The approaching Eaton wildfire has forced the closure of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, NASA's lead center for robotic planetary exploration.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) will be closed through at least Jan. 13 due to the Eaton Fire, one of five uncontrolled wildfires blazing in Los Angeles County, California. JPL is within the mandatory evacuation zone for the Eaton Fire, north of Pasadena.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, the agency's research and development center at the cutting edge of space exploration for decades, is officially under an evacuation order due to a spreading wildfire. Ironically,

As the wildfires burn only a few miles away from the NASA facility, communities around northern parts of Los Angeles County are evacuated, NASA's specialized firefighters protect the facility.