You’ve probably seen the haze. Or maybe you just smelled it. Honestly, when you live near the San Gabriel Mountains, that faint scent of woodsmoke usually sends a tiny spike of adrenaline through your chest.
Today, people are frantically searching for updates on fires in Arcadia today, and while we aren't seeing a massive wall of orange flames cresting over the ridgeline this afternoon, the situation is... well, it's complicated.
We are currently sitting in a weird, tense anniversary. It has been exactly one year since the Eaton Fire tore through the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley. That fire, which ignited on January 7, 2025, ended up being a monster. It burned over 14,000 acres, destroyed nearly 6,000 structures, and left a permanent scar on the psyche of everyone from Altadena to Arcadia.
Why the smoke is back today
If you are looking at the sky right now and seeing something gray, it might not be a fresh "new" fire.
The Angeles National Forest actually issued an extension on the Eaton Fire Area Closure just a few days ago, on January 7, 2026. This closure is set to stay in place until December 2027. Why? Because the ground is still a mess. The risk of mudslides is high, and "rollouts"—where burning logs or debris tumble down steep slopes—can still happen in the interior of the burn scar.
There is also a lot of "controlled" activity.
Just over the hill, there’s a massive pile burning operation happening called the 2026 North Arrowhead Pile Plan. It’s a prescribed fire in San Bernardino County, but the way the wind drifts through the Cajon Pass and into the San Gabriel Valley, that smoke often settles right over Santa Anita Avenue and Huntington Drive.
It's annoying. It's scary. But it's usually not a direct threat to your house.
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Fires in Arcadia Today: The Real Risks Right Now
The National Weather Service hasn't gone full "Red Flag" today, but the fire danger level was recently downgraded from extreme to High.
High is still plenty dangerous.
When people ask about fires in Arcadia today, they are usually worried about three specific things:
- Structure Fires: These are the small, local house fires that the Arcadia Fire Department handles daily. In a "Community of Homes" like this, one bad electrical short can look like a disaster to the neighbors.
- Brush Fires: These start in the dry grass along the 210 freeway or up in the Chantry Flat area. Even a small 2-acre grass fire can shut down traffic for hours.
- The "Ghost" of the Eaton Fire: This is the smoke from lingering hot spots or nearby prescribed burns that makes everyone think the 2025 nightmare is starting all over again.
Honestly, the biggest news hitting the wires today isn't a new flame—it's about the dirt.
The Soil Testing Controversy
Today, January 16, 2026, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger made a pretty major statement regarding the Eaton Fire recovery.
It turns out that FEMA is refusing to fund soil testing for homeowners in the burn zones. This is a huge deal for Arcadia residents who live near the northern edges of the city. Without testing, you don't know if your yard is full of lead or arsenic from the thousands of homes that burned last year.
Barger basically said the State isn't going to reimburse the County for this either, citing "extraordinary financial obligations."
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So, if you’re seeing activity near the foothills today, it might not be fire trucks. It might be researchers. A pilot program for soil testing is supposedly launching today to help survivors who are still trying to rebuild a year later.
Keeping your lungs safe
Even if the fire is "prescribed" or far away, the air quality in the 91006 and 91007 zip codes has been pretty mid lately.
The South Coast AQMD often flags this area because the mountains act like a giant wall, trapping all that particulate matter right over the Arboretum and the Racetrack. If you’re smelling smoke, the best thing you can do is check the PurpleAir sensors. They give you a much more "hyper-local" view than the big government stations.
- Check your HVAC filters. If you haven't swapped yours since the Eaton Fire last year, it’s probably black.
- Keep windows closed during the late afternoon when the mountain breeze pushes smoke down into the valley.
- Sign up for Alert LA County. This is the only way you get the real "Evacuation Warning" vs "Evacuation Order" updates in real-time.
What about the "New" Fires?
As of 5:00 PM today, there are two active wildfire incidents in Los Angeles County being tracked by CAL FIRE (labeled as LAC-019717 and LAC-017751).
Neither of these is currently inside Arcadia city limits.
However, they are close enough that if the wind shifts, you’ll see the air turn that sickly shade of sepia. Firefighters are currently using air assets—those massive yellow water bombers—to hit hot spots in the more inaccessible canyons.
If you see a plane flying low over the Santa Anita Dam today, they are likely just doing their job to make sure a small spot fire doesn't turn into a repeat of last January.
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What you should do right now
Don't panic, but don't be oblivious either. Living in Arcadia means living with the constant reality of the "urban-wildland interface."
Clear your gutters. Seriously. Most homes burn not because a wall of fire hit them, but because a stray ember landed in a pile of dry leaves on the roof.
Watch the "Zonehaven" map. If you don't know your evacuation zone (like ARC-001 or ARC-004), find it now. Last year, people were scrambling to figure out if they were in the "Warning" or "Order" area while the smoke was already in their living rooms.
The situation with fires in Arcadia today is mostly one of recovery and high-alert monitoring. We are in a "wait and watch" period. The combination of dry fuels and the anniversary of a major disaster makes everyone jumpy, but for this afternoon, the Arcadia Fire Department is mostly focused on routine calls and keeping an eye on the ridges.
Check your local "Arcadia District" groups on social media for the fastest citizen-led updates, but always verify with the official city Twitter or the LA County Fire Department's "Incident Update" page before you start packing your bags.
Stay safe, keep your N95 masks handy if the smoke gets thick, and maybe keep the car gassed up—just in case.