Altadena Community Church

The Eaton Fire was a highly destructive wildfire in Los Angeles County, in Southern California. The fire began on the evening of January 7, 2025, in Eaton Canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains, and a powerful Santa Ana wind event drove the fire into foothill communities, particularly Altadena. The fire killed at least 18 people and destroyed more than 9,000 buildings, becoming the fifth deadliest and the second most destructive wildfire in California history. The cause of the fire is under investigation; news reports and lawsuits have focused on the possible involvement of high tension power lines operated by electrical utility Southern California Edison. The fire was fully contained on January 31 after burning for 24 days.

The Eaton Fire was one of eight major wildfires in Southern California in January 2025, and burned simultaneously with the deadly and destructive Palisades Fire in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Background

A strong high-pressure system over the Great Basin created a steep northerly pressure gradient across Southern California. The system triggered powerful Santa Ana winds, extremely dry katabatic winds that develop when cooler, dense inland air is funneled through mountain passes and canyons toward the warmer coastal regions.

At the same time, the Southern Coast had experienced "eight months without any measurable rainfall," and much of the region had fallen into moderate drought conditions. The ''Los Angeles Times'' quoted a battalion chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) that the conditions were "the perfect recipe for a large wildfire". The National Weather Service (NWS) issued red flag warnings on the morning of Monday, January 6, effective through the following Thursday evening, for multiple regions including the Malibu coast, Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area, and the San Gabriel, San Fernando, and Santa Clarita valleys.

The NWS predicted a "life-threatening" windstorm, and Santa Ana wind gusts were forecasted to reach speeds of , with some peak gusts anticipated to reach in mountainous areas. Residents were urged to "use extreme caution with anything that can spark a wildfire" and for those near forests to be prepared to evacuate.

Progression

The fire began on January 7, 2025, at around 6:18 p.m. PST on the eastern hillside above Eaton Canyon Wash, across the wash from the intersection Altadena Drive and Canyon Close Drive. By 6:26 p.m., firefighters on Canyon Close Road in Pasadena reported via radio that the fire had spread to and was burning beneath high-tension power lines. By 6:33 p.m., firefighters there were reporting flying embers, which were setting structures on fire nearly distant.

Three night-flying helicopters with the Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) had received orders to head to the Eaton Fire at 6:23 p.m. and arrived at about 6:36 p.m., 18 minutes after the fire was reported. They intended to drop water on it but, buffeted by ferocious updrafts and downdrafts, aborted the operation at 6:45 p.m. One helicopter crew remained on the scene for 39 more minutes to advise ground crews on the spread of the fire.

It rapidly expanded to over by 12:07 a.m., fueled by a strong Santa Ana wind event, with winds blowing northeast to southwest with wind gusts of up to reported at the nearby Mount Lukens Truck Trail north of La Cañada Flintridge. By 6:30 a.m. on January 8, the fire had grown to over , with 0% containment. The fire continued to grow quickly, and by 10:36 a.m. was over in area, remaining 0% contained.
In the afternoon on January 9, the fire began to approach Mount Wilson with still 0% containment until the following day.

By 8:49 a.m. on January 12, authorities announced the fire was 27% contained. As of 7:00 am the next day, 3,408 firefighting personnel had been assigned, along with 16 helicopters, 375 engines, 29 bulldozers, 50 crews, and 90 water tenders.

The fire reached 55% containment on January 16 at 5:52 a.m. with about 14,117 acres burned. Two days later on January 18 at 6:26 a.m., CalFire announced 73% containment. The fire was finally fully contained after 24 days, on January 31.

Cause

According to CAL FIRE, the cause of the fire remains under investigation. Residents of a home abutting Eaton Canyon who were among the first people to report the fire to authorities told ''Pasadena Now'' that the fire began in proximity to electrical transmission towers above the canyon. Residents affected by the fire later sued public utility Southern California Edison, alleging that eyewitnesses had observed faulty power lines and that the company failed to de-energize transmission lines despite a red flag warning issued by the National Weather Service. This alleged cause is based on photogrammetry analysis of multiple CCTV and witness videos by Sunridge law group's "LA fire justice", led by Mikal Watts. It has been reported that the power lines suspected to have caused the fire were overdue for repair.

Impact

Casualties

, the death toll from the Eaton Fire included 18 people with 24 people missing. All of the 18 victims confirmed dead lived west of Lake Avenue, the predominately black neighborhood in Altadena that received emergency evacuation orders hours after those in east Altadena.

Evacuations and closures

As of 4 a.m. PST on January 8, 52,314 residents and 20,890 structures had been placed under evacuation orders, with a further 46,847 residents and 18,051 structures placed under evacuation warnings. Numerous homes and cars in Altadena were destroyed; up to "90 to 95 percent" of Altadena residents had been evacuated as of 7 a.m. One report shows west Altadena received emergency evacuation orders at 3 AM, hours after residents in East Altadena did. On January 8, the estimated number of evacuees increased to over 100,000. By the afternoon of January 8, over 100 animals had been received at the Pasadena Humane animal shelter, many of which had received burn injuries.

The fire and the resulting firefighting efforts contaminated the water supply of neighborhoods served by the Pasadena Water and Power Department and the Foothill Municipal Water District.

The Pasadena Unified School District, the Los Angeles Unified School District, and 23 other surrounding school districts announced the closure of all schools in those districts for Wednesday, January 8 in response to the fire. Closures for January 8 were also announced by Pasadena City College, Fuller Theological Seminary, and the California Institute of Technology. Many of these closures were extended to Thursday, January 9, and Friday, January 10.Flames on Mount Wilson may have affected local broadcast signals; Mount Wilson Observatory had to be evacuated. Local broadcasters KLOS-FM, KABC-TV, and PBS SoCal temporarily lost over-the-air signals on January 9. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory was evacuated and operations for the NASA Deep Space Network were moved to an offsite back-up command center.

By January 10, a 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. curfew was implemented for the evacuated areas of Altadena and roadblocks into the area were put in place by the California National Guard.

Response

Beginning on January 10, thousands of volunteers and donators convened at the parking lot of Santa Anita Park to assist those displaced and impacted by the fire.

Misinformation on social media regarding the fire spread was common. For instance, CalFire reported that misinformation circulating on Facebook falsely claiming individuals could come to California to join clean up crews.

Aftermath

As the city of Altadena recovered from the Eaton Fire, rebuild and relief efforts began. Community centered groups like Altadena Not for Sale and Altagether, as well as the Altadena Collective and other coalitions formed in an effort to keep outside land speculators at bay and support Altadenans to restore their community. Community Land Trust efforts also got underway.

Structures destroyed

The number of destroyed structures was reported as at least 7,500 as of January 16, including 4,356 single-family homes, 77 multi-family buildings and 123 commercial buildings. The number of structures destroyed was updated to 9,418, with an additional 1,071 structures damaged, as of January 21. The fire destroyed residential sections of Altadena which were settled by African-Americans who moved west in the 1920s and 1930s, during the Great Migration, and had created a working and middle-class neighborhood that had persisted for over a century. The fire destroyed nearly half of all black households in Altadena.

Popular structures and landmarks destroyed

Among the historic or culturally significant structures destroyed are:

* Altadena Community Church
* Altadena Golf Course Clubhouse
* Altadena Hardware, an 80-year-old store
* Altadena Town & Country Club
* Andrew McNally House
* Bunny Museum
* Eaton Canyon Nature Center, Eaton Canyon Natural Area Park
* Farnsworth Park
* Fox's Restaurant
* Holmes House
* Jane's Cottage/ Jane's Village
* Little Red Hen Coffee Shop
* Masjid Al-Taqwa Mosque
* Nature Friends Clubhouse in Sierra Madre
* Odyssey Charter School - South
* Oh Happy Day Vegan Cafe
* Park Planned Homes, a 1940s development by Gregory Ain that was one of the first Modernist housing developments in the United States
* Pasadena Church of Christ
* Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center
* Pasadena Waldorf School, including Scripps Hall
* Pauline Lowe Residence, a Modernist house by Harwell Hamilton Harris
* Sahag-Mesrob Armenian Christian School
* Saint Mark's School (except for preschool)
* St. Luke Medical Center (outbuildings only)
* St. Mark's Episcopal Church
* Straub House, residence of architect Calvin Straub
* Theosophical Library Center
* The Terraces at Park Marino Senior Living Complex
* William D. Davies Memorial Building at Charles S. Farnsworth Park
* Zane Grey Estate
* Zorthian Ranch

Clean up

LA County Public Works Department, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Army Corps of Engineers are responsible for the debris clean up effort. Altadena Green is a group of locals trying to preserve as many trees as possible in the affected area, as Phase 2 of the debris cleanup may threaten to taken down trees that could otherwise be saved.

Litigation

On January 13, 2025, four lawsuits were filed against Southern California Edison (SCE), alleging that the company had "violated public safety and utility codes and was negligent in its handling of power safety shut-offs" during the fire weather event, according to ''NPR''. On January 16, the family of an Eaton Fire victim sued SCE for wrongful death, also alleging negligence in SCE's failure to deactivate utilities. On January 17, Nadrich Law Corporation filed a lawsuit against SCE on behalf of four households whose residences were destroyed in the Eaton Fire. On March 5, Los Angeles County, Pasadena and the City of Sierra Madre filed a lawsuit against SCE, seeking compensation for losses caused by the fire.

See also

* January 2025 Southern California wildfires
** Palisades Fire
** Hurst Fire
* Kinneloa Fire, a destructive wildfire in the same location in 1993

References

External links

Eaton Fire Recovery Information
– an up-to-date map of damage assessments to every building in the fire area

{{California wildfires by deaths

2025 in Los Angeles
Altadena, California
January 2025 Southern California wildfires
Wildfires in Los Angeles County, California