NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) will soon begin returning to normal operations after battling the raging fires in Los Angeles.
JPL lies in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles and was threatened by Eaton Firewhich devastated neighboring communities such as Altadena.
The center — NASA’s flagship facility for planetary exploration — was closed since January 8 except for essential activities, such as management Perseverance and the Curiosity Mars rovers and other missions. But the Eaton Fire no longer poses a threat to the lab, so JPL plans to reopen its doors next week.
“From Tuesday, January 21st through January 24th, 2025, the Laboratory will be available to any staff who need to work onsite. Staff who are able to work remotely during the week are encouraged to do so, as a full and final cleaning of the facility is completed,” JPL officials wrote on the emergency information center page on Friday (January 17).
Related: Facts and information about NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Although JPL passed through the fire unscathedmuch of its workforce is not.
“Significant devastation in our community. 1,000 still evacuated. More than 150 have lost their homes completely, many more will be long-term displaced,” JPL Director Laurie Leshin wrote in X post January 10.
In another post that day, Leshin linked to a place to raise funds for disaster relief dedicated to helping JPL workers as well as employees of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, which operates the facility for NASA.
JPL is one of NASA’s major science and climate centers—home to the rovers and thousands of people. Firefighters stopped the fire at the gates of JPL, but many of our co-workers lost their homes. Here’s their public GoFundMes thread if you can share and support however possible: pic.twitter.com/UFllvp9fdAJanuary 10, 2025
The Eaton Fire has burned 14,117 acres (5,713 hectares) to date, but is now 65% contained, according to NBC News. The largest and most destructive of the LA fires, the Palisades Fire, has burned 23,713 acres (9,596 ha) and is only 31% contained.
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