JPL’s La Cañada Flintridge facility closed amid Eaton wildfire worries
Jet Propulsion Laboratory will be closed to the public Wednesday amid concerns over the swiftly growing Eaton fire, officials announced Wednesday, Jan. 8.
Only essential workers will be allowed into the La Cañada Flintridge facility, according to an emergency notice posted by NASA.
The fire is “very close to the lab,” but there’s been no fire damage yet, the center’s director, Laurie Leshin, wrote in a post on the social platform X.
However, there has been some wind damage, wrote Leshin.
She added that hundreds of NASA employees at the lab have had to evacuate from their homes.
The research lab near Pasadena is known for building and sending robotic spacecraft to Mars and the outer solar system.
Los Angeles County is facing a swarm of fast moving fires powered by a rare and dangerous Santa Ana windstorm that features powerful gusts ranging from 40 to 80 mph.
The Palisades fire, a blaze that quickly swelled to more than 3,000 acres amid a strong windstorm in Pacific Palisades by Tuesday evening has burned multiple homes and forced 30,000 residents to evacuate, as wind-driven embers spread throughout the hillside community.
A destructive, fast-moving brush fire that broke out above Altadena Tuesday evening, doubled in size overnight as evacuation orders were added to include all of La Cañada Flintridge. At least 20 homes have been lost to the Eaton fire.
The Hurst fire burned more than 100 acres late Tuesday night in Sylmar, growing to 500 acres early Wednesday, forcing emergency evacuations in some neighborhoods.
The Associated Press contributed to this report