Los Angeles is on Fire!

Los Angeles is on fire!

No, not all of the Los Angeles but from the amount of soot and smoke in the air is certainly feels that way. I am particularly affected by the quickly spreading Station Fire that started just north of La Canada on Angelus Crest Highway. 3:30 pm Wed., Aug 26. I can see the flames in the foothills from my Pasadena backyard and this morning the smoke was so thick I could barely make out the shape of the hills themselves.

On August 28, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed a state of emergency in Los Angeles County, and firefighters continued to battle this out-of-control brush fire which has already burned 42,500 acres as I write this post. Local firefighters don't expect to have the fire contained until September 8. More than 1000 people have been evacuated from the homes in La Canada, Glendale and Altadena and many others are packing the valuables in anticipation of the call to leave the area.

Photo from the Mt Wilson Webcam Aug 30, 2009

The historic Mt Wilson Observatory and television and radio towers at Mt Wilson are in danger of being overtaken by the fire. Those of us on cable and satellite TV will continue to receive coverage but antenna signals will certainly be lost and many FM radio stations and hundreds of public safety radio repeaters could also be wiped out by the fire. Firefighters are continuing to battle the blaze at Mt Wilson overnight to keep safeguard the area as much as possible.

Thanks to the more than 1400 firefighters who are working so diligently to protect our communities, very few homes have been lost to the blaze. I, for one, will never take their work for granted.