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.”
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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:
A new art exhibition from L.A.'s own Gary Baseman is breathing life into the mid-century, Googie architecture of Johnie’s Coffee Shop at the corner of Wilshire and Fairfax.
Why now? “Off the Menu: Dining and Drawing in LA” features work drawn directly on menus from 40 different local staples, including Musso and Frank’s and Genghis Cohen, and of course, Canter's.
The background: Baseman is known for his iconic cat illustrations and whimsical characters that have shown up in the New York Times, Disney animation and plenty of toys. His L.A. food institution roots go deep: He grew up in the Fairfax district and his mom worked in the bakery at the legendary Canter’s Deli for 35 years.
What Baseman says: “There’s a sense of community and comfort by being in these places,” Baseman told LAist. “This show is all about my love and celebration of L.A. dining culture.”
Read on... for details on how to check the show out.
A new art exhibition is breathing life into the mid-century, Googie architecture of Johnie’s Coffee Shop at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue.
Artist Gary Baseman is known for his iconic cat illustrations and whimsical characters that have shown up in the New York Times, Disney animation and plenty of toys.
His L.A. food institution roots go deep: he grew up in the Fairfax district and his mom worked in the bakery at the legendary Canter’s Deli for 35 years.
“Off the Menu: Dining and Drawing in LA” features work drawn directly on menus from 40 different local staples, including Musso and Frank’s and Genghis Cohen, and of course, Canter's.
“There’s a sense of community and comfort by being in these places,” Baseman told LAist. “This show is all about my love and celebration of L.A. dining culture.”
Baseman said the idea for the exhibition can be traced back to his time traveling around the world. At many of his dining stops around the globe, he would... borrow... menus and begin sketching scenes in his cartoon-like style.
“Let’s just say I wouldn’t give them back to the waiter and I would actually start drawing on the menu itself... It was a way of giving them immortality through the body of work,” Baseman said.
Baseman said he loved the idea of opening Johnie’s up again for people to see. He called the location the perfect place for a show like this, which takes visitors on what he calls a “dream reality” tour of L.A.’s food institutions through sketches and drawings.
Designed by the firm Armet and Davis, Johnie’s Coffee Shop occupied the building from 1966 to 2000, when it closed down, according to the Los Angeles Conservancy. Johnie’s has also been used for filming locations and shows up in The Big Lebowski, Reservoir Dogs and more.
Johnie’s hasn’t been completely dormant over the past decade though. Under the guidance of the Community Solidarity Project, a mutual aid nonprofit with a longstanding footprint in Mid-Wilshire, the building served as a campaign center for Bernie Sanders, a mutual aid distribution hub, a filming location with student filmmakers and more.
Now it’ll house Baseman’s first solo show in L.A. since 2013’s “The Door is Always Open” at the Skirball Center. The launch of “Off the Menu” was purposefully timed to coincide with the opening of the first phase of the Metro D Line extension, which includes a Wilshire/Fairfax stop.
“Off the Menu” kicks off at Johnie’s on Friday, May 8, with a Metro D Line celebration from 3 to 6 p.m.
A public opening reception will take place: 6 to 9 p.m., Saturday, May 9
Then, the exhibition will be open noon to 7 p.m., Wednesday to Sunday, until June 14.
Topline:
Boyle Heights is turning the World Cup into a neighborhood celebration with a free block party next month aimed at supporting local businesses and bringing residents together along the 1st Street corridor.
The details: The celebration will take place from 5 to 10 p.m. June 18 to mark the Mexico vs. South Korea match. The block party is expected to close 1st Street between Vicente Fernandez and State streets. A large LED screen will be set up near Eastside Luv. Metro, along with Angel City Football Club, will activate the Mariachi Plaza station as a “welcoming platform” with screens showing highlights of the match.
Boosting local businesses: Miriam Rodriguez, president of the Boyle Heights Chamber of Commerce said the event aims to boost local businesses facing economic strain tied to the recent federal immigration raids. Many of the businesses along the corridor will be participating, including Espacio 1839, Street Tacos and Grill, Tenampal, Casa Fina, Birrieria Don Boni, SuperNova Thrift and Distrito Catorce. Some may offer food and merchandise outdoors or host DJs similar to past CicLAvia events in Boyle Heights.
This story first appeared on The LA Local.
Boyle Heights is turning the World Cup into a neighborhood celebration with a free block party next month aimed at supporting local businesses and bringing residents together along the 1st Street corridor.
The celebration will take place from 5 to 10 p.m. June 18 to mark the Mexico vs. South Korea match.
“There’s a lot of focus on tourism and trying to make LA suitable for people to visit us, but at the end of the day, it’s our business members, our community members, who are here day to day, and they deserve to have a safe space to watch the game,” said Miriam Rodriguez, president of the Boyle Heights Chamber of Commerce.
The block party is expected to close 1st Street between Vicente Fernandez and State streets. A large LED screen will be set up near Eastside Luv. Metro, along with Angel City Football Club, will activate the Mariachi Plaza station as a “welcoming platform” with screens showing highlights of the match, Rodriguez said.
Many of the businesses along the corridor will be participating, including Espacio 1839, Street Tacos and Grill, Tenampal, Casa Fina, Birrieria Don Boni, SuperNova Thrift and Distrito Catorce.
Some may offer food and merchandise outdoors or host DJs similar to past CicLAvia events in Boyle Heights.
A music lineup is in the works and other details are still being finalized, Rodriguez said.
Las Fotos Project, JD Sports, Neighborhood Music Schools, and the Angel City Football Club supporter group, known as PodeRosas, are among the participating organizations.
Rodriguez said the event aims to boost local businesses facing economic strain tied to the recent federal immigration raids.
“Soccer brings unity,” Rodriguez said. “We want to … let our community know that even in hard times we’re still here for our businesses.”
“We can all come together and watch and celebrate our culture,” she said.
When: Thursday, June 18
Time: 5-10 p.m.
Where: 1st Street between Vicente Fernandez and State streets
Information: boylehtschamber@gmail.com or @boyleheights_chamber on Instagram
“Kick it in the Park”: L.A. Mayor Karen Bass on Monday announced a series of recreation and parks facilities hosting more than 100 free FIFA World Cup watch parties across the city, including El Sereno Recreation Center, which will be showing 21 matches.
Find the full schedule, additional celebrations and key information at kickit.lacity.gov.
Casa Mexico Los Angeles 2026: LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes in downtown L.A. will host Casa Mexico Los Angeles 2026, a five-week community-centered celebration of soccer and culture. The event will feature free public programs, including live match viewing parties, music, gastronomy, exhibitions and more.
Find the full schedule, additional celebrations and key information at casamexico.netlify.app.
Topline:
A normally sleepy school board race in northeast Long Beach has gotten an unexpected injection of partisan politics and campaign spending this year.
Why it matters: For 14 years, incumbent Long Beach Unified Trustee Diana Craighead has easily held onto the District 5 seat. First appointed to the board in 2012 to fill an empty spot, she has often won re-election without facing a challenger. This year, though, it’s a three-way race among Craighead, grassroots organizer Sara Pol-Lim and charter school teacher Maureen Flaherty. Flaherty’s presence in particular, and her association with a national conservative group Moms for Liberty, has raised the stakes and spurred powerful players in Long Beach education to try to influence the outcome.
Teachers union: The Teachers Association of Long Beach, the union that represents thousands of certificated employees in the district, has thrown its weight behind Craighead — some members motivated less by Craighead’s platform than by fear of a win for Flaherty.
Read on... for more on the school board race.
A normally sleepy school board race in northeast Long Beach has gotten an unexpected injection of partisan politics and campaign spending this year.
For 14 years, incumbent Long Beach Unified Trustee Diana Craighead has easily held onto the District 5 seat. First appointed to the board in 2012 to fill an empty spot, she has often won re-election without facing a challenger. This year, though, it’s a three-way race among Craighead, grassroots organizer Sara Pol-Lim and charter school teacher Maureen Flaherty. Flaherty’s presence in particular, and her association with a national conservative group Moms for Liberty, has raised the stakes and spurred powerful players in Long Beach education to try to influence the outcome.
Flaherty has advocated for vaccine choice rather than mandates, barring trans girls from girls’ sports and curriculum that “educate[s], not indoctrinate[s].” She also wants parents to have more control over the types of books students have access to in school.
She has collected endorsements from a litany of conservative politicians, including gubernatorial candidate Chad Bianco, the current sheriff of Riverside County. Her ties with Moms for Liberty, an organization that has advocated for book censorship and against curriculum on critical race theory and LGBTQ rights, have spurred LBUSD teachers to organize against her.
The Teachers Association of Long Beach, the union that represents thousands of certificated employees in the district, has thrown its weight behind Craighead — some members motivated less by Craighead’s platform than by fear of a win for Flaherty.
Chris Callopy, executive director of TALB, lived and taught in Orange Unified in the 1990s and 2000s when voters elected and later recalled conservative school board candidates, what Callopy called “precursors to the current MAGA and Moms for Liberty movements.”
At a union meeting last month, Callopy warned his membership that a similar school board takeover in Long Beach could threaten their civil rights and protections as teachers — especially for members of the LGBTQ community. “This is crisis mode,” Callopy said, “Pay attention and get involved.”
In response, TALB has endorsed Craighead and so far used about $45,000 in political action committee funding to support her campaign — including through mailers, opposition research, door-knocking and even an attack ad against Flaherty that claims she is “Too MAGA for school board” and “Wrong for our kids.”
Flaherty said TALB is misrepresenting her priorities.
“They’re attacking me without knowing my real positions,” she said, adding, “I’m not one thing. I have multiple beliefs.” She clarified that she wants all students to thrive and feel they belong in school and that she voted for gay rights in the past.
She’s been critical of teachers unions, saying they protect lazy educators. Flaherty said TALB’s campaign against her shows they’re afraid she has a real shot, even with Long Beach’s Democrat-heavy electorate. “They’re obviously worried that I have a chance of winning or they wouldn’t be doing that,” she said.
Craighead and her other challenger, Sara Pol-Lim, espouse more liberal political ideologies.
Craighead has championed a model of governance that aims to boost student performance and close equity gaps — focusing on the performance of Black students in particular. Though outcomes have lagged, Craighead has vowed to “stay the course” in the hopes that more significant improvements are on the horizon. She supports, and voted for, the district’s equity policy and inclusion of the district’s immigrant community.
Pol-Lim, who arrived in California as a Cambodian refugee in 1983, said she jumped into the race relatively late for pragmatic reasons. She decided she couldn’t “afford to just be a bystander anymore” when she learned about the district’s $70 million deficit and declining enrollment. She has advocated for a proactive approach to balancing the district’s budget by seeking alternative funding sources. And she says promoting student and teacher belonging could be keys to boosting both retention and outcomes, she said.
Pol-Lim has raised more than $19,000 for her campaign, primarily small monetary donations from individuals and organizations across the city, she said, as well as a loan to herself and about $3,000 in in-kind donations. Flaherty has raised less than $2,000 in total. And Craighead’s campaign has amassed more than $50,000, mostly in donations and in-kind support from TALB as well as some direct donations. She’s also accumulated endorsements from Long Beach’s largely liberal political establishment, including Mayor Rex Richardson, Rep. Robert Garcia, State Sen. Lena Gonzalez and Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal.
Topline:
Iran's Revolutionary Guard on Wednesday said safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be provided, under unspecified procedures, after President Trump paused a U.S. military effort to guide merchant vessels through the strategic waterway.
More details: Moments after the Iranian statement, President Trump wrote online that the war would end once an agreement was reached with Iran, but he warned that U.S. bombing would resume if not.
The backstory: The Strait of Hormuz — an important passageway for oil, fertilizer and other goods — has been effectively closed since the U.S. and Israel launched their attack on Iran on Feb. 28, disrupting global energy supplies and pushing up fuel prices. Iran has attacked commercial ships that want to transit the strait without its approval. The U.S. has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports since mid-April.
Read on... for more updates on the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard on Wednesday said safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be provided, under unspecified procedures, after President Trump paused a U.S. military effort to guide merchant vessels through the strategic waterway.
"With the end of the aggressors' threats and in light of new procedures, safe and sustainable transit through the strait will be facilitated," the Revolutionary Guard's navy command said in an online statement. It did not give details about the new terms.
The Strait of Hormuz — an important passageway for oil, fertilizer and other goods — has been effectively closed since the U.S. and Israel launched their attack on Iran on Feb. 28, disrupting global energy supplies and pushing up fuel prices. Iran has attacked commercial ships that want to transit the strait without its approval. The U.S. has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports since mid-April.
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Moments after the Iranian statement, President Trump wrote online that the war would end once an agreement was reached with Iran, but he warned that U.S. bombing would resume if not.
"Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran," Trump said. "If they don't agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before."
Iran has confirmed receiving a U.S. proposal and said it is under review.
"The American plan and proposal is still being reviewed by Iran, and after summing up its points of view, Iran will convey its views to the Pakistani side," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei told Iran's state ISNA news agency on Wednesday, referring to mediating country Pakistan that has relayed messages and hosted talks between Iran and the U.S. NPR has not confirmed the details of the proposal.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
Copyright 2026 NPR
