ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-NINE days after the fire, around 70 seniors from John Muir High School rise from their seats inside Pasadena's historic Civic Auditorium. Like their 200 classmates seated around them, their dark blue gowns are draped with colorful ribbons and stoles. Blue-and-yellow tassels hang from their graduation caps.
"Give these students a round of applause for their perseverance, for staying focused and for overcoming adversity," Muir's principal, Dr. Lawton Gray, says as raucous cheers echo through the theater.
Five months ago, these 70-some seniors lost or were displaced from their homes when one of the most destructive fires in California history ripped through their town.