The tragic and destructive LA fires have left thousands of people without homes, and have taken the lives of at least 25 people.
Aside from the human toll and the pain of losing one’s home, countless classic architectural landmarks have been lost as well. From mid-century modern gems, churches and cathedrals, and historic mansions, the destruction is vast.
NASA just revealed that the Eaton fire, which destroyed much of Altadena, got incredibly close to burning one of their premiere installations, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The 177-acre campus is home to over 150 buildings, and employs over 6,000 people. The campus is home to some of the most high-tech equipment on the planet, including a number of labs and test facilities found nowhere else on earth.
NASA revealed that the Eaton Fire reached within one kilometer (.6 miles) of the campus. The surrounding Altadena neighborhoods and natural areas have been decimated.
Among JPL’s facilities include a major Mission Control center, spacecraft assembly rooms, and much more.
Despite all of the devastation, there’s a little bit of relief that scientifically important places like the Jet Propulsion Laboratory survived.
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2 Comments
JPL would have faced little to no damage if the fire reached it. There is a massive fire break around it in the form of parking lots, and the buildings are largely made of concrete and steel – all non-combustible materials. It is tragic the devastation to the historic residential areas, but it seems like the people there voted for leaders and policies that led to this inevitable result. I truly have empathy for the victims, but I hope the whole state learns a valuable lesson from this tragedy that policies really do matter to people’s lives. Perhaps they will vote for better policies in the future…we’ll see.
Where the hell is risk management framework – a $40,000,000,000 matchbox, really? Vizzini says, “Inconceivable!”