Deadly, destructive Eaton Canyon brush fire forces evacuations

A swift brush fire in the Eaton Canyon area of the San Gabriel Mountains exploded in size overnight, surpassing 10,000 acres Wednesday while claiming two lives and destroying more than 100 structures and prompting school closures throughout the area.

The Eaton Fire was reported at about 6:20 p.m. in the area of Altadena Drive and Midwick Drive in the hills above Altadena, according to Cal Fire.

Initially called the Close Fire but later changed to the Eaton Fire, the blaze was first estimated at approximately 10 acres, but it quickly increased suddenly across 200 acres, then to 400 acres by 8 p.m. Tuesday, driven by Santa Ana winds that elicited critical fire danger warnings regionwide. As of 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, Cal Fire reported the fire was 2,227 acres and as of 10:30 a.m., officials reported the fire had grown to 10,600 acres and was 0% contained.

In a media briefing Wednesday morning, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said two civilians died in the fire, but the details surrounding the deaths were unknown. Marrone said there were also “a number of significant injuries” due to the fire.

Area residents from La Cañada Flintridge, Glendale, Pasadena, Arcadia and elsewhere in the San Gabriel Valley were under evacuation warnings and orders. For updates on evacuation orders, shelters and other fire-related information, visit fire.ca.gov/incidents/2025/1/7/eaton-fire.

It was unclear how many people were affected by the Eaton Fire evacuation orders, although the governor’s office estimated about 19,000 area residents were under mandatory orders, with 8,200 structures threatened, as of Tuesday night.

Destroyed buildings totaled 300, according to Cal Fire on Wednesday.

One structure destroyed in the fire was the Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center, according to media reports.

There were reports of crews responding to people trapped in the fire zone, but details were not available.

As he did earlier with the 15,000-acre Palisades Fire, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced late Tuesday that the state had secured a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to fund the battle against the Eaton Fire.

The fire prompted cancelled classes Wednesday for school districts in Pasadena, Glendale, Alhambra, South Pasadena, San Marino, La Cañada, Burbank, Arcadia and Monrovia. Caltech in Pasadena also closed “for all nonessential operations” and canceled classes.

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