NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) will quickly begin getting again to regular operations after weathering the raging L.A. fires.
JPL lies on the base of the San Gabriel Mountains simply north of Los Angeles and was threatened by the Eaton Hearth, which has devastated neighboring communities reminiscent of Altadena.
The middle — NASA’s lead facility for planetary exploration — has been closed since Jan. 8 apart from important actions, reminiscent of working the Perseverance and Curiosity Mars rovers and different missions. However the Eaton Hearth is not a hazard to the lab, so JPL plans to reopen its doorways subsequent week.
“From Tuesday, Jan. 21 via Jan. 24, 2025, the Lab might be accessible to any personnel who have to work on web site. Personnel who’re capable of telework for the week are inspired to take action, as full and closing cleanup of the ability is accomplished,” JPL officers wrote on the middle’s emergency-information web site on Friday (Jan. 17).
Associated: Information and details about NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Although JPL made it via the hearth unscathed, a lot of its workforce didn’t.
“Important devastation in our neighborhood. 1,000 nonetheless evacuated. Greater than 150 misplaced properties fully, many others might be displaced long run,” JPL Director Laurie Leshin wrote in an X post on Jan. 10.
In one other publish that day, Leshin linked to a disaster-relief fundraising site dedicated to serving to these JPL employees, in addition to staff of the California Institute of Expertise in Pasadena, which manages the ability for NASA.
JPL is one in every of NASA’s main science and local weather facilities—house to the Mars rovers and 1000s of individuals. Firefighters held again the flames at JPL’s gates, however a lot of our coworkers misplaced their properties. Right here’s a thread of their public GoFundMes in the event you can share & help nonetheless attainable: pic.twitter.com/UFllvp9fdAJanuary 10, 2025
The Eaton Hearth has burned 14,117 acres (5,713 hectares) to this point however is now 65% contained, according to NBC News. The most important and most damaging of the L.A. blazes, the Palisades Hearth, has scorched 23,713 acres (9,596 ha) and is simply 31% contained.
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