Home Front & Station Fire Updates, 9/3/09

First, the Station Fire update. From this morning’s LA Times:
“More progress in Station fire, but canyons still under threat
September 3, 2009 | 7:04 am

The fire is now 38% contained and has burned more than 144,000 acres. It was moving southeast to the mountains high above Pasadena, Sierra Madre and Monrovia, and hand crews battled rugged terrain as they tried to protect well-known campgrounds, trails, recreation areas and the Stony Ridge Observatory. The western leg pushed toward Pacoima Canyon, prompting the evacuation of 11 homes.”

And from one of my sources: “144,753 @ 38% contain…..4,735 personnel on it, 64 homes and 49 outbuildings destroyed, helicoters have dropped 1.7 million gals. of water as this date an aircraft have dropped 670,000 gals. of retardent[.]”

One of the best collections of photos of the Station Fire I have found is from the Boston Globe, here

On the home front, here is last night’s sunset:

And some people have asked me privately about the recovery of my dog, Dakota, from her ordeal that has been going on since the end of April. After four months of “house arrest” I finally started letting her out for 15 minutes, twice a day. All was going well, until yesterday, when she somehow pulled the injury open. I am guessing it was jumping up on the back porch. She came back early, was whimpering, wouldn’t sit down, and was otherwise in pain. It could have been worse, so I am treating it at home, for now, and putting her back on house arrest.