Month: September 2009

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:
DSC_0628

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.DSC_0618

Seasonal Predictions

I like the Oct thru Dec map and hope the predictions, at least for the Central Coast, are accurate. Unfortunately, it is not looking good for Santa Cruz and northern areas, AND we still have the month of September to ride out.

Here’s 9/1/09-9/30/09:

National Wildfire Potential

And here is 10/1/09-12/31/09:

Seasonal Fire Outlook.

Station Fire, 9/2/09

The media is now calling this the worst wildfire in Los Angeles history. It has now churned through 219 square miles, 140,000 plus acres, and destroyed 62 homes, but it is 22 percent contained, officials said at a morning briefing. High temps and lower humidity will play a factor again today and tomorrow.

Capt. Mike Dietrich, the Station Fire incident commander, was guarded in his assessment.

“Are we out of the woods?” he asked. “No. Have we turned the corner? No.”

I cannot imagine living in the shadow of this one.

Station Fire, 9/1/09

It is hard not to be caught up in the drama of the dragon that is the Station Fire. Over 121,000 acres burned, or 190 sq.miles, 53 homes burned, 2 firefighters killed, and 3 civilians burned. Resources include: 3,655 personnel on it, 13 helicoters, 11 air tankers, 399 engines, 44 handcrews, 48 dozers, and 43 water tenders. Expected containment is not for 2 weeks. What a nightmare for all concerned.

LA Times reports today: “‘I’m feeling a lot more optimistic today than I did yesterday,’ said U.S. Forest Service Incident Cmdr. Mike Dietrich. ‘We made progress last night, not just due to humidity, but good darn firefighting. They’re fighting for every foot.’

And though officially the fire is still at 5% containment, Dietrich said officials will reassess that figure today and that he expected it to go up substantially. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. No additional homes were reported destroyed, but damages are estimated at $13.6 million.”

NorthTree Fire has a great place to get fire maps at: Here