Posted on 09/01/2009 12:54:39 PM PDT by La Enchiladita
The so-called Station Fire, which now covers more than 120,000 Southern California acres and is burning largely uncontained, continues to threaten the century-old Mount Wilson Observatory, home to astronomer Edwin Hubble at the time he made his landmark observations of the universe's expansion.
The observatory is currently unmanned due to the fire threat and the attending smoke, but a webcam atop Mount Wilson's 150-foot solar tower has provided observatory managers and concerned observers with a view from the scene. At 12:55 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) the camera showed a great deal of smoke but no flames.
...According to the Los Angeles Times, authorities had cleared the top of Mount Wilson of fire personnel Monday amid unpredictable conditions but today allowed them to return to fight the fire from the ground.
Fire agencies expressed optimism this morning that the fire would become significantly better contained today, the newspaper reported. Officials were "hoping a concerted effort to hack away tree limbs, cut fire breaks and lay down fire retardant would spare the Mt. Wilson Observatory and a key complex of communications towers used for over-the-air broadcasting by nearly 50 radio and television stations," according to the Times .
(Excerpt) Read more at scientificamerican.com ...
I thought Mt Wilson was out of danger... is the fire still going up?
Ping for updates, continuing coverage, photos.
Weather developments are encouraging.....
I’m listening to live transmissions via the internet. I haven’t heard any references to Mount. Wilson.
12:58 PST Firefighters gain on blaze near Los Angeles (AP)
AP - Firefighters set backfires and removed brush with bulldozers across a huge swath of Southern California forest on Tuesday to try to contain a 190-square-mile wildfire that has destroyed 53 homes and threatened thousands more in foothill suburb.
They put a ton of drops on it all day and seem to think it will be OK.
I have heard and seen conflicting reports. Here is another: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10323008-94.html
My guess is Mt. Wilson will be spared. It has been threatened in fires before and didn’t go up.
Mt. Wilson Webcam Keeps an Eye on the Adjacent Station Fire
http://laist.com/2009/08/30/mt_wilson_webcam_keeps_an_eye_on_th.php
Meanwhile, countless hundreds of ‘retired’ aircraft sit in California and Arizona deserts, any ten of which could be converted to water/fire-retardant dropping planes for next to nothing. Have them sitting in a hangar at Burbank airport until needed, and none of these very regular California wildfires would ever cause a problem again. These fires would be snuffed out before they even get going. But thanks to the firefighters union lobbying efforts, this never happens, and we get this devastation, every year, multiple times. But they’re ‘heroes’.
Lots of smoke here today. Can’t see the foothills. It’s coming from Utah and W. Colorado, but we might be getting smoke from California by now. That’s one big fire.
It makes better news to threaten Mt. Wilson.
I wholeheartedly agree with your tagline, have been saying the same for the duration.
I brought up the webcam a few minutes ago, now I can’t. Will keep trying.
Gotta get the sensational angle. Even Doug McIntyre this morning didn’t get it. He thought he saw smoke outside, when actually there were rain clouds.
They’re starting to talk about the Mount Wilson Observatory.
Also, see link in post #6 from the observatory director’s blog.
Thanks for pinging me to the thread, LE. I’ve been looking all over for breaking news on the fire.
My old house is on Grove Street, one block away from the edge of north Sunland, and only a few blocks from the “border” of Tujunga. The fire front is very close to there right now.
I may not live there anymore, but I’ve got a brother still living in Sunland, and loads of neighbors and friends still there.
This fire is very personal to me.
Sure we can! Zero is finding out blaming Bush for the present economy is wearing real thin. I can understand Slow Joe being dumb enough to claim Porkulus would stop unemployment from falling, but Bammie and his advisers are supposed to be brilliant.
Thank you for the ping.
It costs money to get them flight-worthy, money to keep them that way, and money to convert them. Nobody is putting up the money, but they’ll accept a fire causing a hundred million dollars in damage.
Maybe they just like to be able to act surprised when fires break out.
Personally, I’d like to know whether the ecoweenies have been suing to stop controlled burns in the area. I heard some of the brush is 50 years old.
Yesterday, they said it was a matter of “when”, not “if”. I think they are hoping it will miss vital parts of the peak ... but there is the potential for great devastation.
Don’t have any knowledge on the politics of the situation but I must agree the air assets employed should be increased.
Burnt homes are left in ruins in the Acton area in California August 31, 2009. As of Monday evening, a total of 6,300 homes throughout the fire zone were under evacuation orders, authorities said. The so-called Station Fire more than doubled in size as it burned out of control for a sixth day, charring 105,000 acres (42,500 hectares), up from 42,000 acres (17,000 hectares) late on Sunday, and sending up towering palls of smoke that fouled the air for miles (km) around. REUTERS/Gene Blevins (UNITED STATES DISASTER ENVIRONMENT)
A home owner returns for the first time to find his home in ruins after a wildfire in the Acton area in California August 31, 2009. As of Monday evening, a total of 6,300 homes throughout the fire zone were under evacuation orders, authorities said. The so-called Station Fire more than doubled in size as it burned out of control for a sixth day, charring 105,000 acres (42,500 hectares), up from 42,000 acres (17,000 hectares) late on Sunday, and sending up towering palls of smoke that fouled the air for miles (km) around. REUTERS/Gene Blevins (UNITED STATES DISASTER ENVIRONMENT)
A DC-10 Super Tanker flies under the moon on it's last drop of the day in the Acton area during day six of the Station Fire near Los Angeles, California, August 31, 2009. The DC-10, which belongs to 10 Tanker Air Carrier of Victorville, California, can hold 12,000 gallons (45,600 liters). Picture taken August 31, 2009. REUTERS/Gene Blevins (UNITED STATES TRANSPORT DISASTER ENVIRONMENT)
Large smoke clouds from the Station Fire in Angeles National Forest, hang over the mountains on the outskirts of Los Angeles. A monster blaze raging above Los Angeles grew in size Tuesday as weary firefighters voiced hope that a break in searing temperatures would allow them to make inroads against the inferno. (AFP/Mark Ralston)
Map showing the California communities worst hit by brush fires. A monster blaze raging above Los Angeles is growing in scope as weary firefighters voice hope that a break in searing temperatures will allow them to make inroads against the inferno. (AFP/Graphic)
True, it costs money, but my point is the one that you made, comparative costs. Billions in losses every year due to these fires. I think the California tax base can afford maybe $50 million or so to buy 20 years worth of fire protection. It’s a no-brainer.
And no doubt the ecoweenies are in there too.
It is true LA E
Apparently I watching it the fire going down on KTLA.com
Now, imagine 10-20 of those DC-10’s, or even some smaller planes, immediately deployed right when this fire had started, or right when the next Malibu fire starts. Just dumping water, one after another. The fire is out in an afternoon.
Wow, you wouldn’t even need most of the fire fighters..............and there you have the issue at work here.
And what is your expertise in this issue?
Monday, 1 Sep 09, 1:25 pm PDT - Go to www.ktla.com for live feed (click at the top of their homepage) from the mountain showing fire between the 60-inch and 100-inch telescopes along the south vacuum tube lines of the CHARA Array. White knuckle time, but if these are indeed backfires as we believe, then we are in good shape.
I'm sure this link has already been posted, but here it is again if anybody wants it:
Whoops. Right after I posted the link above to Sky5’s live feed, they’re heading home for a crew change. Sorry.
I’m alluding to the lobbying efforts that keep this obvious solution from being implemented. There are several major lobbying groups involved, but one is the firefighters’ themselves. And no one ever talks about it. Except me, of course.
Thanks...
One would think that Fire Dept's would have enough to worry about...without lobbying against fighting wildfires effectively.
Ex-SoCal here..............
I knew YOU would be on top of the story, Seven!!
It’s sad but I think a great deal of fire retardant has been sprayed on the towers also.....
The webcam has shown “a lot of smoke but no flames” for three days now. The fire’s across the road in the Red Box area, north of Wilson, where the Wilson road gets to Angeles Forest Highway, but the perimeter hasn’t moved in two days. To the west of the mountain, it’s still a couple of valleys away.
Barring some huge change in wind, the ‘imminent threat’ that the media announced on Saturday will be no more imminent on Wednesday. The fire could eventually back over the mountain by the weekend, but it probably won’t do a lot of damage. Most of the activity’s on the north (Acton) and north-east (Little Rock) end at the moment.
The backfires are the secret to success, from what I heard.
Thanks to all who understand that ignoring is the best response to trolls.
Do you have any evidence of this lobbying? I’m looking and can’t find any.
These kinds of photos are the saddest.
Has there been any news on those 5 fools who were stranded last night at some ranch?
It’s so ironic, because media keep whipping up the story yet they would be the ones wiped out by this occurrence. I think only a FReeper can appreciate.
I also heard Acton is the hottest spot today.
It costs money to get them flight-worthy, money to keep them that way, and money to convert them. Nobody is putting up the money, but they’ll accept a fire causing a hundred million dollars in damage.
Maybe they just like to be able to act surprised when fires break out.
Personally, I’d like to know whether the ecoweenies have been suing to stop controlled burns in the area. I heard some of the brush is 50 years old.”
There is a forest fire burning in Montana—a red state—since very early July.
There is no one fighting it. No one on the ground. No one in planes.
Acres of cattle grazing permits are being burned.
Montana still cuts and markets timber. Now lots of that timber is going up in smoke. Loss of revenue. Loss of jobs. Higher prices for the wood you need for building your house or deck.
In the midst of all of this—the environazis are claiming that “romantic candle light dinners” need to be banned because the candles are contributing to ‘global warming’.
Just what comparison is there to the smoke from just that Montana fire?
If you took all the enviroweenies and linked their brains togethere like computers can be linked, all told they still would not have the equivilant of one good conservative rancher brain.
I would say "you have got to be kidding" but nothing suprises me about them anymore.
Pic came up this time with quote:
“Note: the large amount of new smoke seen is due to backfires set by firefighters. This is the very best thing to do at the moment. Go California firefighters!”
Amen.
How is your brother doing at this point?
No, I read about some folks at a remote ranch that were gonna stay.. probably the same thing,, not sure how many there were tho...
Smoke from the Station Fire rises from the Angeles National Forest (top) and covers the Los Angeles basin in haze seen from a passenger jet arriving from San Francisco August 31, 2009. A deadly wildfire roaring through mountains north of Los Angeles for a sixth day more than doubled in size on Monday and posed a lingering threat to Mount Wilson, a broadcast and communications hub and the site of an historic observatory. REUTERS/Josh Withers (UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENT DISASTER)
“One would think that the Fire Dept’s would have enough to worry about...without lobbying against fighting wildfires effectively.”
Yep, that’s what I would think too.
I haven't heard from him, but I'm sure he's fine. He's notoriously out-of-communication, so the fact that I haven't heard anything only means things are normal. My sis in Valencia would let me know if anything was up.
Thanks for asking.
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