A series of financial setbacks left Wanda Dunn facing eviction from the house in Pasadena where her family had lived for generations.
Dunn, 53, told neighbors that she would rather die than leave.
Early Monday, the day of her expected eviction, firefighters pulled her body out of the house as it burned. She apparently had set it on fire before shooting herself in the head, authorities said.
"We knew it was going to happen," said Steve Brooks, who lived across the street. "It was nobody's fault; it was everybody's fault."