Ongoing Weather, Power, and Water Challenges in Los Angeles’ Eaton Fire Region
Many residents are uncertain about whether their homes have survived, and it is still unsafe to enter the fire-affected zone. Authorities plan to start grid searches on Saturday.
LOS ANGELES—Residents keen to return home and assess the extensive damage caused by the Eaton Canyon Fire in Northeast Los Angeles County will have to remain patient, as officials disclosed during a community meeting on Jan. 10. The outlook for the coming week is mixed as first responders contend with a blaze that has significantly expanded and is currently only 3 percent contained.
The fire has ravaged over 14,000 acres, necessitating the evacuation of more than 50,000 residents, resulting in six fatalities, damaging thousands of structures, and leaving many without electricity or safe drinking water.
Many residents are unsure about the status of their homes.
The area is still classified as a “danger zone,” according to Williams, due to ongoing fires, downed wires that could become electrified, fallen trees, and debris obstructing roadways.
Beginning Friday, authorities instituted a daily curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., aimed at preventing looting and ensuring public safety in the evacuation area.
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Anyone caught violating the curfew, as noted by Williams, will face arrest, a potential fine of $1,000, or jail time.
The sheriff’s department has deployed over 500 deputies to Altadena, along with 30 National Guard members and several California Highway Patrol officers to assist with traffic control.
A Lull Before the Storm
The positive news is that improved weather conditions have provided firefighters, supported by additional resources, a better chance to stop the fire from advancing further.
“With the wind subsiding, we don’t anticipate the fire making any major advances,” remarked Dennis Burns, a fire behavior analyst with California’s Interagency Management Team assigned to the area.
After several days of strong, unpredictable winds, Friday marked a pivotal change for firefighters battling the blaze, with calmer weather allowing both ground and aerial crews to actively contain the fire’s perimeter.
“Our crews can now directly engage with the fire’s edge because it’s not burning with high intensity,” Burns stated, although he noted that the “steep and rugged” terrain still restricts access to certain areas, requiring crews to fall back and let the fire approach them.
James White, the incident meteorologist for the interagency team, explained that the extreme winds that once fueled the fire are diminishing day by day.
“This is encouraging news—it offers many opportunities for better conditions across the fire area,” he added.
These improved conditions are expected to continue on Friday, while the region will be “relatively sheltered” from another red flag warning commencing late Saturday night or early Sunday morning.
“We’re monitoring the potential for another significant Santa Ana event next week, which appears to be stronger,” he noted, but expressed optimism that the weather would “eventually shift in our favor.”
Brian Ham, an operations chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), indicated that the weekend would provide firefighters an opportunity to brace for the next wave of winds.
“We’ve requested additional resources from out of state—Oregon, Nevada, Texas, and locally from across California. Numerous extra engines, water tenders, bulldozers, hand crews, and aerial units are being staged in the area,” Ham elaborated.
As firefighters throughout the county have faced challenges with water resources, Ham highlighted that the water tenders were a crucial asset aiding firefighters in their efforts.
Local crews will also receive assistance from their counterparts in Mexico.
More Power, Water Issues
As of 3 p.m. Friday, representatives from Southern California Edison, the power provider for Altadena, reported that 172,000 customers remained without power, with 108,000 of those outages resulting from public safety shut-offs to reduce fire hazards.
Utilities warned that potential hazardous winds and red flag conditions on the horizon could lead to further public safety shut-offs.
“Challenges are anticipated throughout the weekend and into early next week,” commented Cody Tubbs from the utility’s fire management team, asserting that shut-offs are considered “a last resort” warranted by the perilous wind conditions of recent days.
David Reyes, interim general manager for Pasadena Water and Power, serving areas near Altadena, noted there were 395 known outages among 65,000 accounts.
Meanwhile, officials from Southern California Gas Company indicated that a broader segment of residents might face service interruptions.
“As we progress deeper into the impacted area and assess the devastation and damage to our facilities, we may need to implement more drastic measures and shut off services to a wider region,” warned Rodger Schwecke, chief infrastructure officer for SoCal Gas.
This implies that customers not directly affected by the fires might also experience service disruptions, he explained, before the process of “surgically” and safely restoring power can begin.
During the virtual meeting, a live chat continuously filled with inquiries from residents seeking updates about the status of their homes and whether any of their possessions remain salvageable.
There was no immediate or definitive information available to indicate which structures were damaged or destroyed, but officials directed residents to the social media pages of the Angeles National Forest and L.A. County Fire Department, where a website will be established to aid individuals in mapping the damage.
Mark Pestrella, director of L.A. County Public Works, stated that the agency was not yet ready to permit reentry due to the ongoing hazards presented by the fire, including ash, fallen trees, and hazardous conditions in the soil, water, and air that would require further evaluation.
The water systems throughout the burn regions, Pestrella noted, remain uncertain, as the state mandates all water agencies to issue do-not-drink advisories due to possible pathogens, ash, and toxic materials posing risks.
Once treatment systems are operational, he stated, the usual timeframe for processing is around 48 hours.
“We aren’t ready to initiate that timeline just yet.”
Captain Williams of the sheriff’s department declared that grid searches were set to commence Saturday throughout the area to inspect structures for damage, urging residents to file missing persons reports in person at the Pasadena Civic Center.
