< The Latest 2025-01-21T15:40:06+0000
The Pasadena Star-News | Mon 01/20 07:55am PST | Nathaniel Percy
Another “potentially dangerous situation red flag warning” hit Southern California Monday afternoon, Jan. 20, as fire crews brace for the potential of new wildfires during troubling winds while still working to contain two of the most devastating fires in the history of Los Angeles County.
The third such official warning this month was “unprecedented for this area,” James White, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said during a morning briefing on the Eaton fire. It was set to last until 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21.
Then, the winds were expected to die down, becoming breezy into Thursday evening — but still with dry conditions. There is a chance of light precipitation across the fire areas on Saturday and Sunday.
White said this windstorm would fall between the first two – weaker than the one on Jan. 7, when the fires erupted, but stronger than a second round last week that fell below forecasters’ expectations.
“We’re expecting today two main concerns — one is that it’s going to get dry very, very quickly,” White said. “The second thing we’re expecting is strong northeast winds.”
Peak wind gusts could reach upward of 70 mph in coastal and valley areas and 100 mph in the mountains, according to the NWS.
Because of “extremely high winds and fire danger,” FEMA said it closed its Disaster Recovery Center in Pasadena at 5 p.m. Monday and said that, depending on weather conditions, it may remain closed Tuesday.
Regular hours at the center, at Pasadena City College, are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Sunday.
For updated information on the center’s status Tuesday, see the FEMA Region 9 X account here.
A second Disaster Recovery Center in the region is located at the UCLA Research Park, 10850 W Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, 90064. It’s also open daily from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris, and her husband Doug Emhoff, flew to Los Angeles after attending President Donald Trump’s inauguration and met with firefighters, volunteers and victims of the Eaton Fire in Altadena.
“We just came out to thank (firefighters), to thank the community and just remind folks that we’re all in this together,” Harris said. She said their home in Pacific Palisades was still standing.
Fire officials battling the Eaton and Palisades fires said they were prepared in the event of a new fire or the expansion of an existing one. Firefighters and equipment were positioned in high-risk areas within the county and additional resources were sitting poised at a mobilization center in Beaumont, ready to deploy.
But firefighting planes and helicopters could be grounded if the winds kick up beyond 30 to 40 mph.
“That limits what the aircraft can do,” said Dennis Burns, a fire-behavior analyst on the Eaton fire.
Robert Garcia, fire chief for the U.S. Forest Service, said Monday morning, there were no current plans to ground aircraft. Pilots, however, would monitor the wind at takeoffs.
The windstorm was to arrive as fire crews continued progressing with containment on the Eaton and Palisades fires.
Aircraft continued to assist firefighters battling the Eaton by extinguishing hot spots in steep terrain near Winters Creek, Mt. Lowe and Mt. Wilson, Angeles National Forest officials said. That fire was 87% contained as of Monday afternoon, 6% higher than the previous evening.
Officials also slightly downgraded the destroyed acreage from the fire, which now stands at 14,021, nearly 100 acres less than what had been reported for most of last week, due to “better flights and sights” on the fire, officials said.
John James, of Bakersfield, leaves power poles in the Eaton fire burn area of Altadena on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
The gates still stand at a home lost in the Eaton fire on Loma Alta Drive on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Cal Fire crew 7 from Pilot Rock San Bernardino clean tree debris in Altadena in the Eaton fire burn area on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. Fierce winds are expected Monday night. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
LAPD Officer Hailie Ruiz, right, checks IDs before allowing vehicles into the burned zone of the Palisades fire in Santa Monica on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Long Beach Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Aveson School of Leaders in Altadena, seen on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, was burned in the Eaton fire. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Chimneys are all that stand from several homes in Altadena destroyed by the Eaton fire on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Sharon Spangler looks over what is left of her home on Maiden Lane in Altadena on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. Spangler is having a difficult time finding a rental with her three Great Pyrenees. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
A holiday ribbon still hanging at a home lost in the Eaton fire in Altadena blows in the wind on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. Fierce winds are expected Monday night. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
LAPD Officer Anthony Lopez checks for proof of residency before allowing vehicles into the Palisades fire burned zone in Santa Monica on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Long Beach Press-Telegram/SCNG)
Vehicles attempting to enter the burned zone in the aftermath of the Palisades fire are asked to provide proof of residency in Santa Monica on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Long Beach Press-Telegram/SCNG)
John James, of Bakersfield, leaves power poles in the Eaton fire burn area of Altadena on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Near the coast, the Palisades fire was 61% contained as of Monday afternoon, up from 56% the evening before, as firefighters continue to make steady progress, Cal Fire officials said.
“Stay alert as the danger has not yet passed,” Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said.
The Eaton fire has destroyed at least 9,416 structures and damaged 1,064, according to Cal Fire. That count includes homes and commercial structures.
The Palisades blaze has damaged or destroyed at least 6,051 structures, officials said Monday afternoon, with 4,964 of them homes. More than 24,500 people remained evacuated.
While some residents have been allowed to return home, others remained under evacuation orders as officials continue to mitigate the dangers and search for missing persons. At least 27 deaths have been attributed for both fires combined so far, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.
The fires are expected to be the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history by the time all of the damage is assessed.
For evacuation warnings and orders, shelters and road closures: fire.ca.gov/incidents
Staff writer Andrea Klick and The Associated Press contributed to this report.