News

At 2:43 AM on the morning of Sunday, July 21, 2024, a driver racing up Altadena Drive lost control when rounding the turn by the Midwick trailhead. The vehicle smashed into two arrow curve signs, some boulders, and a power pole in the area. The wreck knocked out electricity to the immediate neighborhood, with SoCal Edison outages reported as far west as the neighborhood near the Altadena Country Club. This was the fifth time in 24 hours emergency crews were called to Eaton Canyon to render aid to injured persons.

This speeding vehicle is another example of the lack of safety at Eaton Canyon’s multiple trailheads. Altadena Drive is one of the curvier, steeper boulevards in the community, and as a result, drivers are often racing up and down the road at speeds of up to 50 MPH. Incredible views of the passing canyon gorge behind the Midwick trailhead may be contributing to these speeds.

The Eaton Canyon Nature Centers’ trailhead is the most popular starting point for hikers largely because it offers ample parking. However, the gates to the parking lot do not open until 8:00 AM, and that means anybody arriving before then is forced to park on Altadena Drive. During summer, hikers will often want to begin their hike well before 8:00 AM to avoid soaring daytime temperatures. This inevitably leads to people parking on Altadena Drive and walking in, and since there is no crosswalk, scenes with people running across the street during breaks in traffic are extremely common.

While there were no deaths reported from this incident, it may only be a matter of time before the combination of speeding vehicles and exhausted hikers trying to get back to their car becomes fatal.

On Saturday, July 20, 2024, the Altadena Mountain Rescue Team (AMRT) responded to four separate incidents involving injured hikers at Eaton Canyon. According to the team’s Instagram account, three individuals suffered severe ankle sprains while another required assistance due to heat exhaustion. The temperature in downtown Pasadena reached a high of 99°F.

In one particular case, a senior citizen slipped down a five-foot scarp in a hazardous section of the trail leading to the main waterfall. This spot is frequently eroded each winter by a hidden watercourse that merges with Eaton Creek just 15 feet downstream from the water mining bunker. The Eaton Canyon Trail segment between the Chuck Ballard Memorial Bridge and the main waterfall is not considered an official trail by the Angeles National Forest. As a result, it is completely unmaintained and subject to far more hazards than most trails.

Eaton Canyon is one of Southern California’s most popular hiking trails, but it is also one of our rockiest. There are ten river crossings that separate the waterfall from hikers beginning their journey at the Nature Center. In an attempt to stay dry, many hikers will hop across rocks in the creek to get to the other side. This is not advised as many rocks are both unstable and slippery from other trail users. Always bring the proper amount of water, foot ware, and clothing when hiking in the Angeles National Forest.

Near sunrise on the morning of Sunday, July 14, 2024, a monsoon thunderstorm developed in the Los Angeles Basin and quickly moved north-northwest directly towards the Angeles National Forest, including Eaton Canyon. Over 50 lightning bolts were recorded by the National Weather Service south and east of Hwy 2, including 18 that struck the Earth’s surface. The storm was responsible for 0.04″ – 0.19″ of rain throughout the local foothills, as well as a 39 MPH wind gust at the Henninger Helipad weather station. In one neighborhood near Eaton Canyon, a lightning bolt struck a power pole and lit in on fire.

Right around 5:50 AM, another lightning bolt struck Eaton Canyon directly, hitting well above the Chuck Ballard Memorial Bridge. Witnesses to the event say the lightning ignited brush in steep terrain. 9-1-1 calls immediately began coming into the Altadena sheriff’s station. Heavy rain soon followed the lightning strike, extinguishing any possible wildfire ignition that may had occurred. By 6:15 AM, the Altadena sheriff’s station had dispatched units to drive around Altadena Dr. to search for smoke and flames. Different witnesses overlooking the canyon at the Midwick gate at 6:24 AM did not see either, and the search for a fire was eventually called off.

Before the arrival of humans, virtually all of Eaton Canyon’s wildfires were caused by lightning. Photographic evidence of an ignition could not be obtained, and as a result, a fire in the canyon remains unconfirmed.

The monthly Eaton Canyon conservation group spent Sunday morning clearing invasive castor bean plants from the wash section directly adjacent to the overflow parking lot. The group had a clear view of the area impacted by the lightning strike, and no additional smoke was ever seen.