NASA Jet Propulsion Lab opens doors after LA fires, helps firefighter helicopters refuel

A handful of white and tan buildings, one with a large blue nasa logo, sit in the foothills of mountains.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) began resuming normal operations this week after major wildfires that have been causing widespread devastation across Southern California since early January forced its closure.

JPL, which runs many of NASA's high-profile robotic missions, is located at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains just north of L.A. and was shuttered a day after the Eaton Fire ignited near the Altadena community on Jan. 7. The fire raged very close to the agency's campus. Firefighters kept the deadly flames from reaching the historic lab, but it remained closed except for a small number of essential personnel. That left the mission control center for the Deep Space Network (DSN) empty for the first time since it opened 60 years ago.