Topline:
Containment of the Eaton Fire has risen to 89% as firefighter take advantage of a slight break from Santa Ana wind conditions. Meanwhile, the death toll attributed to the fire has risen to 17, according to the L.A. County medical examiner.
What we know so far: According to authorities, the fire started near Altadena Drive and Midwick Drive, and quickly grew. The cause is under investigation.
Keep reading... for more on evacuations, damage and fire conditions.
This is a developing story and will be updated. For the most up-to-date information about the fire you can check:
Containment of the Eaton Fire has risen to 89% as firefighter take advantage of a slight break from Santa Ana wind conditions. Meanwhile, the death toll attributed to the fire has risen to 17, according to the L.A. County medical examiner.
As of Thursday morning, sheriff's officials said in areas they patrol they are still investigating 24 missing person reports related to the fire.
Pasadena also declared a public health emergency, banning the use of power air blowers, including leaf blowers, until further notice because the devices stir up ash and particulate matter, worsening air quality.
As of Tuesday, 14,021 acres have burned. Meanwhile, officials are mapping where homes and businesses have been lost. About 9,400 structures have been destroyed, more than 1,000 damaged.
L.A. County's medical examiner has confirmed 17 deaths in the Eaton Fire, all at addresses in Altadena.
The fire sparked Jan. 7 in Eaton Canyon and quickly spread out of control — making it one of the deadliest fires in state history. The wildfire has injured many others, including five firefighters, and destroyed whole neighborhoods.
L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna said Monday morning that 17 people have been reported missing. That number could change as more people were encouraged to make reports this weekend. Sheriff's deputies now have grid searches of the area underway, going door to door to determine damage and search for additional victims.
"It looks like a war zone. I’ve never seen anything like it," L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said of the Altadena burn area.
The L.A. County Fire Department has confirmed more than 9,600 structures have been damaged or destroyed, but that number could go up or down as mapping continues.
At one point earlier this week, flames reached Mt. Wilson — which houses many antennas for broadcasters throughout the region, including LAist 89.3. Officials said Friday that no structures had been damaged or destroyed there.
A curfew is in place from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. for evacuation zones. Sheriff's deputies are patrolling those areas.
We know that Southern California Edison is concerned that its transmission lines may be blamed for starting the Eaton Fire. Lawyers representing insurance companies have already asked the utility to preserve evidence related to the fire, according to a filing with the California Public Utilities Commission.
And Pasadena Now interviewed a couple who took photos of a fire breaking out beneath an SCE transmission line near Eaton Canyon.
SoCal Edison has already done its own preliminary investigation and says it did not cause the fire. The company says it de-energized its power lines in the area "well before the reported start time of the fire," according to a press release. And the company told the CPUC that it detected "no interruptions or electrical or operational anomalies" on its transmission lines in the 12 hours before the Eaton Fire began.
Multiple lawsuits have already been filed against the company.
Some parts of Pasadena are still being warned to not drink tap water or use it in cooking. You can check if your address is impacted here. All other areas are safe.
The city warns that boiling, freezing, filtering or treating tap water in any way would not make it any safer. Instead, bottled water should be used for all drinking — including baby formula and juice, teeth brushing, dish washing, making ice, and for any food preparation.
The tap water advisory also applies to pets.
Pasadena and Altadena residents can pick up bottled water from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday at 450 North Lake Ave.
The city of Glendale, which had some parts under evacuation orders earlier this week, said their water was safe to drink as their water facilities are covered.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have lost their homes and even their lives,” said Gordo, Pasadena's mayor. “We have experienced a tremendous tragedy.”
“This is an opportunity for us as a community, as a people, to band together to work to support one another,” he said.
Here are just some of the known losses:
Schools: Five schools in the Pasadena Unified School District suffered substantial damage, according to Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco. Eighty percent of Franklin Elementary burned, she said.
Nature Center: The Los Angeles County Parks Department issued a statement saying staff was “unable to activate our evacuation plan for the reptiles and valuable items at Eaton Canyon Nature Center.”
“We are devastated by the overwhelming impacts of these fires. Sadly, our beloved Eaton Canyon Nature Center, Farnsworth Park — Davies Community Center — on the National Historic Register, and the Altadena Golf Course Club House and adjacent buildings were destroyed in the Eaton fire. Currently, Charles White and Loma Alta parks in Altadena have fire damage,” according to the statement.
Pasadena City Manager Miguel Márquez promised this week that the city will rebuild.
“In this community we may get knocked down but we always get up,” he said. “We will heal.”
President Joe Biden approved a Presidential Major Emergency Declaration on Wednesday to support the response to the wildfires. He said on social media that he’s directed the Department of Defense to provide additional personnel, and 10 Navy helicopters with water buckets are on the way.
“To the residents of Southern California: We are with you,” Biden wrote on X.
Evacuation orders and warnings are changing fast, so check out the most up to date, interactive map here.
Residents are able to reenter some communities as of 3 p.m. Monday, including parts of Kinneloa Mesa. Officials warned that this process will take time, as all agencies have to be on board before an area is opened back up.
The city of Pasadena said on social media that it's receiving requests to check on family and friends who’ve been evacuated. You can call the Pasadena Police non-emergency line at 626-744-4241 — but only after you’ve tried to reach them in other ways.
You can also contact the Red Cross at 800-675-5799 or fill out an inquiry form.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger warned looters to stay out of the evacuation area. “To those who want to loot, the full weight of the county will come down on you,” she said.
Large animals:
Small animals:
Note: The Pasadena Humane Society said they had received more than 250 pets to shelter and said they were at near-capacity. It's also been collecting small animals who have to be sheltered elsewhere.
The organization said Thursday evening that it's received an "overwhelming" number of supplies, but now they need monetary donations most.
Pasadena Unified School District will be closed until at least January 17, Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco said in a statement Friday.
Most other districts in the area have also been shut down for days, due to a combination of bad air quality and a lack of staffing, as district employees themselves evacuate.
You can find a full list of school closures here.
Road closures are changing constantly, but Los Angeles County Public Works maintains an ongoing map: Here are all the road closures.
The Rose Bowl Stadium is currently being used by fire and police departments and other regional agencies for emergency response efforts, according to the city of Pasadena
All donations should be dropped off at:
Santa Anita Mall
400 S. Baldwin Ave, Arcadia
South Side, Lot B
Patricia Gerpheide evacuated from the Monte Cedric retirement community in Altadena early Wednesday morning with 200 other people.
She said when she woke up at 4 a.m. on Wednesday, the wind was blowing "dramatically hard" and she knew there would be problems.
"I looked out my window and across the street, there were two small fires burning and I thought it's so covered with smoke that no one will find them, so I thought I better get ready," she said. "By the time I had my things packed and ready to walk out the door, which was very quick, I looked out again and there were fires all over the place."
Michelle Zvonec, who lives in Sierra Madre, said the evacuation orders came quickly. She managed to take with her things of sentimental value, but said she didn't get as much clothes or even a jacket.
"I packed like I was going to go to a hotel room and come back and get more stuff tomorrow," she said. "It was really weird."
Part of Katie Fulford’s home was destroyed while her neighbors “lost everything.” She’s lived near West Grandview and Auburn Avenue for about a decade, but said she hasn’t been through a wildfire like this before.
“ That was my art studio, that was just about finished, and all my art for years and years and years is now pretty much gone,” she said. “ We all survived, that's the important part. I'll remind myself that when I'm feeling all the sadness.”
_
If you have to evacuate
If you have more time:
Things to consider
Navigating fire conditions
How to help yourself and others
Understanding how it got this bad
Topline:
The Orange County Registrar of Voters is sending teams to emergency shelters to make sure people can still can vote in the June 2 primary even if they are under evacuation orders because of the Garden Grove chemical spill threat.
The backstory: Some 40,000-50,000 people in and around Garden Grove were ordered to evacuate last Friday after a tank holding thousands of gallons of a toxic, highly flammable chemical threatened to explode. The evacuation area was sharply reduced Monday evening after public safety officials discovered that pressure in the tank had been relieved, but many are still under evacuation orders. Some fled their homes without even the bare essentials, much less their mail-in ballots for next week’s election.
So what's the fix? If you left your mail-in ballot at home, you can go to any of Orange County’s 38 vote centers and request a replacement ballot. (You can find the locations of those centers here.) The O.C. Registrar on Tuesday also sent two teams to the emergency shelters in neighboring Fountain Valley to help evacuees with replacement ballots. Those ballots can be mailed, dropped off at a vote center or placed in one of the county’s official ballot drop boxes. You can find the locations of those drop boxes here.
The Orange County Registrar of Voters is sending teams to emergency shelters to make sure people can still can vote in the June 2 primary even if they are under evacuation orders because of the Garden Grove chemical spill threat.
Some 40,000-50,000 people in and around Garden Grove were ordered to evacuate last Friday after a tank holding thousands of gallons of a toxic, highly flammable chemical threatened to explode. The evacuation area was sharply reduced Monday evening after public safety officials discovered pressure in the tank had been relieved.
But many Garden Grove and Stanton residents in the immediate vicinity of the tank, owned by the aerospace company GKN, are still under evacuation orders. Some fled their homes without even the bare essentials, much less their mail-in ballots for next week’s election.
If you left your mail-in ballot at home, you can go to any of Orange County’s 38 vote centers and request a replacement ballot. You can find the locations of those centers here.
The O.C. Registrar on Tuesday also sent two teams to the emergency shelters in nearby Fountain Valley — at Freedom Hall and Los Amigos High School — to print replacement ballots for evacuees who need them. Those ballots can be mailed, dropped off at a vote center or placed in one of the county’s official ballot drop boxes. You can find the locations of those drop boxes here.
The drop box at Chapman Sports Park, which is within the evacuation zone, is unavailable. Registrar Bob Page said ballots were collected from the box when evacuations were first ordered. Page said his office has resumed retrieving ballots from two other drop boxes that were within the initial evacuation zone.
Topline:
Conductor Daniel Harding will take over as the Los Angeles Philharmonic music director next year, the organization announced Tuesday.
Why it matters: The appointment follows three years of speculation about who would succeed Gustavo Dudamel to oversee the influential orchestra, including concerts at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, The Ford Theater and with Youth Orchestra Los Angeles.
His background: Harding’s tenure starts in the 2027-2028 L.A. Phil season. The Oxford-born conductor is currently music director of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Italy and is well-known in L.A. as a guest conductor.
What's next?: Harding will conduct eight weeks of programming in his inaugural 2027-28 season, according to the L.A. Phil. That will increase to 12 weeks of programming in the seasons to follow.
Conductor Daniel Harding will take over as the Los Angeles Philharmonic's music director next year, the organization announced Tuesday.
The appointment follows three years of intense speculation about who would succeed Gustavo Dudamel to oversee the influential orchestra, including concerts at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, The Ford and with Youth Orchestra Los Angeles.
Harding’s tenure starts in the 2027-28 L.A. Phil season. The Oxford-born conductor is currently music director of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Italy and is well-known in L.A. as a guest conductor.
“ Daniel is a musician favorite during his last couple of times here during that Hollywood Bowl,” Kim Noltemy, L.A. Phil president and CEO, told LAist’s AirTalk Tuesday. “ He's a brilliant musician. He is absolutely committed to the idea of music education and helping develop the audiences of the future.”
Harding said in a statement Tuesday that making music with LA Phil musicians is a thrill and inspiration.
“So many great artists have found possibilities here that don’t exist anywhere else, and I come to California full of excitement for what we will discover and create together,” Harding said.
Harding will be the creative lead behind a team of acclaimed musicians, according to the L.A. Phil.
“This is gonna be the ultimate dream team,” Noltemy told AirTalk.
That includes Dudamel, who has led the orchestra since 2009 and will make his debut as the director of the New York Philharmonic this year. He was appointed last week as LA Phil’s artistic and cultural laureate.
It also includes LA Phil creative director Esa-Pekka Salonen, who was the Phil's music director for 17 years between 1992 and 2009, conductor-in-residence Anna Handler, creative chair John Adams and others.
“We are taking a non-traditional approach to all of the artistic strategy — essentially by having a team of brilliant people working together to create a season that really inspires people and meets various audiences where they are,” Noltemy said.
Harding will conduct eight weeks of programming in his inaugural 2027-28 season, according to the LA Phil. That will increase to 12 weeks of programming in the seasons to follow.
Topline:
California wants to phase out fossil fuels, but still needs gas. That makes for messy politics and a frontrunner saying "I need Chevron."
Why now: The behemoth — it reported $12.3 billion in profit last year — took the spotlight last month when an interviewer asked leading Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra about Chevron’s contributions to his campaign. The former state attorney general and Biden-era health secretary gave what seemed to be a candid response: “Chevron, that’s the problem with politics. They’re not the bad guy. Does everybody here drive an electric vehicle? You need Chevron. I need Chevron. My people of the state of California need Chevron … Chevron wants to give me a check, that’s — that’s their prerogative.”
Candidates respond: The phrase “I need Chevron” soon appeared in anti-Becerra videos by the likes of climate hawk Jane Fonda, implying that the candidate was saying he needs Chevron to get elected. Progressive billionaire Tom Steyer, Becerra’s lead Democratic opponent, urged him to return the contribution and said he is “doing [the] bidding” of Big Oil. Representative Katie Porter, another leading Democrat, said in a statement that she “hasn’t made millions off Big Oil or taken their checks.”
Read on... for more on Becerra's comments and response to it.
This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist's weekly newsletter here.
When it comes to California’s climate future, the most important figure in the state’s chaotic governor’s race may not be any of the candidates on the debate stage. It may not even be outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom, or President Donald Trump.
Instead, it might just be Chevron, the multinational oil company that was founded in the Golden State more than 100 years ago. It is among the largest producers, refiners, and sellers of petroleum products in a state rapidly shifting toward electric vehicles. Depending on which candidate is talking, the company is an example of how Big Oil is strangling consumers or an example of how climate regulations are strangling the state economy.
The behemoth — it reported $12.3 billion in profit last year — took the spotlight last month when an interviewer asked leading Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra about Chevron’s contributions to his campaign. The former state attorney general and Biden-era health secretary gave what seemed to be a candid response:
“Chevron, that’s the problem with politics. They’re not the bad guy. Does everybody here drive an electric vehicle? You need Chevron. I need Chevron. My people of the state of California need Chevron … Chevron wants to give me a check, that’s — that’s their prerogative.”
The phrase “I need Chevron” soon appeared in anti-Becerra videos by the likes of climate hawk Jane Fonda, implying that the candidate was saying he needs Chevron to get elected. Progressive billionaire Tom Steyer, Becerra’s lead Democratic opponent, urged him to return the contribution and said he is “doing [the] bidding” of Big Oil. Representative Katie Porter, another leading Democrat, said in a statement that she “hasn’t made millions off Big Oil or taken their checks.”
Becerra is not entirely wrong. California consumes around 13 billion gallons of gasoline annually, all of it specifically formulated to meet the state’s stringent clean air standards. Most of it comes from just six refineries, and Chevron owns two that account for one-third of the state’s production. That gives the company and its peers tremendous leverage. But California’s gas consumption has declined by about 15% from a peak in 2004 due to improved fuel economy in conventional vehicles and growing adoption of electric vehicles. It could fall by half over the next two decades.
The primary is June 2. The challenge for the next governor will be to continue the energy transition while retaining the infrastructure needed to move and refine oil. This has never been accomplished in a place as large as California, which was the world’s fifth-largest economy in 2025. The risks are tremendous: If the state moves too quickly, it could create shortages and price spikes for drivers already paying the highest prices in the country. If it moves too slowly, it could lock in decades of air pollution and hinder global climate progress.
“It’s messy,” said Emily Grubert. She is a civil engineer and sociologist at Notre Dame who has studied fossil fuel transitions and advised the state government on oil infrastructure. “As soon as you realize that actually transitioning away from fossil fuels means you have to close things, people get really freaked out.”
Newsom spent much of his governorship going after Big Oil, an effort that included a series of executive actions to restrict fracking in Kern County oil fields. When the war in Ukraine sent gas prices surging, Newsom and Democrats in the Legislature passed a series of bills to stop what he called “price gouging.” These laws empowered a new oil-focused watchdog agency, created a tool that could impose refinery price caps, and required refineries to maintain certain storage reserves, all of which cut profit margins for Chevron and others. The new refinery rules added to multiple carbon taxes that make selling gasoline in California more expensive.
However, there is some evidence refiners have overcharged Californians. Even after accounting for state taxes, environmental fees, and production costs, a gap remains between gas prices in the Golden State and everywhere else. This gap appeared in 2015 after a refinery fire in Torrance and has come to be known as the “mystery gasoline surcharge.” It now averages about $1. Last fall, a state regulator concluded that refiners’ monopoly power may be the reason for the price spikes.
Oil companies accused Newsom of trying to regulate them out of existence, and many threatened to leave. Two major refiners, Wilmington and Benicia, announced last year that they would close their operations, forcing a state that already imports about 60 percent of its oil to rely on imports of gasoline refined in Asia. Chevron relocated its corporate headquarters from the San Francisco suburb of San Ramon to Houston in 2024, and it has delivered a series of ominous warnings this year as climate regulators have revised the state’s almost 15-year-old carbon tax.
“The proposed regulation will cripple the survivability of the state’s remaining refineries, which will result in California losing the entire industry,” Andy Walls, the president of Chevron’s refinery business, wrote in an open letter to Newsom in March. The implication was clear: unless you relax your regulations, we will leave the state and strand you without gasoline. That would mean paying Asian refiners to produce more of the state’s specific blend, at significant cost.
The Newsom administration spent much of 2025 trying to work out a grand bargain with the industry. The Legislature eased rules governing drilling in Kern County oil fields, helping maintain a stable supply of crude to refineries, It also delayed implementing a refinery profit cap, and allowed the temporary sale of gasoline with higher concentrations of ethanol. The state’s climate regulator has also suggested giving refineries free allowances under the state’s cap-and-trade system, even if it means less money for big projects like high-speed rail and sustainable housing. The idea is to give investors enough certainty that they’re willing to remain in California even as the state uses less gasoline.
Experts believe it will take a lot more than that to manage inevitable changes.
“You actually can’t have a smooth and safe and effective transition without some form of coordinating function for that decline,” said Grubert. She believes a degree of state ownership of refineries will be necessary to keep facilities open if they stop being profitable. The wrong approach, she says, would be to respond to each potential a refinery closure with ad hoc subsidies and state support, since that would allow refiners to extort the state one by one.
That point was reinforced this month by a report from the California Energy Commission that has not received much notice. The analysis of the state’s shaky fuel system found that “California cannot sustainably manage this transition through repeated crisis interventions at an asset-by-asset level.” It suggested options that included “legal obligations to operate,” “centralized planning of closures,” and “direct state management or ownership of assets.”
The Iran war will accelerate a decline in both the supply of, and demand for, oil. Gas retailers like Chevron are already struggling to find additional imports of refined fuel, and some experts predict shortages if the Strait of Hormuz does not open within weeks. Meanwhile, electric vehicles continue gaining market share, and Newsom plans to roll out subsidies for them this year. Wider adoption of these vehicles, and hybrids, will further crimp demand, making any remaining refineries more likely to shutter.
All of this helps explain the showdown between the leading Democrats in the governor’s race, who are each trying to find a lane in a field that at one time included more than 50 candidates.
Becerra has given lip service to clean energy, but many public statements suggest a friendliness toward oil producers. As attorney general, he initiated a few lawsuits against petroleum companies, and supported other state climate lawsuits, but punted on major investigations. He has focused his gubernatorial campaign on vows to fight Donald Trump and protect healthcare, and has made controversial promises to freeze utility and insurance rates. On decarbonization, he has noted that “climate action only succeeds if it is affordable, reliable, and fair.”
After the chaos of the early primary, many oil producers have decided that Becerra is their candidate. Chevron last month contributed the maximum allowable amount of $39,200 to his campaign, the first time in a decade it has backed a gubernatorial candidate. Last week, the company contributed another $500,000 to an independent political committee supporting Becerra. California Resources Corporation, the state’s largest driller, also gave $500,000 to a Becerra committee. And gas companies like Sempra are among the donors to an anti-Steyer political committee that has raised more than $24 million.
Steyer, meanwhile, has made attacking Big Oil the focus of his campaign, as it was during his 2020 presidential run. He says he would lower gas prices by activating the refining profit cap that Newsom has declined to use, investigating what is causing high gas prices (something the state has already done), and taxing private jet fuel. When refineries “inevitably” close, he says he will stockpile an oil reserve and import more refined fuel for as long as California needs it.
Steyer has also had to address his own fossil fuel ties. The hedge fund he founded, Farallon Capital, remains a major player in coal power finance abroad, including in Indonesia and Australia. Steyer still holds a stake in the firm, which he left in 2012, but his campaign says he no longer receives dividends from its fossil fuel investments.
California uses a “jungle primary” in which the top two candidates advance to the general election, regardless of party. The latest poll shows Becerra essentially tied with former Fox News host Steve Hilton, a Republican, with Steyer trailing at around 15 percent. The most likely outcome is that one of Becerra or Steyer will make it to the general election. (The other Democrats, including Porter and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, trail behind in the double digits.)
Railing against Big Oil has long proven to be good politics in California. But in the wake of Trump’s second election victory, Democrats have sought to downplay climate issues and focus instead on affordability. The question in the governor’s race is how best to achieve that in the long run. Is it better to use a bully pulpit against companies like Chevron in an effort to break their market power, or conciliate them in the hope that they don’t flee?
Mike Madrid, a veteran California political operative, believes Becerra’s approach will resonate more with the young and Latinos, both of whom often decide statewide elections.
“This attack on Chevron, it works for the base Steyer already has,” he said. “Young Latino working-class men are the demographic most affected by gas prices. Do you think they’re saying we need to get rid of Chevron? Of course not.”
Steyer’s campaign may not get him over the line in the primary, but he has at least been consistent. In a 2013 blog post for this very publication, he celebrated the result of the Virginia governor’s race, where a climate-focused Democrat beat a fossil-fuel friendly Republican with help from Steyer’s own war chest.
“A new political dynamic is emerging,” he wrote at the time. “Climate change is a winner, not a loser,” and is “no longer electoral Kryptonite.”
If Chevron has its way, next week’s primary results will prove otherwise.
This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.
Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
Topline:
California foster youth and children who have lost a parent to COVID can now apply for a trust fund to help them begin their adult lives.
About the program: The Hope, Opportunity, Perseverance and Empowerment (HOPE) program, created by the state Legislature in 2022, will invest $3,000 per child in a trust fund that they can access when they are 18. About 56,000 children could benefit from this program, according to a state press release.
Read on . . . for more on who qualifies and how to apply.
California foster youth and children who have lost a parent to COVID can now apply for a trust fund to help them begin their adult lives.
The Hope, Opportunity, Perseverance and Empowerment (HOPE) program, created by the state Legislature in 2022, will invest $3,000 per child in a trust fund that they can access when they are 18. About 56,000 children could benefit from this program, according to a state press release.
“For California’s most vulnerable children, early financial support can help counter the long-term impacts of poverty and instability, and create a foundation for long-term financial security,” said California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, who serves as chair of HOPE. “HOPE is designed to provide that equitable access and make a lasting impact.”
Children who have spent at least 18 months in foster care or have had family reunification services terminated, and children who have lost a parent or primary caregiver to COVID can apply for funds at hopeaccount.ca.gov.
For more information, contact HopeForChildren@treasurer.ca.gov.
EdSource is an independent nonprofit organization that provides analysis on key education issues facing California and the nation. LAist republishes articles from EdSource with permission.
