Eaton Fire Officials Detail Recovery Plans At Community Meeting Saturday

Officials provided comprehensive updates Saturday on the ongoing Eaton Fire recovery efforts, detailing plans for gradual repopulation of evacuated areas while warning residents about potential hazards and scams during a virtual community meeting. The briefing held in person at Westminster Presbyterian Church on North Lake Avenue covered containment progress, damage assessments, and support services available to affected residents.

“We are committed to working with residents and all agencies involved to make the recovery process run as smoothly as possible. We are working tirelessly with local, state, and federal partners to ensure that areas affected by the Eaton Fire are safe for residents to return,” said Yonah Halpern, Principal Engineer for Los Angeles County Public Works.

“We’re on track to see those winds ramp up Monday afternoon through the evening, probably strongest overnight and into the early morning Tuesday hours. We’re looking at sustained winds 20 to 30 with some potential gusts up to 50 miles an hour during that period,” said Fire Behavior Analyst Dennis Burns.

He added that humidity levels of 6-8% were concerning, noting “Just to reference that, I was looking at Tucson today. It’s like 22%, so we’re going to be desert dry here.”

Incident Commanders reported that damage inspection is “95% complete. 16,856 structures have been inspected and unfortunately 1,044 have been damaged and 9,300 have been destroyed.”

Los Angeles County Building and Safety officials have placed 106 yellow tags (indicating partial access allowed) and 1,015 red tags (no entry allowed) on structures. Residents with questions about tagged buildings can contact the San Gabriel Building and Safety Office at (626) 574-0941.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announced soft closures in areas south of Mendocino, north of Woodbury, east of Fair Oaks and west of Lake.

“Anyone going in that area has to show that they live in that area. They must have identification, whether it’s driver’s license, utility bill, vehicle registration,” said Captain Jabari Williams. He emphasized that currently, “We’re not allowing people to make appointments for insurance assessors. We’re asking, please don’t bring friends or family or other people to help you clean up at this time.”

Federal Emergency Management Agency Public Affairs Specialist Nicole Wilson reported over $27 million in assistance has been distributed. “We can help cover replacement costs for things like breathing machines, motorized scooters, wheelchairs, walkers, breastfeeding equipment, dental equipment, and more,” Wilson said. She emphasized that residents don’t need to be in evacuation zones to receive help, encouraging anyone affected to call 1-800-621-3362.

Two Environmental Protection Agency incident management teams are specifically testing for hazardous air toxics in affected structures. Two disaster recovery centers operate at Pasadena City Community College Education Center (3035 East Foothill Boulevard) and UCLA Research Park West (10850 West Pico Boulevard), offering services including Social Security card and passport replacement.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority services are currently free on all rail lines and bus routes. Residents can collect their mail at the Lincoln location in Pasadena. The Angeles National Forest portion north of the fire remains under closure until January 24.

An in-person community meeting is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. Sunday at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1757 North Lake Avenue, offering “a brief update of operations” and question-and-answer sessions with agency representatives.