The Santa Ana winds, occasionally referred to as the devil winds, are strong, extremely dry katabatic winds that originate inland and affect coastal Southern California and northern Baja California. They originate from cool, dry high-pressure air masses in the Great Basin.
Altadena is an unincorporated area, and census-designated place in the San Gabriel Valley and the Verdugos regions of Los Angeles County, California. Directly north of Pasadena, it is located approximately 14 miles (23 km) from Downtown Los Angeles. Its population was 42,846 at the 2020 census, up slightly from a 2010 figure of 42,777. In early 2025, the community was severely impacted by the Eaton Fire.
Sierra Madre is a city in Los Angeles County, California, with a population of 11,268 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census. The city is in the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley below the southern edge of the Angeles National Forest. Pasadena and Altadena are to its west, with Arcadia to its south and east. Sierra Madre is known as "Wisteria City", and its city seal is decorated with a drawing of the now widely known 500-foot (150 m) vine. It is also called the "Village of the Foothills" and was an All-America City in 2007.
Sierra Madre Boulevard is a 6.6-mile-long (10.6 km) road connecting five suburbs of Pasadena, California; Arcadia, Sierra Madre, Hastings Ranch, East Pasadena, and San Marino.
Located in Los Angeles County, California's San Gabriel Valley, the Boy Scouts of America's San Gabriel Valley Council (#40) was one of five councils serving Los Angeles County. It was headquartered in Pasadena.
The Verdugo Mountains, also known as the Verdugo Hills or simply The Verdugos, are a small, rugged mountain range of the Transverse Ranges system in Los Angeles County, California. Located just south of the western San Gabriel Mountains, the Verdugo Mountains region incorporates the cities of Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, and La Cañada Flintridge; the unincorporated communities of Altadena and La Crescenta-Montrose; as well as the City of Los Angeles neighborhood of Sunland-Tujunga. It is where the borders of the San Gabriel Valley and the San Fernando Valley meet.
The Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) was founded in 1874 and is a unified school district for Pasadena, Sierra Madre, and Altadena, in the U.S. state of California.
Foothill Boulevard is a major road in the city and county of Los Angeles, as well as an arterial road in the city and county of San Bernardino, stretching well over 60 miles (97 km) in length, with some notable breaks along the route. Like its name implies, Foothill Boulevard runs across the foothills of the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains.
The Mount Wilson Toll Road (1891–1936) is a historic roadway which ascended Mount Wilson via a vehicular passable road from the base of the foothills in Altadena. It was accessible from Pasadena via Santa Anita Avenue which drove right to the front porch of the toll house. The road is still accessible to non-motorized traffic by way of Eaton Canyon. Segments of it have been closed at various times due to landslides. A 2005 landslide destroyed 50 yards of the road, but it has since been rebuilt and reopened.
Christmas Tree Lane is a 0.7-mile (1.1 km) boulevard of deodar cedar trees in Altadena, California. The trees on the Lane, Santa Rosa Avenue, have been lighted annually as a Christmas Holiday display since 1920. The association that runs it claims it is "the oldest large-scale outdoor Christmas display in the world". Christmas Tree Lane was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1990, the same year it was also designated as California Historical Landmark No. 990.
California's 28th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California, in Los Angeles County. The district is regarded as a Democratic stronghold and has been held by the Democratic Party since 2003 and is currently represented by Democrat Judy Chu.
Eaton Canyon is a major canyon beginning at the Eaton Saddle near Mount Markham and San Gabriel Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains in the Angeles National Forest, United States. Its drainage flows into the Rio Hondo river and then into the Los Angeles River. It is named after Judge Benjamin S. Eaton, who lived in the Fair Oaks Ranch House in 1865 not far from Eaton Creek.
The Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center (PJTC) is a Conservative Jewish congregation, synagogue and community center located in Pasadena, California, United States. Its buildings were destroyed in the January 2025 Eaton Fire, and it is the only Conservative Jewish synagogue in the western San Gabriel Valley.
Crank House, also known as Fair Oaks Ranch, is an 1882 Victorian style residence in Altadena, Los Angeles County, California. The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997 for its association with the early settlement of Altadena. (site #97000751). The house has notably featured in films such as Hocus Pocus, Matilda, Scream 2 and Catch Me If You Can.
Lamanda Park is a neighborhood in Pasadena, California. It is bordered roughly by Foothill Boulevard to the north, Del Mar Boulevard to the south, the Eaton Wash to the east, and Allen Avenue to the west, with a panhandle extending south along the western bank of the Eaton Wash. Like Annandale, it was originally a small township that was gradually enveloped by Pasadena. It was annexed in 1920. Even today, many commercial enterprises and newspapers still identify the area as a separate community.
The 1978 Agoura-Malibu firestorm was a firestorm fueled by at least eight significant wildfires in the Los Angeles area on October 23, 1978. At around noon that day, an arsonist started a fire that eventually burned 25,000 acres (10,000 ha) from Cornell to Broad Beach in Malibu. The first fire alarm in Agoura was reported at 12:11 pm, and by 2:30 pm, the fire had reached the Pacific Ocean 13 miles (21 km) south in Malibu. It had been declared a Level 2 fire at 1:57 pm.
The Kinneloa Fire was a destructive wildfire in Los Angeles County, Southern California in October 1993. The fire destroyed 196 buildings in the communities of Altadena, Kinneloa Mesa, and Sierra Madre in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, becoming at the time the twelfth-most destructive wildfire in California's history and one of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles County history. The fire caused a multitude of minor injuries, one direct fatality, and two indirect fatalities.
There are several neighborhoods in the city of Pasadena, California
The Eaton Fire was a highly-destructive wildfire in Los Angeles County, Southern California. The fire began on the evening of January 7, 2025, in the Eaton Canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains, and was driven by powerful Santa Ana winds into foothill communities, particularly Altadena. The fire killed at least 17 people and destroyed more than 9,000 buildings, becoming the fifth deadliest and the second most destructive wildfire in the history of the state of California. The cause of the fire is under investigation; news reports and lawsuits have focused on the possible involvement of power lines operated by electrical utility Southern California Edison. The fire was fully contained on January 31st after burning for 24 days.
Edgar McGregor is an American climate activist and meteorologist from Pasadena, California. He works for the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation as a recreation services leader. Starting in 2019, his long-term volunteer efforts to clean up Eaton Canyon and other public parks removed thousands of pounds of trash over several years. In 2023, McGregor began providing localized weather forecasts through social media and the Altadena Weather and Climate Facebook page. His warnings during the Eaton Fire in 2025 were credited with helping residents evacuate and avoid harm.
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