Eaton Fire Up To 81% Containment; More Winds Likely This Week

Containment of the destructive Eaton Fire remained at 81% Sunday as firefighters, aided by water-dropping helicopters, continued extinguishing hot spots in steep, inaccessible canyons near Winters Creek, Mt. Lowe and Mt. Wilson before a new wind event moves into the region.

Another Santa Ana wind event is expected to move in Monday and Tuesday, creating a high risk for critical fire weather conditions and rapid fire spread of any new fires. Isolated gusts could reach 50 to 60 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

Officials have completed inspections of 95% of the structures in the fire area, and so far 9,300 have been confirmed destroyed, with more than 10,000 more threatened.

“… the incident (team) will continue infrastructure assessments, ensuring safety of personnel and equipment working in the area,” Cal Fire officials said Saturday. “The Hazmat response will remain active, providing decontamination to personnel and equipment as needed. Air Operations will continue to assist firefighters in extinguishing hot spots that are inaccessible by ground. 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.”

Meanwhile, more evacuations have been lifted.

Orders were lifted Saturday for the following areas of Altadena:

South of Church Canyon Place, east of Old Toll Road, west of Sunset Ridge Road;
North of New York Drive, east of Altadena Drive, west of Eaton Canyon Trail;
South of Kinclair Drive, east of Kinneloa Canyon Road, west of Eaton Canyon Drive;
Southwest of Altadena Drive, north of New York Drive, east of Allen Avenue

For those using protect.genasys.com to track evacuation orders, these zones are listed as ALD-MILLARD, ALD-EATONCANYON, ALD-KINNELOA-A, and ALD- MIDLOTHIAN.

An evacuation order has been changed to an evacuation warning for the area south of Mendocino Street and east of Lake Avenue (ALD-MENDOCINO-B).

Meanwhile, the city of Pasadena announced it would be passing out free personal protective equipment at 450 N. Lake Ave. from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. The Pasadena Water and Power Department would distribute bottled water.

An evacuation center remained open at the Pasadena Convention Center at 300 E. Green St.

Small animals were being taken at the Pasadena Humane Society at 361 S. Raymond Ave., and large animals were being taken at Industry Hills Expo, 16200 Temple Ave., and Pico Rivera Sports Arena, 11003 Sports Arena Drive.

On Friday afternoon, evacuation orders were lifted in areas 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 afternoon, residents along Canyon Crest Road into The Meadows east of El Prieto Road were permitted to return home. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Thursday he anticipates the bulk of the evacuation orders in the fire area will remain in place for at least another week, likely longer.

A curfew remains 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.

The fire has burned 14,117 acres in Altadena and Pasadena since Jan. 7, leaving at least 16 people dead.

SoCalGas officials temporarily shut off natural gas service to thousands of customers in the Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre communities as a safety measure. As of Saturday, the utility had restored service to 1,910 of those, with approximately 5,500 homes ready for potential restoration.

The Gas Co. has established an information booth for residents at the FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at Pasadena City College’s Community Education Center, 3035 E. Foothill Blvd. It will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Meanwhile, the Pasadena Unified School District, which includes Altadena, announced that the following 10 schools and programs will re-open on Jan. 23:

Hamilton Elementary;
Willard Elementary & Children’s Center;
Blair Middle and High School;
San Rafael Elementary;
McKinley School;
Rose City High School;
Center for Independent Study;
Pasadena Adult Living Skills;
Twilight Adult School;
Aveson Global Leadership Academy.

The entire Angeles National Forest has been closed for public safety and the protection of natural resources through at least midnight Wednesday.

There were 2,782 personnel assigned to the firefighting effort as of Saturday, Cal Fire reported.

President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that he will “probably” travel to California next week to view the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles County.

“I will be, probably, at the end of the week,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“I was going to go, actually yesterday,” the president-elect added, “but I thought it would be better if I went as president. It’s a little bit more appropriate, I suspect.”

Trump is set to be inaugurated on Monday.

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 Clubhouse and adjacent buildings were also destroyed. Also destroyed was The Bunny Museum in Altadena.