The Votes Are In!
2024 Readers' Choice is back, bigger and better than ever!
View Winners → Fire Jan 18, 2025
Firefighters do mop-up work amid the devastation caused by the Eaton Fire. | Photo courtesy of the LACoFD/X
by
share with
Crews established 73% containment Saturday of the deadly 14,000-acre Eaton Fire, up overnight from 65%, officials said.
More than 2,700 firefighters were on-site battling the blaze Saturday, with most of their work focused on hot spots in extremely steep, inaccessible canyons near Winters Creek, Mt. Lowe and Mt. Wilson, according to Cal Fire. Crews on the ground and water-dropping helicopters were working together to extinguish remaining heat in those areas.
“Infrastructure work is in progress, with efforts focused on restoring utilities and critical services to support repopulation and long-term recovery in affected areas,” Cal Fire reported Friday evening.
Firefighters “will continue infrastructure assessments, ensuring safety of personnel and equipment working in the area,” according to Cal Fire early Saturday. “The HazMat response will remain active, providing decontamination to personnel and equipment as needed,” while firefighting aircraft will continue “extinguishing hot spots that are inaccessible by ground.”
Officials noted that “containment continues to grow, with a total of 60 miles of control lines established around the fire’s perimeter, including 8 miles of hand lines. As repopulation efforts progress, the focus remains on ensuring that people are brought back into a safe and secure environment.”
Winds were expected to remain calm through the weekend, but more Santa Anas were forecast for Monday and Tuesday. Another wind event poses a high risk for critical fire weather conditions and the rapid spread of any new fires. Gusts could reach 60 mph, the National Weather Service reported.
A virtual community meeting will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday. Fire officials were expected to give an update on the fire’s current situation, respond to questions and discuss recovery efforts. The meeting will be streamed live on youtube.com/@LosAngelesCountyFD, and questions may be emailed to 2025.eaton@firenet.gov before the meeting.
The fire has burned 14,117 acres in Altadena and Pasadena since its start on Jan. 7, left 17 dead, destroyed 8,988 structures and damaged 972 others, Cal Fire officials said Saturday. Seven firefighters have been injured, and the blaze was threatening nearly 12,000 structures.
Some notable buildings destroyed in the Eaton Fire were the Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center, LA County’s Eaton Canyon Nature Center, Farnsworth Park’s Davies Community Center, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Altadena Golf Course Clubhouse and adjacent buildings and the Bunny Museum in Altadena.
Thousands of residents in Altadena and Pasadena remained under evacuation orders in the Eaton Fire area, but on Friday afternoon, orders were lifted in locations southwest of Altadena Drive, north of New York Drive and east of Allen Avenue; an area east of Lake Avenue and south of Mendocino Lane; and south of Church Canyon Place, east of Old Toll Road and west of Sunset Ridge Road.
On Thursday, residents along Canyon Crest Road into The Meadows east of El Prieto Road were allowed to return, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Evacuations were lifted Wednesday in a large area stretching from the western to southern flank of the fire. On Tuesday, orders were lifted for south of Canyon Crest Road and west of Lincoln Avenue in Altadena. Evacuations were lifted Monday in the Altadena Kinneloa Mesa neighborhood, south of Heights Road to New York Drive and east of Outpost Lane to Sierra Madre Villa.
LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said Thursday he expects most evacuation orders in the fire zone to stay in place for at least one more week, probably longer.
Damage inspection maps for affected by the Eaton Fire show damaged or destroyed homes and also homes that are not damaged or destroyed. The maps are online at fire.ca.gov/incidents/2025/1/7/eaton-fire.
LA County provides damage assessments updated daily in real time at recovery.lacounty.gov/eaton-fire.
Southern California Gas Co. officials said they had temporarily shut off natural gas service to 16,700 customers weekend in the Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre communities as a safety measure. By Thursday afternoon, SoCalGas had restored service to 961 of those customers. The utility has an information booth for customers at the Santa Anita Mall, Gate 8, 400 S. Baldwin Ave. in Arcadia.
An evacuation center was established at the Pasadena Convention Center, 300 E. Green St. The Pasadena Humane Society is on-site to accept small animals for boarding. Another option for boarding small pets is the Baldwin Park Animal Care Center, 4275 Elton St. Large animals were accepted at the Industry Hills Expo Center, 16200 Temple Ave. in Industry.
A curfew was in effect nightly from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the mandatory evacuation zones. Only firefighters, law enforcement officers and utility workers are allowed in those areas.
Luna reported Monday that over 30 people had been arrested in both the Eaton and Palisades fire-ravaged areas, some for alleged looting and others for allegedly possessing narcotics or weapons. Two people were arrested for allegedly operating a drone in a fire area.
The Palisades Fire has scorched 23,713 acres in Pacific Palisades, claimed 10 lives and has destroyed or damaged nearly 4,500 buildings, according to Cal Fire. The fire, which has caused injuries to three civilians and one firefighter, was 43% contained Saturday. The fire was threatening more than 12,000 structures.
The Pasadena Unified School District, which includes Altadena, closed its campuses through at least Friday. The Arcadia Unified School District reopened Monday, as did Glendale’s school district except for Rosemont Middle School, where a tree fell on campus.
The entire Angeles National Forest has been closed through at least Jan. 24.
The Eaton Fire was reported about 6:20 p.m. Jan. 7 in the area of Altadena Drive and Midwick Drive in the hills above Altadena during extremely fast Santa Ana wind conditions, according to Cal Fire.
The cause of the massive wildfire was under investigation.
