LA fire likely to pass across Mount Wilson

The wildfire ravaging Northern Los Angeles County is expected to pass across Mount Wilson, home to TV and radio towers and the famed Wilson Observatory.

Mount Wilson Observatory Director Hal McAlister said Monday in an ongoing blog that the U.S. Forest Service informed him that passage of the fire across Mount Wilson was imminent. The USFS also said firefighters would battle the blaze from the air rather than on the ground.

Firefighers have already been pulled from Red Box, a major staging area about five miles from the observatory.

In his blog late Monday, McAlister reported:

Monday, 31 Aug 09, 2:46 pm PDT - I just spoke with Sherry Roman, Public Affairs Officer of the Angeles National Forest. She could give no updates as to the status of the fire in the Mount Wilson vicinity except that the USFS still considers that passage of fire across Mount Wilson is imminent and will be fought aerially rather than with ground personnel. Once the fire is through the area, they can assess the damage by air after the event before they can send in ground personnel. She also confirmed that firefighters have been removed from Red Box.

This roller coaster has taken a dip downward.

McAlister's latest blog (which mistakenly lists the day as Monday rather than Tuesday):

Monday, 1 Sep 09, 7:15 am PDT - ...I do not at this point have any news - only what we can all deduce from Towercam and other sources. Towercam scenes continue to show thick smoke on the mountain with a concentration on the right side of the image implying activity on the mountain's north side. It clearly has not reached the mountain and, if advancing towards us, it is only doing so slowly.

McAlister also reported that one of the two power lines to the mountain was knocked out by the fire. But the towercam showing the latest images is still online for now, allowing the Mount Wilson staff to monitor the flames.

The latest news from CBS in Los Angeles reports that the Station fire is still only 5 percent contained, and officials don't expect full containment for another two weeks. At this point, the fire has destroyed 121,000 acres and 53 homes.

Wildfires have run rampant in California over the past week. In addition to the Station fire affecting Mount Wilson, seven other major fires are ablaze in the state, according to the Calfires site, including the 49 fire in Placer County, the Morris Incident in Los Angeles County, the Big Meadow fire in Mariposa County, the Gloria Incident in Monterey County, the Cottonwood fire in Riverside County, the Oak Glen III Fire in San Bernardino County, and the Red Rock Incident in Siskiyou County.

The wildfires have forced the governor's office to declare states of emergency in Placer County, Los Angeles County, Monterey County, and Mariposa County.

If the flames reach Mount Wilson, they could damage the site's communications towers, disrupting TV, radio, and cell phone reception in the area.

[JoeF2]

So sad. I used to hike around Mt. Wilson. It is (was) such a nice area.

[shycelticwitch]

I feel very badly for those who have lost their homes. I was chased out of my house in Daytona Beach in 98 by wildfires. I did not lose my home, but I learned a valuable lesson. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. But even the best prevention cannot stop what nature deems necessary.

I sometimes wonder if Mother Nature has decided to fight back. It almost seems as though our once beautiful planet is trying to get rid of us like pesky fleas. Considering how we treat this amazing gift, I don't blame her.

[Perry_Clease]

It is getting brush fire season here in San Diego. We keep the gas tanks in the autos above 3/4 so we don't have to refuel in case we need to flee. Keep some containers handy in which we can put important documents and family photos. I keep my hard drive backed up to an external drive that I can take with me. Some clothes, bedding, bottled water and some food are ready to go with us. I am in the city on a mesa and away from the areas that finger canyons that are pathways for fire, so I don't worry too much. However, the last two big fires here got within a mile of us and if one house catches the next one could also and so on down the line.

[BtmnHatesRbn]

There's a bigger picture to this, but does anyone see it?

[Perry_Clease]

Are referring to the communication antenna farm on Mt Wilson?

[SactoGuy018]

The biggest concern right now is the possibility that the fire could ravage across the top of Mount Wilson as a firestorm. If that happens, those 21 communications towers will be completely destroyed, since the temperature could go over 1,200 degrees F., high enough to buckle the steel on the antenna towers to collapse them.