5 People Dead as Eaton Canyon Fire Burns Unchecked, Hundreds of Homes Destroyed

The Eaton Fire is growing Thursday, topping 10,000 acres while claiming five lives and destroying hundreds of structures and prompting school closures throughout the area.

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

As of 11 p.m. Wednesday, Cal Fire reported the fire had grown to 10,600 acres and was 0% contained.

Around 1 p.m. Wednesday, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said between 200 to 500 structures had been destroyed, and another 13,000 structures were at risk. More than 32,500 residents were placed under evacuation orders in the nearby regions including Pasadena and Altadena, she said.

County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said Wednesday night that roughly 1,000 structures had been “damaged or destroyed” by the fire.

Among the structures destroyed in the fire was the Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center.

The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation reported late Thursday afternoon 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 destroyed.

Marrone told reporters Wednesday morning that two people — described only as civilians — died in the fire, but the circumstances of the deaths were unknown. County Sheriff Robert Luna said Wednesday afternoon that the death toll had risen to five. Luna said he had no details on any of the deaths.

Marrone said there were also “a number of significant injuries” due to the fire. He said many injuries that occurred in the various fires in the area occurred among people who failed to heed evacuation orders.

Luna also said two people were arrested Wednesday morning for looting evacuated homes in the Eaton Fire burn area. He later said the looting arrest number had risen to three, but it was unclear if the third person was arrested in the Eaton Fire area or at one of the other fires burning in the region.

Initially dubbed the Close Fire but later changed to the Eaton Fire, the blaze quickly exploded in size Tuesday night, driven by the same Santa Ana winds that sparked a devastating wildfire in Pacific Palisades and another in the Sylmar area.

The fire expanded rapidly during the night and early morning hours — the strongest hours of a windstorm that began Tuesday morning and was set to continue into Thursday. The erratic winds grounded aerial firefighting assets, and ground crews were unable to keep pace with the flames’ advance overnight.

Firefighting aircraft were able to resume flights Wednesday morning.

Lisa Brounstein and her husband lost their 100-year-old Altadena home on West Harriet Street. They evacuated on Tuesday night after grabbing a handful of items, including some clothes, their computers and the contents of their safe.

“We left behind so much, including all the tools and materials for my small business. We were sure we were going back this morning when the winds died down and the fire danger was over,” she said. “Instead, early this morning we got a notification from our alarm system that a smoke detector detected fire. Then one by one, all the window monitors went off, letting us know the windows were open. That was when we knew our house was gone. It was later confirmed by two neighbors. … We loved our little house. It was perfect! It had just turned 100 in 2024. This feels surreal.”

Residents of La Cañada Flintridge were ordered to evacuate by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Soon after, the city of Glendale issued an evacuation alert for residents of Chevy Chase Canyon and Glenoaks Canyon, and an evacuation center was established at Pacific Community Center at 501 S. Pacific Ave, just east of Golden State (5) Freeway.

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued Tuesday for the area north of New York Drive, east of Altadena Drive and west of Sierra Madre Villa Avenue, U.S. Forest Service officials reported.

As the fire grew, other evacuations were mandated in the area, including all Arcadia residents north of Orange Grove Avenue.

An evacuation center was established at the Arcadia Community Center at 375 Campus Drive. Pasadena officials ordered evacuations for residents north of Orange Grove/Rosemead Boulevard, east of Lake Avenue and west of Michilinda Avenue. An evacuation center for those residents was established at the Pasadena Civic Center, 300 E. Green St.

Residents along Kinneloa Canyon Road, Outpost Lane, Glen Springs Road, Coolidge Avenue, Roosevelt Avenue, Veranada Avenue, Kinclair Drive, Fox Ridge Drive, Canyon Close Road and Grand Oaks Avenue were all told to evacuate on Tuesday.

An evacuation center was also established at El Camino Real Charter High School, 5440 Valley Circle Blvd. in Woodland Hills for people impacted by the various fires in the Southland.

On Tuesday night, buses and ambulances were brought in to evacuate dozens of people from a senior center in the path of the fire. Staff at the center were seen on camera pushing residents down a street in wheelchairs to get them out of the area.

Crews also worked to protect what was described as 150 pounds of chlorine gas cylinders stored within the fire area by the Pasadena Water and Power Department.

Crews from the U.S. Forest Service, Los Angeles County and Pasadena were working to slow the flames.

As he did earlier with the Palisades Fire, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced late Tuesday that the state had secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cover costs of battling the Eaton Fire.

The fire broke out as emergency crews were already stretched thin due to the massive blaze burning in the Pacific Palisades area.

As a result of the fire, classes were canceled Wednesday and Thursday for schools in the Pasadena, Glendale, Alhambra, South Pasadena, San Marino, La Cañada, Burbank, Arcadia and Monrovia unified school districts.