Photo: DAVID SWANSON / AFP / Getty Images
For the latest on all the fires affecting Southern California visit Fire.ca.gov. For LA County visit LACounty.gov/emergency or LAFD.org/alerts. For safety tips and other information on how to prepare for emergencies and evacuations visit fire.lacounty.gov.
ALTADENA (CNS) - Firefighters scrambled to stretch containment lines around the deadly Eaton Fire in the Altadena and Pasadena areas, with gusting Santa Ana winds expected to return Tuesday.
As of Tuesday morning, the Eaton Fire had burned 14,117 acres, with containment rising to 35%.
Crews planned to continue to reinforce and maintain containment lines and patrol the burned area to quickly put out hot spots to minimize the chance the fire will escape the perimeter, fire officials said.
Red flag warnings of critical fire danger will be in place over the burn area -- and much of the Southland -- through 6 p.m. Wednesday. Some areas could see wind gusts of 70 mph, combining with low humidity levels that could lead to rapid spread of any new fires, or re-ignition of existing blazes.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office has reported 16 deaths tied to the Eaton Fire, while county Sheriff Robert Luna said he anticipates that number to rise. He said deputies and firefighters are conducting a grid search of the burn area, which he called "a very grim task."
Luna said Tuesday morning that no additional human remains were found during Monday's grid search.
He said the sheriff's department has 24 active missing-person cases -- 18 in the Eaton Fire area and six others in the Malibu area by the Palisades Fire.
Mandatory evacuation orders remained in place for thousands of residents in the Eaton Fire area, although at least one area was upgraded to an evacuation warning, allowing residents to return. That area was in the Altadena Kinneloa Mesa community, in an area south of Heights Road to New York Drive, and east of Outpost Lane to Sierra Madre Villa. Only residents will be permitted in the area.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said earlier that more than 7,000 structures are believed to have been destroyed or damaged -- many of them homes -- and nearly 40,000 structures were said to be threatened. Those numbers were expected to rise after further evaluation.
Marrone said Tuesday that property damage assessments in the Eaton Fire area were about 30% completed. As of Tuesday morning, 2,722 have been officially reported as destroyed, and 329 damaged.
Cal Fire reported that detailed damage inspection maps for properties within the Eaton Fire footprint showing damaged or destroyed homes -- as well as homes that are not damaged or destroyed -- can be found at fire.ca.gov/incidents/2025/1/7/eaton-fire.
Los Angeles County officials said its damage assessments can be viewed at recovery.lacounty.gov/eaton-fire. They will be updated daily in real time.
Altadena resident Zaire Calvin, who is on the football staff at Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village, lost his home, as did his mother, and his 59-year-old sister died in the blaze.
"It's been hard processing all this and crying every day, just wanting to go home," he told KTLA.
"I don't even know how to talk about it 'cuz it's just so much that she couldn't get out and that part, it replays in my head like a bad nightmare, over and over again, to try to understand what she was thinking and why she wouldn't and why she didn't ... It's just too much to handle or bear, to try to understand."
He implored his fellow Altadena residents, "Do not sell, please. Keep your homes. Fight for everything. Let's stick together and ... hopefully God will make a way."
There were more than 3,200 personnel assigned to the firefighting effort, with the U.S. Forest Service, Los Angeles County Fire Department, Pasadena Fire Department, Arcadia Fire Department, Sierra Madre Fire Department, Pasadena Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department working under a unified command.
Five firefighters have suffered undisclosed injuries fighting the blaze, according to the county fire department.
SoCalGas officials said they had temporarily shut off natural gas service to 16,700 customers Saturday in the Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre communities. The utility was working with contractors and mutual aid from San Diego Gas and Electric, Northwest Natural, and Pacific Gas and Electric to restore service, noting that it could take days or even weeks to restore service due to the large number of impacted customers.
An evacuation center was set up at the Pasadena Convention Center at 300 E. Green St. The Humane Society is on-site to accept small pets for boarding. Small animals were also being accepted at Baldwin Park Animal Care Center at 4275 Elton St., while large animals were accepted at Industry Hills Expo Center at 16200 Temple Ave., city of Industry.
A curfew was in effect nightly from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the mandatory evacuation areas, with only firefighters, law enforcement and utility workers allowed in those zones. Luna said Monday more than 30 people had been arrested in both the Eaton and Palisades burn areas, some for alleged looting and others for offenses including narcotics or weapons possession. Two people were arrested for allegedly operating a drone in the area.
Officials continued to warn people of highly unhealthy air quality in the region, and said drinking water in evacuation zones is not safe to drink. Following contamination warnings to residents, Pasadena city officials said they were testing water quality in areas impacted by the Eaton Fire.
"Though the city of Pasadena maintains and operates its own water- quality testing lab, we are working closely with the State Water Resources Control Board to ensure proper adherence to all safety protocols and regulations," a city statement said. Residents were advised to continue consuming bottled water until further notice.
Pasadena city officials said most municipal services reopened Monday, although the Pasadena Public Library, Pasadena Public Health, Housing Departments and some Water & Power Department offices remained closed for safety reasons.
"We are committed to serving our residents and helping them during this challenging time," said Pasadena City Manager Miguel Márquez. "Reopening our service counters is a crucial step in ensuring that our community has access to the resources and support they need."
The Pasadena Unified School District, which includes Altadena, closed its campuses until at least Friday. The Glendale Unified School District announced its schools reopened Monday with the exception of Rosemont Middle School, where a tree fell on campus.
While nearly all schools outside of evacuation zones in the Los Angeles Unified School District reopened Monday, all schools in the La Cañada Unified School District remained closed Monday. That district reopened Tuesday.
Pasadena City College also reopened Monday.
The entire Angeles National Forest has been closed for public safety and the protection of natural resources through at least Wednesday.
The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens was closed at least through Tuesday.
A few miles to the east, Santa Anita Park in Arcadia canceled racing over the weekend due to the ongoing wildfires. Morning training continued as scheduled and the track remained open for satellite wagering. The track property was being used to support several relief efforts, including a large charity drop-off that had been established at the Rose Bowl and relocated to Santa Anita Park's south parking lot Friday afternoon. Thousands of people flooded the parking lot over the weekend with supplies, prompting officials to announce they no longer needed clothing or shoes.
Southern California Edison was using the entire north parking lot as its base camp to restore power to those in the affected areas. Santa Anita Park was working with additional response organizations that have requested space.
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 amid hurricane force Santa Ana winds, according to Cal Fire. The cause of the fire has not been determined.
Among the structures destroyed in the fire was the Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center. The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation reported that the Eaton Canyon Nature Center, Farnsworth Park's Davies Community Center -- listed on the National Register of Historic Places -- the Altadena Golf Course Club House and adjacent buildings were also destroyed. Also destroyed was The Bunny Museum in Altadena.
