home when the Eaton fire swept the area; he and his girlfriend evacuated on Jan. 7, 2025, and he managed to rescue a nearly finished violin destined for Gustavo Dudamel and his brother’s guitar.

Miralles spent more than 40 years assembling wood for world-class instruments — spruce from the Dolomites, maple from Bosnia and surrounding countries, and cello wood at least 150 years old — and his instruments have been played by musicians such as Yo-Yo Ma and members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

The wood collection, which he had moved from storage into an insulated shed outside his house, included planks that could cost as much as $5,000 and instruments that can sell for $50,000 to $80,000. “Every maker’s personality is imprinted — like their DNA is part of the instrument,” the violinist Anne Akiko Meyers said of Miralles’s work.

When Miralles returned amid the blaze he found his house gone and the shed reduced to ash. He walked the smoldering rubble and said, “It’s all gone.” His nearby cabin survived but is uninhabitable, roads remained impassable for months, and his Altadena house has not yet been rebuilt; Miralles has described waking nightly with nightmares about items he lost.

Key Topics

Culture, Mario Miralles, Eaton Fire, Altadena, Gustavo Dudamel, Yo-yo Ma