Posted: Jan 9, 2025 3:50pm
The Eaton Fire started on the evening of January 7th at 6:18pm. With winds gusts as high as nearly 100 mph coming from the north, the fire quickly spread into Altadena and the surrounding communities, destroying homes and devastating residential neighborhoods.
Southern California Edison turned off the power to the mountain on Monday afternoon (Jan 7th) in advance of the fire, and we were on generator support until the generator failed early this morning (Jan 9th) around 4am.
The Eaton fire reached the edge of Mount Wilson near the broadcast antennas earlier today (Jan 9th). Fire crews are on the ground. Craig, Victor, Larry (from CHARA), and Jesse (from MWI) remain onsite to assist the fire crews with observatory infrastructure and water resources. Our communication with the staff onsite is limited because of the power outage and lack of internet connection, but we get occasional updates from staff on site by text or landline. At the moment, they are optimistic that the efforts of the fire fighters will successfully keep the fire away from the observatory grounds.
Based on the coverage on NBC news, it appears that the fire fighters have thankfully kept the fire below the ridge line, so the fire has not yet encroached on the observatory grounds. The fire appears to be moving away toward the west. We are not yet in the clear, but hopeful that the observatory and the CHARA Array will remain safe.
We are thankful for the efforts of the site staff and fire crews. Our hearts go out to all those in the Los Angeles area who have lost their homes during these tragic fires.
Resources:
HPWREN Cameras on Mount Wilson
HPWREN Cameras on Mount Wilson
Historic Mount Wilson, crucial communications link for California, threatened by Eaton Fire - by Erin Rhodes, SFGate
Firefighters battle to protect NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Mt. Wilson - by Grace Toohey, LA Times
Firefighters Protect Historic Mt. Wilson Observatory From Eaton Fire - by Alexandra E. Petri, NY Times
NASA lab and historic observatory narrowly escape LA fire damage - by Hannah Richter, Science
Update Jan 9, 2025 4:30pm
In a press conference this afternoon, the fire service leader expressed confidence that the Mount Wilson facilities would be kept clear of the fire and that they have contained the advance on the northern side of the Eaton fire. See LA Times article for more details.
At 4:55pm, Mount Wilson Observatory posted the following message on Facebook, "We are relieved to report that the flare-up of the Eaton Fire near the Observatory seems to be under control at the moment. There are fires below the towers and parking lot but fire crews are monitoring the situation, letting the fire consume the fuel. There are 14 or so trucks, 80 or so firefighters, from around the state. We are eternally grateful to the firefighters and our mountain staff for their dedication to keeping the mountain safe. We will continue to monitor the situation as things can change quickly."
Below you will find images from Mount Wilson over the past few days.
View of the Eaton fire from the Mount Wilson HPWren Camera looking south on January 8th, 2025 at 7:31am (left) and 11:59 am (right).
View of the Eaton fire from the Mount Wilson HPWren Camera looking south on evening of January 8th, 2025 at 9:00pm (left) and in the morning of January 9th, 2025 03:57 am (right) just before the observatory lost generator power.
Screenshots of local news coverage showing improvement in conditions from fire fighting efforts to let the fire consume fuels.
View of the Mount Wilson and the Eaton fire from the Pine Mountain UC San Diego Alert California Camera on January 9th, 2025 at 12:55pm (left) and 4:37 pm (right).
Update Jan 10, 2025 at 10:50am
CHARA site manager Craig Woods reported calm and quiet conditions on the mountain at 2:45am. The power is still out with no internet, except at the front gate. When conditions allow, the site staff will pick up a portable generator to provide power.
The firefighters will work in 24 hour shifts for at least a week. The staff onsite will focus on getting the infrastructure back up and running and support the fire crews.
Update: Jan 10, 2025 at 5:20pm
Craig and Victor picked up a rental generator this afternoon. The generator is providing power for the fire pump and potable water pump.
CHARA site manager Craig Woods reports that, "Everything is quiet at the Observatory. The fire crews are cleaning up and watching spot fires to the west."
Update: Jan 11, 2025 at 1:15pm
Craig reports that the internet worked after they got power to the data room inside the 60”. He managed to cobble together internet to his house yesterday and today they are working on getting as much of the mountain connected to the internet as possible.
Update: Jan 11, 2025 at 9:30pm
Today the CHARA staff onsite got the internet working at all three of their houses, the MWI office, and the 60''. They can now communicate with us from the comfort of their cabins.
SCE has trucks on Red Box trying to restore power.
According to a Virtual Community Meeting this afternoon, infrared mapping from last night showed intense heat on the north side of the fire near Mount Wilson and Mount Lowe. They are not expecting significant movement of the fire today through tomorrow. The forecast is calling for high winds/red flag warnings at higher elevations tonight through to next week.
A lot more fire crews arrived on the mountain around noon. The two photos below show the fire crews staging near the Mount Wilson 100 inch telescope dome and the CHARA office building. This incredibly dedicated team of men and women are currently cutting a firebreak on the north side of the Observatory down to the canyon to the northeast. They will be sleeping out on the grounds of the Observatory tonight and continue tomorrow morning.
Fire crews stanging near the Mount Wilson 100 inch telescope dome and the CHARA office building on the evening of January 11, 2025. Photos by Larry Webster.
Update: Jan 12, 2025 at 9:30am
The Mount Wilson HPWREN cameras are back online, currently showing blue sky without any visible plumes of smoke:
Fire crews are staging at the parking lot for retardant drops.
Winds are gusting this morning but the staff on site have not seen or smelled any flare ups.
Update Jan 13, 2025 at 11:40am
Yesterday the fire crews continued doing retardant drops using helicopters with tanks. The fire crews have been pulling water from the Forest Service water tank, but they might switch to pulling from the Mount Wilson fire tank soon. One of the current concerns is with water usage, especially since we have not received enough rain this year to replenish the Upper Well. A well pump installer will look into pumping from the Lower Well to increase water supply. Mount Wilson Institute is in communication with the Forest Service and local authorities.
Edison trucks were on the mountain again yesterday, but it may take a while for power to be restored. Due to the excessive hot spots around they still have a lot of work to do.
Edison has put in an order for a 3-phase, 240V generator to power the Forest Service Well Pump. Getting a generator down there will let us fill the tank during the fire fighting activities.
The Eaton Fire Inciweb page reports, "Last night, firefighters continued active patrol and mop up, mitigating smoke and heat sources. Minimal fire activity was observed overnight, with smoldering and creeping. Individual pockets of unburned fuel continued to present challenges. A mobile retardant base has been set up at Mount Wilson to support air operations. Urban Search and Rescue efforts, infrastructure assessments, hazardous material response, and damage assessment operations continue in the communities along the southern edge of the fire. These operations are unprecedented in size and scale which are critical for mitigating existing hazards, confirming missing persons reports, and obtaining accurate number of structures loss.
Update Jan 14, 2025 11:40am
Early this morning there was no significant wind this morning. Temperature is 35 degrees.
There is a lot of vehicle activity between the observatory and the parking lot. The fire crews ran a hose line from the MWI fire tank draft line to the lower parking lot. There is a mobile retardant base set up in the parking lot at Mount Wilson to supply helicopters with retardant to drop in inaccessible terrain.
The Forest Service delivered a generator yesterday afternoon and placed it down at the pump house for the Forest Service well. They plan to hook it up to power the pump this morning.
The parts for the Mount Wilson generator have arrived and a technician is on the way to repair the main generator for the observatory.
Fire crews established a fire retardant base in the lower parking lot at Mount Wilson on January 13th, 2025.
Update Jan 15, 2025
Morning weather: Winds are gusty, 38 degrees.
Unfortunately, the Mount Wilson generator needs additional parts ordered, so we are still running limited power from portable generator.
The generator supplied by the Forest Service has been hooked up to the Forest Service well pump and is replenishing the Forest Service water tank.
Update Jan 16, 2025
Morning weather: Winds are gusty, 38 degrees.
Staff on site returned the rental generator for servicing yesterday and picked up a replacement rental generator that is providing more stable power. They were able to power up more of the observatory, including some of the computers in the CHARA lab. The circuit for the CHARA office building is powered off to conserve generator load.
The fire is currently at 55% containment. The fire crews did not fly yesterday, so there were a lot of crews around. With more stable conditions, they reduced the overnight crews on the mountain.
Update Feb 5, 2025
Edison restored power to Mount Wilson on January 24. The fire crews removed their hoses from the Observatory site earlier that day and continued to monitor for hot spots for several days after. CHARA staff have returned to the mountain. We are working to bring the Array back online and continue our winter engineering/maintenance tasks. The mountain received 10 inches of snow during the storm on January 26-27. We are receiving more rain this week. This is much needed precipitation after a long and extended fire season.
