South California Fires

[?WudScoobyDo]

Just heard on the news. No link yet. God bless their familes and friends.

[Adalena935]

Thank you for posting this. I had just seen a headline with no time to read about an hour ago. This says they died when their vehicle overturned on Mt. Gleason. Names not released yet. My prayers will be with their families also.

ETA: It's called the "Station Fire". Firefighters tell me they name fires after wherever they start. I'm a native Californian and don't know where Mt. Gleason is. I'll have to look it up.

http://www.firefighterhourly.com/firefighter_hourly/2009/08/two-california-firefighters-die-on-mount-wilson.html?cid=6a00e009893b8288330120a58c767b970c

[Adalena935]

Here's a map of Acton in relation to Los Angeles.

http://www.mapquest.com/maps?1c=Los+Angeles&1s=CA&1y=US&1l=34.0522&1g=-118.242798&1v=CITY&2c=Acton&2s=CA

[Adalena935]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/08/2-los-angeles-county-firefighters-battling-fire-killed-in-vehicle-accident-.html

Los Angeles Times article says it's two Los Angeles county firefighters. This link is more detail and apparently they held a press conference earlier. Accident happened this afternoon. My heart goes out to the families.

[lune3]

I saw this too earlier this evening. It's so very tragic and my heart goes out to these brave men's families. It's such terribly dangerous work and the Station fire is a really bad one.

I'm following California Fire News which has constant updates about everything from the equipment being requested and used and number of men, maps, to exactly which streets are being evacuated. It's very comprehensive. I was in one of the fire zones, fire less than 1/2 a mile from me. Fortunately this one was controlled during an intense night on Thursday/Friday and our community is now fine.

I'd like to post the link but I don't know if I am allowed to. It is a blog. It gives a little more info on what happened to those two firefighters. It also states that "additional firefighters may be missing but that is unconfirmed".

Can someone advise me if I can? It's not a news source but a fire information outlet and blog which is run by CalFire It's called "Fire, Flood, Earthquake - California Disaster Information"

[aproudmom]

my heart goes out to these brave men's families:rose::rose:

[aproudmom]

http://cbs2.com/local/Fire.Watch.ted.2.1153546.html


Fire Capt. Tedmund Hall, 47, of San Bernardino County, and firefighter Specialist Arnaldo "Arnie" Quinones, 35, of Palmdale, were killed when their vehicle rolled down Mount Gleason near the city of Acton, the department said in a statement.

[Citygirl]

Oh no..how sad this is..just awful..these brave men and women are all an inspiration for us all..bless them and their families..:rose:

[Cindylee]

The fire is getting to Glendale now.

[Cindylee]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/30/macaulay-culkin-prince-mi_n_272392.html


Macaulay Culkin Is Prince Michael 'Blanket' Jackson's Father: UK Tabloid The Sun

He says no.


Macaulay's Rep -- Blanket is NOT His Baby

Posted Aug 31st 2009 2:40PM by TMZ Staff

Macaulay CulkinHere's a shocker -- Macaulay Culkin's press agent claims the actor is not the biological father of Michael Jackson's son Blanket.

The ridiculous story, which first appeared in The Sun this morning -- and everywhere else 5 minutes later -- explained how Culkin donated the sperm to create Blanket.

So we contacted Culkin's rep Michelle Bega to ask -- because why not -- and we got the following statement:

"The inquiries are too preposterous for us to even acknowledge."

The search for the real sticky bandit continues...


Read more: http://www.tmz.com/#ixzz0PnyNuDya

[Cindylee]

Sitting here in OC, I have never seen as much smoke as I can see now,,ever before.

It is bad.

[Firehead11]

For the people in the area........... stay safe!

[Unperson1984]

Here is the fire map for those of you who don't know the area.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-la-fire-map-html,0,7464337.htmlstory

If you look at the top in the yellow, which is mandatory evacuation area....Acton is where MJ's two tigers are. They are at Tippy Hedren's (sp) animal sanctuary.

Sadly there is no place to take the animals at Shambala to for safety.

[Cindylee]

Sadly there is no place to take the animals at Shambala to for safety.

I just heard on the news that they have everything they need to fight the fire if it gets there. And if they need to evacuate they can do it very quickly. The have a huge fenced construction site that they can go to. So don't worry. They said they were fine.

[flipflop]

Is Debbie R.'s ranch in Palmdale?

According to this article it is.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-513206/My-life-mother-Michael-Jacksons-children-Debbie-Rowe.html

Three years ago, Rowe sold up and moved to a three-bedroom ranch-style house in Palmdale, an ugly, rundown desert town 60 miles from LA.


Is it really ugly? :huh:

[Cindylee]

Hahaha. I think so. But, unfortunately, the fire is heading that way. :ohmy:

[daniel green]

Sadly there is no place to take the animals at Shambala to for safety.

OMG, that is awful. There is absolutely nobody that can go in and help them? :sad::sad::sad:

[daniel green]

I just heard on the news that they have everything they need to fight the fire if it gets there. And if they need to evacuate they can do it very quickly. The have a huge fenced construction site that they can go to. So don't worry. They said they were fine.

Good news! Thx, Cindy.

[Deb7]

One of the articles I read said that Arnaldo "Arnie" Quinones, 35 wife is pregnant with their first child and is due to deliver in a couple of weeks.

How devastating.

Both families... :rose:

[Shameonme]

The Station Fire has now burned over 164 sq miles of brush in the Angeles National Forest and has burned over 50 homes with another 1200 in danger. The sky looks like Hell in So Cal. Sending my thoughts to the brave firefighters and their family who lost their lives as well as the ones who are battling this monster.

[Shameonme]

According to this article it is.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-513206/My-life-mother-Michael-Jacksons-children-Debbie-Rowe.html

Three years ago, Rowe sold up and moved to a three-bedroom ranch-style house in Palmdale, an ugly, rundown desert town 60 miles from LA.


Is it really ugly? :huh:

That depends on who you ask! Palmdale and Lancaster or as the locals call it Antelope Valley is desert and some people like living in the desert. I myself don't but we had a cabin out there when my kids were still at home and we loved it. You could ride dune buggies and motorcycles for days on end. The night sky has so many stars it's like you could just reach out and touch them. Nothing ugly about that.

[frances1]

Wanna bet on that???

Quotes from my brother, a retired fire chief. As to the proverbial 'cat in the tree' rescue, his question to the caller was "Is the cat on fire?" If not, they weren't going. My brother once said to me, "Have you ever seen a cat skeleton in a tree?"

[ABC]

That depends on who you ask! Palmdale and Lancaster or as the locals call it Antelope Valley is desert and some people like living in the desert. I myself don't but we had a cabin out there when my kids were still at home and we loved it. You could ride dune buggies and motorcycles for days on end. The night sky has so many stars it's like you could just reach out and touch them. Nothing ugly about that.
I love the desert. No flying bugs bitting at you, very few birds and the weather is beautiful just about all year round. The air is dry and healthy. It is Paradise.

[Xenam]

One of the articles I read said that Arnaldo "Arnie" Quinones, 35 wife is pregnant with their first child and is due to deliver in a couple of weeks.

How devastating.

Both families... :rose:

My heart goes out to the families of the two firemen and hopefully the others will stay safe. :rose:

Hope any of you that live near there -- stay safe !!!!!

[CelticDawn]

Is there anywhere that we could donate to their Emergency services ???

There are going to be people in need there ....and we have heard about californias humungous deficits......I would like to donate something towards helping out....even if it is just a drop in the bucket...

[Cindylee]

At this point they are trying to save homes and lives. I just heard on the news that there are many animals that didn't make it out. Of course they risk their lives, but they don't take unnecessary risks. Hopefully the people who are told to evacuate, do just that, instead of refusing only to call the next day to say they are trapped and need help.

Has anyone heard about the people that were trapped? Did they get out?

[warhorse46]

Those fires are scary things! I so hope they can get them contained soon.

[Mandysmom]

At this point they are trying to save homes and lives. I just heard on the news that there are many animals that didn't make it out. Of course they risk their lives, but they don't take unnecessary risks. Hopefully the people who are told to evacuate, do just that, instead of refusing only to call the next day to say they are trapped and need help.

I agree. Hopefully, most people will evacuate and get out safely.

This is so terrible, so devastating.

:sad:

[Mandysmom]

That depends on who you ask! Palmdale and Lancaster or as the locals call it Antelope Valley is desert and some people like living in the desert. I myself don't but we had a cabin out there when my kids were still at home and we loved it. You could ride dune buggies and motorcycles for days on end. The night sky has so many stars it's like you could just reach out and touch them. Nothing ugly about that.

It sounds beautiful to me. Especially the sky at night with the stars. I pray for the people who are in the path of this terrible fire.

:smile:

[lune3]

I woke up this morning to an eerily hazy orange glow in the atmosphere. I live on the coast in PV where we also had a fire last Thursday/Friday but which fortunately was completely put out during that night.
Very different from yesterday where we could see the immense pyrocumulus above the fire area in an otherwise blue sky. I'm wondering whether the weather is changing, hopefully the Baja hurricane is having some effect this way and will at least provide more humidity in the air.

I have friends in Glendale right on a canyon edge but since the 210 freeway separates Glendale from the fire areas, I think they are ok...so far. However, they've been staying with family on the coast because the air is so thick, they can't breathe.

I hope the weather does change, reports say that it's the only chance for the Station fire to be handled.

[CHITCHAT]

I was raised in La crescenta. I learnd how to drive in Big Tujunga Canyon and little Tujunga. My brother has a house two blocks from entrance to little tujunga. I think in Glendale they will be just fine. Smokey but there is no way the fire will come down that far. I have seen fires before but this is the worst on in many yrs...

And its hot....80 at 10:00 on sat nite...not much better last night...easy 100 over the weekend and mid 90 today...yack

[Details]

Watch out for the wind. In the worst San Diego fire, the fire crossed the 15! That is 12 lanes with a wide divider - a very wide freeway. It's a good block, but if you've got some wind going, and enough embers, the fire can cross.

[lune3]

From the LA Times this morning...where things now stand with the Station Fire:

"Firefighters made progress overnight on the Station fire, but the massive blaze continued to push to the east and west. The fire is now 38% contained and has burned more than 144,000 acres."

And it appears they are isolating where the fire may have started,... deliberately..
Bomb squad?????

"Fire investigators hunched under a scorched, 20-foot-tall oak tree off Angeles Crest Highway on Wednesday afternoon, using wire-mesh sifters to search through the ash in an attempt to determine whether the Station fire was deliberately set.
Near Mile Marker 29, authorities were treating the wildfire's suspected ignition site as a crime scene. Yellow tape cordoned off the area, and authorities blocked the highway, turning away even Caltrans workers and earth movers. Members of the bomb squad also arrived at the scene, but officials declined to say what their role was in the probe."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/wildfires/

[Grayson]

Those fires were horrible and had that pit of stomach type of feeling, for me seeing it on television. Those fires did not seem natural, for some reason to me. I know every year California generally gets a wildfire, but this one was much more close to homes, I beleive. I hope everyone can evacuate safely. And thoughts and prayers to teh tow firefighters who lost their lives. :rose:

[Grayson]

It was also sad to watch, because it was on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. And it almost to me felt like there was some type of kindred connection between the victims and survivors of the wildfire and victims and survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

[Anakerie]

I want to share a dramatic view of the Station Fire in the Angeles National Forest... The webcam that provides the view is sitting on top of the Solar Tower at the Mount Wilson Observatory.
http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~obs/towercam.htm#imagetop

Earlier this week, they came very close to losing this over 100 year old observatory to the fire... The firefighters made a last ditch stand the other night, stationing 150 firefighters on the hill to clear the underbrush, cut down some trees and light a few backfires. One of the backfires even took out the power and the T1 connection to the internet that the webcam uses. The significant thing about Mount Wilson and the observatory is the fact that behind that camera is another ridge line that has the communication towers for most of the TV and radio stations in LA as well as the cell towers that serve a major part of that end of the LA basin. The earlier view from the webcam was the communication towers and not the dome of the observatory. The observatory and the towers are not out of danger yet, the fire could turn and come back at the ridge if the weather turns bad.

Check it out folks... The view is incredible.

[February]

Wow, thanks for the link.
I pray for those who lost homes and the 2 firefighters who lost their lives.
Hopefully the arsonist will be caught and prosecuted very soon.

[Anakerie]

I forgot to mention that the webcam refreshes approximately every 2 minutes. The view fascinates me both day and night because of the ever changing view of the fire and smoke. Like a few minutes ago there was a very visible red/orange glow in the smoke that is laying in the valley behind the observatory, then it refreshed and the smoke looks more like fog with no glowing spots...

Then occasionally you get a glimpse of lights on the ground near the observatory. Flashlights? Headlights? I don't know, but I do know there are still a number of firefighters on the mountain from what the director's blog says. There is also a skeleton crew (who normally work in the observatories) there that are helping keep all the systems going in the buildings. Like power and the alarm systems. (No power = no pumps for the water! Eeek!) A couple of hot-shot teams bed down in one of the domes according to the blog...

[Anakerie]

I tried to add to my post, but apparently took too long in typing it all out.. Darn it.

What I wanted to say was that I, too, hope that the arsonist can be caught. Soon. I hope that he/she was seen by someone. Someone who will come forward and report what was seen to the investigators. Because of that arsonist, two firefighters were lost. Two families are missing valuable family members. The firefighter family are missing two valuable family members. And yes, firefighters all over the world are considered family by another firefighter.. Just ask a firefighter or a firefighter's wife. The arsonist needs to be caught, prosecuted, convicted and locked away before he/she can start another fire. Another fire that can destroy homes and lives.

[BorderCollieMom]

Thank You for posting this link. I hate to use the word awesome but WOW, that is incredible !
Im confident that the arsonist will be caught.

TY, TY, TY for the link AND the thread !

[Anakerie]

Now is a good time to go take a peak at the Observatory and the mountains... There's less smoke, but the sun is going down and even though the sun is behind the camera, it really looks pretty!

[lune3]

Thanks for that. I've had a look at that cam a few times since you posted the link. It's amazing. Right now you can really get a sense of the wilderness of those mountains. It's so sad that the fire has destroyed so much natural habitat. The area is full of trails and picnic areas, a wonderful recreation area close to, yet away from the sprawl of LA.

My daughter took some nighttime pictures from the roof of a USC building last week, when the fires were all along the western side. The flames were huge behind the downtown area, a spectacular yet horrific sight.

I hope the authorities will succeed in apprehending the arsonist(s). It's just horrible, the loss of the two firefighters, people's homes, all that destruction. I don't understand people who could do such a thing.

[Bottrell]

Here is a link to some amazing and devastating pictures from the fire.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/09/wildfires_in_southern_californ.html

[Anakerie]

Tonight is a good night to check in on the webcam at the Observatory.. The conditions are perfect for the backfires that the firefighters are going to use to protect the mountaintop...

Take a peek:
http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~obs/towercam.htm#imagetop