Los Angeles wildfires force tens of thousands to evacuate, NASA JPL closed

Crews battle to keep people, homes, science safe

Updated With several major wildfires raging out of control in Los Angeles County, fire crews are risking their lives to protect people, homes, and a key NASA facility.

At the time of the writing, about 70,000 people were told to evacuate their homes as the fires erupted after a dry winter, and hurricane-force winds howling across Southern California spread the flames over thousands of acres. Some 400,000 residents are without power, and water pressure needed to fight the blazes is reportedly failing, with hydrants said to be running dry.

Two people so far are reported dead, more than 1,000 structures have been destroyed, and California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency. The National Guard - along with thousands of firefighters (many of them prisoners working for about $6 to $10, plus $1 an hour, per day) - have been deployed to help tackle the conflagration.

"This is a highly dangerous windstorm that’s creating extreme fire risk – and we’re not out of the woods. We’re already seeing the destructive impacts with this fire in Pacific Palisades that grew rapidly in a matter of minutes," Newsom said.

"Our deepest thanks go to our expert firefighters and first responders who jumped quickly into fighting this dangerous fire."

A crew has been deployed to protect NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which houses top science talent - not to mention the primary control stations for the agency's Mars and outer space hardware. The site is on emergency lockdown and several staff report losing their homes to wildfire.

"JPL is closed except for emergency personnel," tweeted the site's director Laurie Leshin. "No fire damage so far (some wind damage) but it is very close to the lab. Hundreds of JPLers have been evacuated from their homes & many have lost homes. Special thx to our emergency crews. Pls keep us in your thoughts & stay safe."

"My heart goes out to those affected by the Palisades Fire in Southern California," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. "Many in our NASA family, including our teams at Armstrong and JPL, are affected. Grace and I are praying for their safety and the safety of the first responders battling the blaze."

Should the worst happen to JPL, NASA has backup plans in place. Control of the Mars rovers and spacecraft will be shifted to the Goldstone Deep Space Network just north of Barstow, California. But generations of scientific data and hardware could be lost.

With the fires still largely unconfined, and no sign of letup from the winds spreading the blazes, the loss of JPL is looking possible. ®

Updated to add on January 10

Thanks to the efforts of firefighters, it appears JPL is safe from the nearby Eaton wildfire for now, though some staff have lost almost everything in the conflagration.

Fires burned around the facility, which has its own dedicated fire department and has been landscaped to minimize the risk of wildfires damaging the site. JPL reports some damage from high winds, though the flames have been kept at bay and are now moving away from the facility.

Over the past four days the Eaton fire has spread over 13,690 acres and is still only three percent contained, while the Palisades fire has ravaged over 20,000 acres and is eight percent contained. Strong winds that are fanning the flames are expected to last over the weekend.

Overall, at least 10 people have died due to the fires, at least 180,000 folks have had to evacuate, and another 200,000 are under evacuation warnings.