A destructive, fast-moving brush fire that broke out above Altadena Tuesday evening, Jan. 7, doubled in size overnight as evacuation orders were added to include all of La Canada Flintridge.
At least 20 homes have been lost to the fire.
The Eaton fire has burned 2,227 acres with no containment, fire officials said.
More than 700 firefighters were assigned to the blaze as of 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Angeles National Forest.
“The fire continues to dangerously burn both east and west with spot fires within the communities of Altadena, Pasadena and Sierra Madre,” the agency said.
The fire has left homes burning, though an exact number was not known. A McDonald’s restaurant and perhaps other commercial buildings were also damaged or destroyed.
Dangerous fire weather, including high and potentially damaging wind gusts, were expected to continue through Wednesday afternoon, with isolated gusts of 80 to 100 mph still possible, according to the National Weather Service.
An evacuation order was issued for all of La Canada Flintridge as of about 5 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Those orders were added to already existing evacuation orders for parts of Altadena, Pasadena, Sierra Madre and Arcadia.
The evacuation orders were affecting more than 52,300 residents and nearly 21,000 structures, the Angeles National Forest said about 4 a.m. It was immediately unclear if those numbers included La Canada Flintridge.
The Eaton Fire was first reported just before 6:25 p.m. near Altadena Drive and Midwick Drive in the Eaton Canyon area. With heavy wind gusts, the fire quickly spread, prompting evacuations.
A firefighter from Costa Mesa works to extinguish a fire burning a home on Valleylights Drive during the Eaton fire in the Hastings Ranch community of Pasadena early Wednesday morning Jan. 8, 2025. At least 20 homes have been lost to the fire in the area over night. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A home burns down on the 2700 block of Woodlyn Rd at Washington Blvd. as LA County Firefighters try to save it during the Eaton Fire in Pasadena on Wednesday, January 8, 2025. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/ SCNG)
A firefighter from Costa Mesa works to extinguish a fire burning a home on Valleylights Drive during the Eaton fire in the Hastings Ranch community of Pasadena early Wednesday morning Jan. 8, 2025. At least 20 homes have been lost to the fire in the area over night. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Holiday decorations are seen outside of a burned home during the Eaton fire in the Hastings Ranch community of Pasadena early Wednesday morning Jan. 8, 2025. At least 20 homes have been lost to the fire in the area over night. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A Porsche burns in the driveway of a home along Startouch Drive during the Eaton fire in the Hastings Ranch community of Pasadena early Wednesday morning Jan. 8, 2025. At least 20 homes have been lost to the fire in the area over night. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A home smolders after burning during the Eaton fire in the Hastings Ranch community of Pasadena early Wednesday morning Jan. 8, 2025. At least 20 homes have been lost to the fire in the area over night. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A firefighter from Costa Mesa works to extinguish a fire burning a home on Valleylights Drive during the Eaton fire in the Hastings Ranch community of Pasadena early Wednesday morning. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A firefighter inspects around a burning home on Valleylights Drive during the Eaton fire in the Hastings Ranch community of Pasadena early Wednesday morning Jan. 8, 2025. At least 20 homes have been lost to the fire in the area over night. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A McDonald’s restaurant in Altadena is a victim of the Eaton fire. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
The AltaMed Medical Group burns along Washington Blvd during the Eaton Fire in Pasadena on Tuesday, January 7, 2025. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/ SCNG)
Firefighters try to extinguish the flames as a McDonalds burns at the corner of Altadena Dr. and Washington Blvd during the Eaton Fire in Pasadena on Tuesday, January 7, 2025. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/ SCNG)
A home burns down on the 2700 block of Woodlyn Rd at Washington Blvd. as LA County Firefighters try to save it during the Eaton Fire in Pasadena on Wednesday, January 8, 2025. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/ SCNG)
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A firefighter from Costa Mesa works to extinguish a fire burning a home on Valleylights Drive during the Eaton fire in the Hastings Ranch community of Pasadena early Wednesday morning Jan. 8, 2025. At least 20 homes have been lost to the fire in the area over night. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
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Regional resources were already stretched thin with the raging Palisades fire in Pacific Palisades at the time the Eaton fire started.
Nurses, firefighters, paramedics and others hustled away hundreds of patients from nursing homes near the fire. At least one was driven away in a SWAT vehicle while city buses arrived to move others to safety.
All Pasadena Unified School District and Arcadia Unified School District schools will be closed on Wednesday because of extreme winds and potential fire hazards, both districts said.
Citrus College officials said the Glendora campus will be closed on Wednesday and all classes were canceled out of an abundance of caution due to surrounding wind and fire conditions as well as power-service interruptions.
Evacuation shelters were set up at the Pasadena Convention Center, 300 E. Green St.; at the Westwood Recreation Center, 1350 S. Sepulveda Blvd. in Los Angeles; and at El Camino Real Charter High School, 5440 Valley Circle Blvd. in Woodland Hills.
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