Fires in Angeles Forest - Morris fire & Station Fire (pics)

[SDsnwbrder]

How timely Twins! I'm sure we'll be seeing this discussion ramp up in the coming weeks and months:

Concerns rise about mudslides in areas burned by Station fire

It has a little interactive graphic.

I wonder if they'll even bother with hydro-seeding like they did after san diegos fires. They even made seed drops from aircraft along mountain sides (viejas mt. for example) immedietly after the fire that made for some interesting patterns the following year...

[cheapski]

^^I'm wondering too. When Griffith Park got the treatment the weird green color made it look like a bad mini golf park for a while. There is just so much area to cover here though I wonder if it would be effective. I assume they would give priority to the foothill community areas.

[oldhiker]

I think that there will priority given to public infrastructure like roadways, water & power, access to Mt. Wilson. The Forest Service will look to their own boundaries/a s sets for erosion protection. The homeowners & developments that built too far up the slopes should pay for their own slope stabilization through their own pockets or homeowner a s sessment fees. In San Diego a lot of erosion control material was made available (free) locally for homeowners to protect their own homes too.

I'm not sure how much can be done to prevent some of the catastrophic slides that may occur this winter. But we did better than I thought given how steep some of the slopes are that the Witch fire burned - but they don't have the intensive elevation gain that the San Gabriels have from the valley. We had a large rain event right after the Witch fire that missed most of the rest of the state with few slides. But overall the year was a dry one without extensive saturation in repeated rain events.

[cheapski]

More from the Mt Wilson Obs. folks:

Thursday, 17 Sep 09, 9:20 am PDT - I spoke with Dave last night who reported on his experience driving back up the Angeles Crest after being off the mountain for two days. On the stretch of the road from La Canada to the Clear Creek turnoff, about three-fourths of the guard rail vertical supports are in place with virtually none yet repaired from Clear Creek to Red Box. This repair strategy is not unexpected since there are many hundreds of commuters a day who connect to the lower portion of the Crest at Clear Creek with far fewer coming from deeper in the mountains. Dave and I both agree that while the Palmdale commute route might reopen soon, it will be weeks before the public is allowed beyond Clear Creek and on up to the Mount Wilson - Red Box Road, which ends at the Observatory.

This schedule has been confirmed by a Caltrans official who told Dave that before the road is re-opened, public safety must be assured by the installation of new guard rails, replacement of burned-out regulatory signs, and the stabilization of certain steep slopes most likely to collapse onto the roadway. It may be as long as four to six weeks before this level of repair has been achieved.

[Snowave]

Containment date moved back again: Tuesday September 22nd, 2009 approx 12:00 AM

[cheapski]

Remember that "other" fire?

A 13-year-old El Monte boy was charged today with two felonies for allegedly being the arsonist who started the Morris Dam Fire on Aug. 25 that burned more than 2,100 acres north of Azusa, prosecutors said.

The youth, whose name was withheld by prosecutors because of his age, is accused of felony arson of a forest and recklessly causing a fire to a forest or structure. Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, said the boy is not in custody and is scheduled to appear in Pomona Juvenile Court Nov. 17.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detectives working with investigators from the U.S. Forest Service and the Los Angeles County Fire Department determined the cause of the fire was arson.

Robison said the investigators are not revealing yet how the fire was ignited, but the boy was among a group of people forest service personnel knew were in the area at the time the fire began.

[Snowave]

Station Fire Prepares for Hot, Dry and Windy Weather

Incident: Station Fire Wildfire
Released: 4 hrs. ago

Station Fire News Release

For immediate release
September 18, 2009

On Scene Contacts: Stan Bercovitz, Fire Information Officer

Marc Peebles, Fire Information Officer

Station Fire Information Center (626) 334-7582
Station Fire Prepares for Hot, Dry and Windy Weather

Irwindale Calif.- Due to an anticipated increase in temperatures, wind, and a decrease in humidity over the next few days, Station Fire Incident Commander Mike Wakoski has ordered additional aircraft which include 4 heavy helitankers. In addition, a tactical water tender equipped with fire retardant has been ordered to treat fuels on the north slope of Mt. Wilson.

The intent of helicopters and the tactical water tender is to extinguish remaining interior hotspots and reduce the risk of embers igniting additional fuels, both prior to and during the anticipated hot, dry and windy weather. These hot spots are located in steep and rugged terrain, which is inaccessible by ground crews.

Helicopters are scheduled to begin the aerial assault mid-morning on Saturday, September 19, 2009 and will continue daily through the weekend and into next week as needed. As a result, residents and visitors may see increased helicopter and ground force activity in the Mt. Wilson area. The tactical water tender will participate in pre-treatment as soon as Sunday morning, September 20, 2009.

As with all fire activity, residents may see an increase in smoke and aviation activity in the fire area over the next few days.

[cheapski]

Can you imagine if this fire "got away" from them?

Yesterday I saw a plume of smoke from a spot fire on the slope above here. Nothing happened but it was a reminder that the fire isnt "out" yet.

From the Mt Wilson Fire blog:

Friday, 18 Sep 09, 4:45 pm PDT - There is concern that conditions on Mount Wilson may be going south over the next few days. A dozen or more smoke centers are still active low on the north slope of the mountain, and the forecast is for Santa Ana-like wind conditions turning on by Tuesday. This could result in re-activating fire from the smolder centers that would be blown up-slope on the mountain.

I expect to speak with the current Mount Wilson Fire Division supervisors Saturday morning and will report on their current thinking and plans.

Will this thing never end?!

[twins]

That explains it^^^^^^ The SkyCranes are back today at Bracket Field.I was surprised to see them this morning.Lets hope this beast does not try to make another run.It is hot and nasty outside too.

[ucdcrew]

Santa Ana like, or an actual santa ana? Predictions for the first one of the year? I don't like Santa Ana fires, for some reason they just feel creepy. Makes me remember engine 57, which isn't a bad thing because it keeps my head in the game.

We're gonna get our fohen winds up here (N. California), with minimum RH's 5-20 %. That's a bit (lot) on the dry side for us.
I hope we don't bust a fire up north while the Skycranes are in Socal. Bambi buckets to the rescue!

[Sierra Lady]

^ I'd heard of those winds, from SG, but didn't know what they were exactly.

I'm with Google!

[cheapski]

Santa Ana like, or an actual santa ana?

It looks like a real Santa Ana, with the High in the interior West, although not an ideal setup for Southern CA. The winds are usually stronger for SoCal if the High is centered over UT.

[Snowave]

interesting tid from inciweb update tonight... which i didn't know.

"...The first use of a helicopter for extended use on a fire in the U.S. history was on the Angeles National Forest in 1947 during the Bryant Fire. The Forest Service was so pleased with the results; the helicopter was used on four other large wildland fires and triggered an extensive study on the use of helicopters on wildland fires. The '47 Bryant Fire burned in and around Big Tujunga Canyon, the same location as the Station Fire...."

[cheapski]

Its now getting hotter in the LA Basin. After the last 2 pleasant days I was wondering if the heatwave would materialize after all, since they are now downcasting the winds somewhat.

I just checked the Mt Wilson cam and thought my monitor had a smudge, but there is a little plume of smoke now on the far ridge line.

[cheapski]

Now I see a red and white helicopter circling over the ridgeline here. Am I getting nervous?