The key NASA center remains under a mandatory evacuation order, but officials say both it and Mount Wilson are protected for now.
The Eaton fire burns in the foreground in this still from a web camera at Mount Wilson Observatory. Credit: University of California San Diego/HPWren
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the historic Mount Wilson Observatory in California appear to be unscathed by the Eaton fire burning through Pasadena and Altadena — for now.
However, over 150 JPL employees have lost their homes, said the center’s director Laurie Leshin in a post on X on Friday morning.
“Significant devastation in our community. 1000 still evacuated,” she said in a follow-up post. “More than 150 lost homes completely, many others will be displaced long term.”
The center lies in the foothills of Pasadena, within the Eaton fire’s mandatory evacuation zone. The Eaton fire, which has burned 14,000 acres and 5,000 structures as of Friday afternoon, is one of several fires raging in the Los Angeles region this week amid dangerously high winds and dry conditions.
The Los Angeles Times reported Friday that officials said they were making progress in protecting JPL and Mount Wilson. “We’re feeling good about what we have to do up there tonight to keep [Mount Wilson] secure,” Don Freguilia, an operations section chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, told the newspaper.
JPL is one of NASA’s key centers and the linchpin of its Mars exploration efforts, having built and operated all of the agency’s rovers on the Red Planet (as well as the helicopter drone Ingenuity). It also operates NASA’s Deep Space Network, an international array of radio antennas that provide communications for the agency’s interplanetary missions. As of November 2024, JPL had roughly 5,500 regular employees.
On Friday, Jan. 10, the lab announced it will remain closed with mandatory telework through Jan. 17.
Mount Wilson survives close call
Just 5 miles (8 kilometers) away from JPL in the San Gabriel Mountains lies Mount Wilson Observatory, which survived a close call with a flare-up of the Eaton fire’s northern extent on Jan. 9.
Fire crews worked to keep the flames off the summit, which is also the site of several communication towers used by local TV and radio broadcasters.
It’s hard to understate the importance of Mount Wilson to the field of astronomy: It is home to the 100-inch Hooker telescope, which Edwin Hubble used a century ago to make observations that revealed the nature of galaxies and that the universe is expanding.
Mount Wilson Observatory has survived several wildfires in recent years, most recently the Bobcat fire in 2019.
As winds eased slightly on Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported that officials expect JPL and Mount Wilson to remain protected. “We’re feeling good about what we have to do up there tonight to keep [Mount Wilson] secure,” Don Freguilia, an operations section chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, told the newspaper. He also told the LA Times that crews were “making good progress [at JPL] as well.”
