Free Republic

...looming 5,700 feet over L.A., is arguably one of the world's most important spots for scientific discovery: the Mount Wilson Observatory. Worryingly, the Bobcat Fire is charging right for it. Only 500 feet away as of Tuesday afternoon. And Edwin Hubble — yes that Hubble — used the 100-inch telescope to make an even bigger discovery. "Effectively [Edwin] Hubble discovered the universe in the 1920s up on Mt. Wilson," said John Mulchaey, director of the Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena, which owns the observatory. Scientists had long believed that the Milky Way was just about all there was to the universe...

Hiker hospitalized after bear that 'came out of nowhere' attacks near Sierra Madre - LA Times http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-bear-attack-sierra-madre-hiker-20161010-snap-story.html "An estimated 25,000 to 30,000 black bears live in California, though the animals are more commonly seen in Central and Northern California. The larger and more bellicose grizzly bear was wiped out in the state more than 90 years ago, *although in recent years there has been a modest campaign to reintroduce the animal here."

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...

The fire burning in Angeles National Forest is approaching the historic solar observatory and television transmission towers atop Mt. Wilson, according to Los Angeles County fire officials. The communications towers house transmitters for every major television station in Los Angeles. “We expect it to get there in the next two to four hours,” said county fire Capt. Mark Savage. Crews were clearing brush around the structures, but fire officials were not sure if they could leave personnel on the mountain to fight the flames because of the danger and limited escape routes. The fire is less than two miles away.