Eaton Fire Burns Entire Neighborhood and Forces Senior Center Evacuations
ALTADENA (CNS) – A brush fire erupted Tuesday evening in the Eaton Canyon area, with flames fanned by gusting Santa Ana winds quickly scarring hundreds of acres and burning multiple structures.
The fire was reported at about 6:20 p.m. in the area of Altadena Drive and Midwick Drive in the hills above Altadena, according to Cal Fire.
Initially dubbed the Close Fire but later changed to the Eaton Fire, the blaze was initially estimated at about 10 acres, but it quickly exploded across 200 acres, then to 400 acres by 8 p.m., thanks to Santa Ana winds that prompted critical fire danger warnings throughout the region. There were no updates on acreage after nightfall due to the inability of aircraft to fly and survey the burn area, but the blaze was believed to have grown significantly larger.
Mandatory evacuation orders were issued for the area north of New York Drive, east of Altadena Drive and west of Sierra Madre Villa Avenue, the 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.
It was unclear how many people were impacted by the orders.
There were multiple reports of crews responding to people who were trapped within the burn area, but there were no reports of any injuries. An unknown number of structures were damaged by the flames.
At one point, buses and ambulances were brought in to evacuate 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 were also working 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.
The fire broke out as emergency crews were already stretched thin due to a massive blaze burning in the Pacific Palisades area.
As a result of the fire, classes were canceled Wednesday for schools in the Pasadena, Glendale, Alhambra, South Pasadena, San Marino, La Cañada, Burbank, Arcadia and Monrovia unified school districts.
A separate fire, dubbed the Bert Fire, was reported late Tuesday night in the Pasadena area several miles from the Eaton Fire, but it was unclear if the two were related.
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