2 dead in fast-moving Eaton Fire in Southern California; blaze explodes to 10,600 acres

PASADENA, Calif. (KTLA) – The Eaton Fire continued to rage in Pasadena, east of Los Angeles, on Wednesday, and officials confirmed that two civilians have died in the blaze and an undetermined number of homes had been destroyed.

The fire was first reported at around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday near Altadena Drive and Midwick Drive as hurricane-force Santa Ana winds whipped through the region.

As of 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, it had exploded to 2,227 acres with no containment. Four hours later, officials with the U.S. Forest Service released an update that stated the blaze had grown to 10,600 acres.

L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna described the situation surrounding the Eaton Fire, the second-largest active wildfire in the Los Angeles area, during a Wednesday morning press conference as "very fluid."

LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell stated the weather in the region is "unprecedented and unpredictable."

Authorities from the Los Angeles County Fire Department, as well as the U.S. Forest Service and the Pasadena Fire Department, are responding to the blaze. Still, officials noted that all 29 L.A. County Fire Department stations are stretched thin to the point where resources from other states need to be called in to aid in the firefight.

Areas of Pasadena, Altadena, La Cañada-Flintridge, Duarte, Monrovia, Sierra Madre, Arcadia and La Crescenta are under evacuation orders or warnings as crews from the Pasadena Fire Department, the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the U.S. Forest Service, among many other assisting agencies, respond to the blaze.

Areas under mandatory evacuation orders:

• East of Altadena Drive
• Kinneloa Canyon Road
• Outpost Lane
• Glen Springs
• Coolidge
• Miranda
• Roosevelt
• Veranda
• Kenclare
• Foxridge
• Canyon Close
• Grand Oak
• North of New York Drive
• East of Altadena Drive
• West of Sierra Madre Villa Avenue
• North of Sierra Madre
• East of Allen
• West of Santa Anita Drive
• In Arcadia – North of Orange Grove/Rosemead Boulevard; East of Lake Avenue; West of Michillinda Avenue

Fire officials urged the public to be prepared, heed evacuation warnings and stay off the roads when possible to allow emergency crews access to threatened communities.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation.

The Eaton Fire was one of four large, active wildfires in the Los Angeles area. The largest, the 5,000-acre Palisades Fire, destroyed an estimated 1,000 structures. A separate 500-acre fire, the Hurst Fire, burned in the L.A. neighborhood of Sylmar.

Two other small wildfires were reported on Wednesday: the Tyler Fire near Coachella and the Woodley Fire in the Sepulveda Basin of the San Fernando Valley.

Eaton Fire Resources: | CALFIRE | L.A. County Fire | U.S. Angeles National Forest | Wildfire.gov