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Chantry Flat Fire (Arcadia/Sierra Madre): UPDATED
By Centinel | April 28, 2008
Sierra Madre Wildfires, April 27th 2008, originally uploaded by lead.salad. For more amazing photos check our Flickr group.
MONDAY 11PM UPDATE
This will be the last update for the evening. Check the comments for the latest. Tomorrow, we’ll most likely resume normal posting, barring any new disaster striking.
The LAFD says today was a success:
“Today has been real successful,” said Capt. Dennis Cross of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, which is part of a multiagency fire team formed Sunday evening. “There hasn’t been much wind. The aircraft have been up there knocking the heat out of it.”
Bill Coburn has additional info for Pasadena residents and has also published a number of the words of thanks he’s received. Be sure to drop him a note, as he did an incredible job keeping up-to-date info on his site.
Larry Wilson laments the burn scars on the hills:
It is that most public of properties, our magnificent Angeles National Forest, that is getting the hit. For the citizens of the Foothill Village, it’s their backyard. And more than in any other community in Los Angeles County, Sierra Madreans take advantage of that forest. Many of them, perhaps hundreds, hike there every morning - it’s their recreational passion, their soul, their life. And this is no recent love affair. For over a century, from the days of the Great Hiking Era, Sierra Madre has been the entry point to the forest for Angelenos. Here’s how a Web site, The Joy of Hiking L.A. County, has it: “Thousands of hikers rode the city’s Red Cars to Sierra Madre, then disembarked and walked up Mt. Wilson Trail to the popular rustic resort at Orchard Camp. Forty thousand people passed over the trail in the peak year of 1911.”
Fair enough, but forest fires are kinda part of that nature thing (even without the aid of arsonists, as may have been the case this time). And I’ve suffered from enough poison oak in the hills above Sierra Madre to take some small measure of joy in the prospect of hiking in a moonscape (a very small measure, mind you…very small). Let’s hope we get lucky and get a couple light out of season rains.
Jeremiah has an updated fire progression map up.
And finally, Margaret Q’s house doesn’t look like it was it attacked by Slimer, fanciful speculation to the contrary. Count me among the disappointed.
~
MONDAY 8:20PM UPDATE
The indefatigable Bill Coburn reports that some folks will be able to go home as of 8PM tonight:
Sierra Madre residents east of Baldwin (including the canyon) will most likely be able to go home after 8:00 this evening with proof of residency.
Margaret Q apparently gave her home the slime treatment to ward off the flames. I hope some pictures emerge of that.
Frank Girardot’s Tuesday column breaks the time-space continuum and is published today:
Residents of Sierra Madre like to think of their town as the closest thing to heaven on earth.
But hell came calling over the past several days. The call came in the form of a wildfire that threatened hundreds of homes wedged into the side of the San Gabriel Mountains.
Frank also has some great reader photos up of the aircraft in action.
Frazgo provided perhaps the best rumor-busting piece of info of the past couple days:
Phoscheck is a phosphorous-based fire retardant. It is safe IE no cyanide etc., and biodegrades becoming a fertilizer for future growth.
That was in response to a comment that feared the presence of arsenic in the massive amounts of fire retardant that have been dropped around the city in the past few days. You can see that piece of misinformation spreading like wildfire…hmm, probably not the best comparison.
Otherwise, things seem to be quieting down for the evening. Please let everyone know in the comments if a flare-up occurs or if you have any further info about the school/evacuation situation. Thanks again to all the readers who provided far more information than I could have thought possible.
~
DSC_4240, originally uploaded by moondabor.
MONDAY 5:50PM UPDATE
A Fox News team is cooking in Sierra Madre:
So our crew of Ron Ralston (producer), Eric Barnes (photographer) and myself are here near Pasadena California, in a community called Sierra Madre.
Outside it feels like the Arizona desert in June. When we step out of our live truck you can feel the dryness envelop you and the heat pound from above. A light but warm breeze doesn’t provide any relief. Around me I hear helicopters and planes flying continuously at low altitudes and the smoke has covered the sky, with small ashes falling like light snowflakes onto cars.
Susan Kitchens rounds up the satellite imagery. The PSN reports a total of 51 homes have been evacuated in Pasadena as well as additional trail closings. And Kurt Zimmerman gets charged up recounting the efforts of firefighters in the latest AP story:
Mayor Kurt Zimmerman was emotional as he recounted how the firefighters saved homes.
“Early this morning the flames had raced to within a couple feet of our homes in the canyon and those brave firefighters … formed a perimeter with their bodies and their fire engines,” he told a news conference. “It was a barricade of steel and water and human flesh and blood and they stopped the fire dead in its tracks.”
~
MONDAY 3:50PM UPDATE
The LAT says firefighters are losing ground. Meanwhile the PSN has the latest on a new round of evacuations, now stretching into Pasadena.
Officials announced the lifting on a mandatory evacuation on the eastern side of the Santa Anita fire, even as the Pasadena Fire Department expanded the evacuation zone to the west to include two streets in that city.
As of 2 p.m. Monday, residents living east of Camillo Street to Santa Anita Avenue are permanently being allowed back into their homes, said Sierra Madre spokeswoman Elisa Weaver. The lifting of the evacuation order affects fewer than 100 homes in northeastern Sierra Madre.
To the east, Pasadena officials announced at 3 p.m. that the evacuation zone for the 490-acre blaze has been expanded past Michillinda Avenue to include Park Vista Drive and Skycrest in the Crown City.
~
Frank Girardot has some first hand photos from the streets of Sierra Madre from earlier today.
~
Apparently, Muscovites are interested in Sierra Madre. Who knew? Also, are evacuated homes being burgled? Keep the police posted. Bill Coburn has more info.
~
MONDAY 12:50PM UPDATE
Bill Coburn has info and audio from speaking with Rep. Dreier up on his site.
Not surprisingly, firefighters are not letting anyone back into their homes, despite the fact that the flames seem to be moving away from the home line.
The fire is moving away from the evacuated homes, so far no buildings have burned, but firefighters are not ready to let people back into their homes. “We are not going to put anyone back into harm’s way. And so we want to be absolutely sure that no harm is going to come to anybody by re-populating that area, having the fire change directions, and come back down onto those residents and be a cause to have a re-evacuation,” said Marc Peebles with the Southern California Incident Management Team.
The PSN has created a useful Google map showing the fire, Red Cross locations and more. Check out the SGVT’s photo gallery here. Frank Girardot also has some information that seems slightly contradictory:
The evacuated area has been extended west to Michillinda Avenue, north of Grandview Avenue. Previously, the burn area’s western border stopped at Bailey Canyon Wilderness Park.
Also, residents east of Camillo Street, north of Grandview Avenue, may be allowed to return to their homes as early as 2 p.m. today.
Well, at least that would be good news if true. However, commenter x is reporting additional evacuations. Hopefully we’ll get this sorted out soon.
~
Sierra Madre Wildfires, April 27th 2008, originally uploaded by lead.salad.
Photo above is another shot from Lead Salad’s amazing series of photos from yesterday. You have to check it out.
LAist also links to a cool map from the LAT and has a rather dramatic AP shot of firefighters in action.
~
According to Bill Coburn, David Dreier will be visiting the fire zone around 10am this morning.
~
Sierra Madre Wildfires, April 27th 2008, originally uploaded by lead.salad.
I’m still hoping to arrange a guestpost, but for the time being you must check out this photoset taken by a fellow who decided to walk into the line of fire. Flickr user Lead Salad defied every notion of common sense and hiked up into the hot zone yesterday. The result is incredible (rash carelessness aside).
[Huge amounts of coverage, information and photos from last night and previous days, all after the jump]
~
Commenter CKC points out some great photos of the fire. I also just discovered an unbelievable set of photos on Flickr. I’m trying to arrange a guestpost…more shortly.
~
Sierra Madre Fire Monday 6:50 am, originally uploaded by KeithJ. More excellent photos by Keith J in the FC Flickr Group.
MONDAY 8:30AM UPDATE: NO STRUCTURES DAMAGED.
Looks like some of the warnings in the comments last night nearly came true late last night.
Fire crews battling a wildfire had a close call early Monday as winds, which had been fairly tame, unexpectedly kicked up and sent flames within yards of several houses.
Firefighters watered down embers that drifted onto a few roofs and fought back the blaze.
Bill Coburn (who apparently never sleeps) has this (and much more) at sierramadrenews.net:
REPEAT - NO STRUCTURAL DAMAGE OVERNIGHT!!! Absolutely amazing. I’m expecting a press release by e-mail, will post it when it comes in. Meantime, here’s what was said at the press conference, in a nutshell. Firefighters made stands at a few homes overnight, but no homes were lost. The main area of concern for structures as of the conference was up around the north end of Auburn Ave. Air crews will be starting up again at any time. Three new strike crews arrived overnight. Weather conditions today will be hot, in the nineties, but humidity will be a little lower.
and
City Manager and Emergency Operations Director Elaine Aguilar talking about the fact no structures were lost overnight - “The fire came right up to the rear properties, and the firefighters did a phenomenal job protecting the structures. I was really impressed, it was amazing.”
Amazing, indeed. Head over to sierramadrenews.net for the whole night’s dramatic coverage and lots of photos.
Bob White leaves some unconfirmed news in the comments:
ust walked Carter, spoke with a lot of fire fighters and folks standing along the way. And as far as I could see there are a lot of fire crews up in the hills taking these fires on. Here’s some of the scuttlebutt I picked up, and I do not necessarily believe all of it: This is a slow smoldering fire because the vegetation there is still pretty green from the rains in February and March. Unless winds pick up there won’t be the explosive wildfires that we would see in August. Choppers are being held back for the moment. They can apparently time out after 8 hours, and they want to save them for later when the heat goes up. There was talk of using back fires yesterday afternoon as part of a strategy to stop the kind of spread we saw last night, but it was decided against out of fear of upsetting residents. The ironic thing here is the fires we now see are in large part achieving the same things, are not not necessarily a bad thing. And the weather report is better now. It will be hot today, but tonight we could see a marine layer,. and there could even be patchy fog. If that is the case today will be the last of the bad days.
Many thanks, Bob. Frank Girardot has an amazing picture of firefighters making a stand right behind a house last night (or that’s what it appears to be). Check it out.
The latest from Inciweb matches the dramatic descriptions of the fire’s approach last night:
As of Monday, April 28, 2008, 6:00 a.m. PST, the Santa Anita Fire has burned 490 acres north of Sierra Madre, CA. Approximately 50% of the acreage burned is on National Forest System land within the Angeles National Forest, and 50% is within the corporate boundary of the City of Sierra Madre.
The fire is currently 23% contained, with most of the containment in the area surrounding Sierra Madre residences.
~
[Note: The photo below was taken Saturday night, not Sunday night]
Sierra Madre Fire, originally uploaded by Gtiboogiemann.
SUNDAY 10:50PM UPDATE
Several commenters have expressed concern that the flames are threatening again. I haven’t been able to turn up any confirmation that the fire is any worse now, but it’s hard to argue with 91024:
Its back. Just as started to lay down and try to sleep. Walked up to the top of the upper canyon. The ridge above the dam is full of lames again. the helicopters can be heard, but its media as NO water dropping is going on. Whats most ditressing is all the engines and crews that were all park in the canyon seemed to have left. Why?
Raphael points out that the latest official info on the web can be found here, which suggests no reason to panic, despite the apparent visible flames:
Fire Behavior
Slow to moderate rate of spread. Fire is terrain-driven, burning uphill into the Angeles National Forest (San Gabriel Mtns).Significant Events
Significant progress has been made protecting homes on the southern end of the fire. There is still considerable work to be done constructing fireline to reach full containment.
Still sounds like things may be under control along the southern front.
Jae at Penitent Ramblings has a poignant post up (thanks to Angie for pointing it out):
It’s like war out there. The troops come in, rest for a few minutes, re-arm, eat something, and head back to the fight. Some of the first responders are just now coming off the line after over 24 hours on station. Its amazing what these brave men and women are doing for our community. If you only knew how absolutely close we came to losing a large portion of the town last night… until the winds changed in our favor.
[snip]
I’ve often believed that we are defined by our struggles… and I truly believe that our town has been defined by this event. Our volunteer (unpaid) Fire Department has delivered excellence on par with that of the larger jurisdictions they fight along side. Our city staff (the lowest paid in the region) and Police Department (ditto) have been working countless hours and meeting every challenge thrown their way, not only obtaining badly needed materiel for the effort, but coordinating all other aspects of the response that you don’t normally think about like traffic control and taking childrens books to the evacuees. And through it all, the residents themselves have been fantastic with donations of money, coffee, and support. They’ve given their neighbors places to stay while the chaos settles.
Also, Frank Girardot has more on the almost unbelievable “We were getting married and then got caught in a wildfire” story:
I just finished talking to Julie Sokolowski, the bride whose wedding party was transported out of Sturdevant Camp in the Chantry Flats area earlier today via helicopter.
Sokolowski told me her stepfather, Chris Kasten, has been managing the camp - four miles from the Chantry Flats Ranger Station - for 17 years and is still up there with his wife. They opted to stick the fire through.
Sokolowski and her husband, Ken Grady, tied the knot on Saturday at 3 p.m., about the same time the Santa Anita Fire started. No one in the wedding party knew about the blaze until Saturday evening.
More and pictures of the couple over at the Crime Scene.
Thank You Firefighters, originally uploaded by KeithJ.
SUNDAY 9:30PM UPDATE
Good news for any anxious homeowners that were out of town: it looks like the fire has largely been contained on its south front. The PSN reports:
The blaze, which was first reported about 3 p.m. Saturday off of Santa Anita Canyon Road near the Chantry Flats area, was about 30-percent contained late Sunday, Peebler said.
The majority of the containment line was on the south side of the wildfire, between the flames and structures, Peebler said.
U.S. Forest Service Fire Department Battalion Chief Tim Davis said parts of the fire were contained on both the north and south sides.
Less wind and lower humidity then the previous day aided firefighters, said Peebler, however the rugged terrain still made complicated the battle.
“It’s steep. It’s ugly, nasty terrain, said Peebler. “It’s tough firefighting out there, but they’re doing a good job,” he said. “We’re seeing some good progress.”
Also, inSierraMadre.com has a pair of interesting posts, including a run-in with Joe Mosca, that are worth checking out here and here. Also, Bill Coburn reports on Adams Pack Station:
Received the following re: Adams Pack Station. Thanks to Diane and Jeff for keeping me (and thus, you) informed.
Channel 4 news just had an update story on the fire and they showed footage of one of the donkeys at the Pack Station being loaded into transport. The reporter said that all the animals from the pack station had been relocated safely to Santa Anita Racetrack. I assume the Pack Station itself is fine as they did not mention any destroyed buildings except the one storage shed (in SMad) that burned earlier.
Don’t know the location of the human inhabitants (Sue, Greg, at al), but I am sure they are safe down here somewhere.
Check his site later for video of the evening press conference (when it finishes uploading).
I don’t want to be cavalier, but it seems like the worst is over and homeowners can breathe a little easier. Let’s hope that’s the case.
~
SUNDAY 5PM UPDATES: Sweet photo of a tanker dropping fire retardant is over at Frank Girardot’s blog. Check it out.
According to sierramadrenews.net:
All Sierra Madre schools (PUBLIC AND PRIVATE) have been cancelled for Monday, April 27, 2008.
Evacuations are to remain in place through Monday, April 27, 2008 at 6:00 a.m. provided that the fire conditions remain steady. All residents are still strongly urged to leave their homes if they are in the mandatory evacuation area.
The site also has info on local hotels where evacuees can book a room at discounted rates.
~
The East of Allen blog has photos of one of the helicopter staging areas and describes the process:
Watching the fire fighters work has been amazing. They’ve got four or five helicopters going today and they’ve been going straight since about 6 this morning. I’ve never seen helicopters maneuver like these do. The pilots land near the fuel truck if they need fuel, then lift off slightly and move down the dam to where the water hose is to get filled with water. Then they take off and return minutes later for more. All of this somehow coordinated with four or five helicopters working at the same time. I was talking to one of the crew and he said these pilots are so skilled they can pull their helicopters up sharply to actually throw their load of water forward. The whole operation is very impressive.
~
Seems like the choppers are loading up on water from Sierra Madre Vista Park, pictured in the map above. Fortunately, that’s not far from the fire itself. Thanks to everyone who emailed/sent this in.
~
Sierra Madre Fire 102, originally uploaded by yausser. Check the FC Flickr group for more fire photos.
SUNDAY, 2:00 PM UPDATE: 91024 has an update from his (her?) vantage point in SM:
Lots of trucks with hand crews arriving. Apparently laying hose for structure protection. I spoke to one of the guys on the engines, he said they have lots of resources. My only concern is that once night falls no air assault, so the ridge will burn where it wants. Wind is picking up slightly.
Sounds like 550 homes have now been evacuated. I haven’t heard any reports that suggest imminent danger to homes or structures, so it’s hard to tell how close the flames are getting. If you are any closer, please leave any information you may have in the comments. Also, photogs out there capturing this blaze, drop your images in the FC Flickr pool.
As commenter x notes:
Don’t try to drive up there, the police are cracking down. Cars were blocking emergency vehicles…
Stay out of the way, rubberneckers.
Also, according to SierraMadreNews.net, the wedding party has been evacuated successfully.
SUNDAY, 11:45AM UPDATE: Just heard on the radio that there is a wedding party of about 50 people still stuck up in the fire zone (presumably since yesterday). SM spokewoman indicated they would be airlifted out if all else failed by midday today. Additionally, radio reports were claiming the fire is now expected to take 4-5 days to contain. The LAT also has more:
About 1,000 people were evacuated from about 400 homes in Sierra Madre as a wildfire continued to burn out of control this morning.
The fire, which began Saturday at about 3 p.m., consumed about 400 acres of steep mountainous terrain north of the city, including some areas that have not burned in more than 40 years, Sierra Madre Fire Department Battalion Chief Michael Bamberger said this morning.
“This is not a lazy fire,” he said. “This fire is burning with some energy.”
Bamberger said he was waiting for the possibility of more evacuations, although he added, “It looks like we’re making good progress tying off the southern end of the fire,” near the city’s northern boundary, which is where more homes are located. No homes had been burned, he said.
About 500 firefighters from all over the state are attacking the blaze and more are on the way, Bamberger said.
~
Fighting the Fire, originally uploaded by yausser.
Excellent photos of the fire by Yausser, particularly highlighting firefighters in action. Check them out here.
SUNDAY, 10:20AM UPDATE: Awoke this morning, to a fine patina of ash over everything in the yard. Amazingly, while out and about, I noticed long lines at the car wash. Perhaps some folks haven’t quite put two and two together. Here’s the latest….
Apparently, more folks are being evacuated. The fire appears to only be 5% contained:
Water-dropping helicopters resumed work in the national forest north of Monrovia shortly after sunrise, and the fire was about 5 percent contained as of 7:45, according to fire officials.
The PSN has video of the firefighting action from yesterday. LAist rounded up the action (while neglecting to note the existence of Frazgo’s coverage or the the comments here…hiss). The LAFD has contributed a helicopter to the fight. The city of Sierra Madre notes that only one building has been damaged thus far:
The Santa Anita Fire began on Saturday, April 26th at approximately 3:00 pm (1500 hours) on Santa Anita Canyon Road. It has currently burned over 350 acres of wildland urban interface. The only structure damaged at this time is a small out building off of Lotus Lane.
More fire photos can be found here, here, here (Susan Kitchens’ set), and here (AP photo). Also, be sure to check out the Mt. Wilson Towercam (as suggested by DrForbin).
Santa Anita Canyon Fire 2, originally uploaded by KeithJ.
Stunning picture in the Flickr pool thanks to KeithJ.
12:30AM UPDATE: This is the latest info I have. The PSN reports that the fire likely won’t be contained for 24 hours:
A slow-moving fire had consumed more than 100 acres of brush in a rugged hillside area of Santa Anita Canyon by Saturday night, and officials ordered more strike teams to the area for a fresh assault on the blaze at daybreak.
By 10 P.M. authorities had ordered the evacuation of dozens of homes in the northern portion of Sierra Madre, displacing about 1,000 people said Roger Lowe, Sierra Madre’s volunteer Fire Department batallion chief.
“(The fire) is in very difficult terrain, and I don’t believe it will be contained for 20 to 24 hours,” said Roger Lowe, Sierra Madre’s Volunteer Fire Department battalion chief.
Check out the paper’s photos here.
From personal observation the fire has clearly crept closer to the homes and the pattern of evacuations (first voluntary, now mandatory) confirm that. According to the info on the city website:
Chantry Fire
Update 10:20 PMMandatory Evacuation
Go to:
Hart Senior Park House
222 W. Sierra Madre Blvd.Congregational Church
170 W. Sierra Madre Blvd.Western Section
Oak Crest Drive north of Carter Avenue
North of Carter Avenue East to Mira Monte Avenue to Mountain TrailEastern Section
Sierra Madre Lower and Upper CanyonsAll areas North of Grand View Avenue
from Mountain Trail east to Santa Anita Avenue
I wasn’t able to grab any pictures worth posting, but at least several folks on flickr have some shots since the sun went down. See here, here and here. 91024 also has pictures up here. Please leave more info as you get it in the comments.
At least two families that are personal friends have already had to evacuate their home. Let’s hope the fire doesn’t grow any more threatening.
Santa Anita Canyon Fire 4/26/08, originally uploaded by frazgo.
UPDATE: Frazgo made it to the scene, took pictures and gets the full story. Check it out.
From my vantage point in Pasadena, I can’t tell precisely where the flames are coming from, but there is a pillar of smoke heading into the sky. Contrary to what some folks have been saying, I didn’t see any aircraft from the freeway at just before 5pm. Frazgo reports:
I was just heading out to get some dinner when I noticed this smoke from a fire billowing up from the general area of Santa Anita Canyon north of Arcadia. That area last burned 12/26/99 if memor serves correct.
I’m heading that general direction shortly and will update with more information and photos.
With the temp at the house at an uncomfortable 101 I hope this is not the official start of Fire Season.
Wil Wheaton comments:
I can hear the Arcadia PD and FD on my scanner, and nobody sounds too worried. It’s burning up the hill, away from homes, though they’ve just called for one truck to be used for structure protection.
KCBS’ website says that there’s another fire in Glendale, off the 5 near Brand. If that’s accurate, I hope it’s just a coincidence that this fire is also burning, rather than the work of some douchebag arsonists.
Indeed. Susan Kitchens has more:
From what I could tell, it appears to be above the housing line, but I could be so wrong about that. I recall a nice dinner spent at a friends house in the high foothill area of Sierra Madre, and this could easily be up in that kind of area.
And the PSN says:
A five-acre brush fire shut down Santa Anita Canyon in the Chantry Flat area above Arcadia just before 3 p.m.
At least one group of hikers was evacuated from the area, fire officials said, and there was a request out to Los Angeles County for helicopter units to help bring the blaze under control
Units from Arcadia, Pasadena, Sierra Madre and Monrovia are attending the fire in an area popular with hikers and mountain-bike riders.
Finally, intense pictures of the flames (FLAMES!) here. Check it out: those flames look pretty serious. Let’s hope it’s not as bad as it looks.
I’m heading out for the evening (sorry, William, not into the hills), so leave any updates in the comments and hopefully Frazgo will have more later.
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Topics: Main Page, Pasadena, Arcadia, Sierra Madre |
April 26th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
I have a complete update from my visit with additional photos from around 3:30.
I would have put it up here as well but I couldn’t log into the server…I suspect it was this post keeping the server busy.
http://la.metblogs.com/2008/04/26/santa-anita-canyon-fire-update-5-pm/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frazgo/sets/72157604744295224/
April 26th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Thank you, Frazgo! Thank you fire guys!
April 26th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Nicely done, Frazgo!
April 26th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Yeah, I saw the smoke starting at about 2pm or so. It seemed to be originating on the front slope, rather low on the mountain, between the Big and Little Santa Anita Canyons. As the afternoon progressed, the flames have shifted eastward slightly, and the winds have blown the smoke and fire up the hill, away from the houses. At the time, the fire seems to be above the Chantry Flat
Road, but this has not been confirmed.
April 26th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
I have some pics from my front yard at http://sierramadre91024.blogspot.com/
April 26th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Thanks for covering this, every one. My husband noticed the smoke when he went out around 5pm to pick up dinner, but except for a small blurb on PSN’s site, your coverage has been the most informative. Who says blogs can’t be accurate?
April 26th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
I am directly across the canyon from where the fire has come over the ridge from the road. It is now 7PM and we have been watching since around 4. It is MUCh farther over the ridge now. We hear sirens in the canyon area below us and just heard that a voluntary evacuation of the canyon has started. The choppers and fixed wings are still dropping but the fire just keeps popping back up.
April 26th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
sunrise hill is voluntary evacuation. the police are still getting hikers down from chantry!
April 26th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Camillo voluntary evacuation at about7:45
April 26th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
3 hail marys an our father and glory be to the helicopter pilots. if you live up there try and get the people off the streets that are looking. it sounds l;ike they are blocking fire and police
April 26th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
I looks so much worse when night falls. LA County said it would take a couple of days to contain. We’re lucky. Low wind.
April 26th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
[…] Mt. Wilson Trail Resident Says: April 26th, 2008 at 7:21 pm […]
April 26th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
My husband and I own homes in Sierra Madre Canyon on Holly Trail Path and Woodland Drive, so we are very concerned. Where, William, are you writing from exactly?
April 26th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Here are the eveacuations as of now:
http://cityofsierramadre.com/index.php?mod=city_article&id=74
April 26th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
It was not in writing, it was told to me by a LA County Fireman as we viewed the fire. But as we all know, fires are unpredictable. But we may get lucky.
April 26th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
“Post Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2008 2:15 pm Post subject: Reply with quote
This the Chantry fire, 88 acres 5 % contained, this fire is in Billy goat country, fire was in perfect alignment to make runs which it did, it was working it’s way on to the forest , should be able to pick it up in the morning, if it makes it to the top it should stop at the top, the north facing slopes still have a lot of moisture in the fuel .”
This is the latest transmission from: LA County Fire . com
April 27th, 2008 at 12:04 am
manditory evactuation for upper and lower canyon in sierra madre.
April 27th, 2008 at 12:20 am
mandatory evacuations for the following areas:
Everything north of Carter Avenue
Everything north of Grandview Ave. between Mountain Trail and Santa Anita Drive.
April 27th, 2008 at 1:55 am
[…] & Foothill Cities […]
April 27th, 2008 at 2:24 am
Hi,
I’ve been posting my pictures of the fire from the Pasadena side at http://www.flickr.com/photos/30739021@N00/sets/72157604747996734/
April 27th, 2008 at 2:58 am
Whoa, thanks for using one of my pictures! Here’s another one I took in the evening if anyone’s interested: http://www.flickr.com/photos/redhighheels/2445158990/
I hope everyone stays safe and that they’ll have it completely contained soon.
April 27th, 2008 at 5:17 am
What’s the update on the fire?
April 27th, 2008 at 7:00 am
I can see the fire clearly from my house.
Drove past it on the 210 yesterday afternoon around 5:30 pm..looked pretty bad then, too.
It’s almost 7 a.m. Sunday morning and there’s a huge plume of brown and white smoke. Looks pretty scary.
April 27th, 2008 at 7:00 am
they are proceeding with canyon evacuations/ the police will be very agressive with lookey lous today. sounds like last night people were everywhere. my friends on idlehour and canyon crest were shocked at the cars, and people just walking on their property
April 27th, 2008 at 7:09 am
7 a.m. Sunday morning from East Pasadena near Foothill Blvd & Sierra Madre Blvd:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/nuwaivaaron/PICT0145.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/nuwaivaaron/PICT0146.jpg
April 27th, 2008 at 7:15 am
[…] Cities (here and here) and 91024 are doing some excellent coverage of the fire in Santa Antia […]
April 27th, 2008 at 7:29 am
Just a morning update. Last night they evacuated the upper and lower canyon. I am still here until the fires pose an immenent danger. This morning it looks better, although there are still flames visible. More at my site.
April 27th, 2008 at 8:30 am
More nighttime photos from this post and from this in flickr. I used santaanitacanyonfire tag, same as frazgo, so it’d show up in same places:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/auntialias/tags/santaanitacanyonfire/
April 27th, 2008 at 8:44 am
[…] The Foothill Cities Blog has been putting a lot of coverage on the fire and the readers are leaving comments pretty much real time relaying their first hand experiences. Follow the growing comment list on their “Fire in the Arcadia/Sierra Madre Area“. […]
April 27th, 2008 at 8:52 am
Thanks for the article Centinel! Everyone has contributed and has done a great job of covering all the aspects of the fire. A comment was left on Frazgo’s LA Met site about getting more info from the local blogs than from the AP Wire…I believe it!
April 27th, 2008 at 8:59 am
Police have announced mandatory evacuation on our street above Carter. Anyone who leaves won’t be allowed back up. Guess they are putting roadblocks on Grandview to prevent access.
April 27th, 2008 at 9:02 am
The TowerCam on Mount Wilson has been reoriented to the South and you can see the smoke from the fire drifting towards the Observatory.
http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~obs/towercam.htm
April 27th, 2008 at 9:35 am
We have some Sierra Madre refugees staying with us. They just called the SM police and they said they are not letting anyone back up for ANY reason. We haven’t been able to find out whether any homes have been damaged. Does anyone know?
April 27th, 2008 at 9:40 am
no property lost, fire behind the dam
April 27th, 2008 at 9:45 am
The evacuation will be expanded to above Carter at Lima. My neighborhood is still under mandatory evacuation. (Sturtevant / Woodland), although from what I can see the fire has moved east and west of the dam now. Walked to the dam last night at 1:30 and it was burning on either side. We could feel the hot wind generated by the fire. It seemed as though most canyon residents did not leave. Many were hosing down their homes and checking on each other.
April 27th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Looks like a lot less smoke coming from the mountain. At least that is the view from the West Side of town. Are the firefighters getting the upper hand?
April 27th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Arthur- from Sturtevant I can see the drops being made directly above us and it’s producing a lot of white smoke but there are still spots where there’s tons of black smoke billowing.
April 27th, 2008 at 10:15 am
Watching them hold the ridge above Skyland as it trys to burn over. earlier this am I saw crews on foot in the lower canyon, it looked like they were protecting a home as the fire was getting quiet close. About 5 engines staged in the upper canyon. No one is allowed back in once they leave.
April 27th, 2008 at 10:49 am
#33 No property loss. They are being very cautious. All the fire crews I spoke to on my walk said that the fire had spread alond the ridge, we can’t see it really but it is there. That is why they are now doing more evacuations.
April 27th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Our house is on Skyland in the upper canyon. We are currently overseas. Does the fire seem to be going toward the houses or away?
April 27th, 2008 at 11:43 am
Centinel - was that the car wash on Arroyo & California that you went to?
April 27th, 2008 at 11:44 am
AP/Yahoo reports 2 air tankers on the way.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080427/ap_on_re_us/socal_wildfires
April 27th, 2008 at 11:47 am
The one I drove by was farther east on Walnut, though I usually hit up the car wash on Del Mar.
April 27th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Oh, I always go to the one on Walnut
Just went there yesterday.
April 27th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
#40. So far your house is safe. They are fighting the ridge just above us right now. Major air assault, helicopters and planes. Email me if you want more specifics.
April 27th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Thank you! This blog has been so helpful since we are so far away. I have sent you a email 91024.
April 27th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
We are out of the area of the fire, but live on Valle Vista. Can someone please give an update?
April 27th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
still agressive fighting of flames. a couple of spots are creating a pain it looks like / they won’t die out
April 27th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Does it look like firefighters have the upper-hand??? Officials say that it will be anywhere from 4-5 days until full containment.
April 27th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Is there anyone organizing a way for people to volunteer to let refugees stay with them and/or take in their pets? I live in Pasadena and have a little extra room. They don’t list phone number for the Red Cross evacuation centers on the Sierra Madre website, so I’m going to call the Humane Society on the pets issue (I used to volunteer with Furry Friends Rescue in San Francisco and they had a great network for this kind of thing). I just am not that well connected since moving down to SoCal.
April 27th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Thank you.
April 27th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Elisabeth,
I went by the Red Cross this morning in Sierra Madre and asked for list of who had evacuated, hoping to see if there was anyone I knew to offer my home to and I was told that was confidential information. I also offered to house a pet if need be. Let me know of you hear of any leads on this blog.
April 27th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
I am sure you can call the Senior Center(Hart) as i think that’s where some of the evacuees have gone and offer your help.
April 27th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Brian: I got back in, everything is ok and but noisy. Several neighbors stayed. We walked in and the police let us up to Acacia/Valle Vista. Call if you want info. I talked to you mom.
April 27th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
If you want to rubberneck, I recommend the Shopping Center at 2nd and Foothill (Ralphs and Fresh N Easy). Place to hang and look, but w/o getting underfoot of actual firefighting work.
I was there last night; I recommend if you go to take care and drive slow as there (were) lots of people milling about, and I assume that right now there’s more of the same.
April 27th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
At http://www.eastofallen.blogspot.com I have some photos of the helicopter staging area at the Sierra Madre Villa Debris Basin. The coverage here has been excellent. thank you.
April 27th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Oh cool! The LAT article quoted Battalion Chief (and also Father) Mike Bamberger! He’s the rector of Church of the Ascension in Sierra Madre (Episcopal). (My church. when I go). That’s what you call a “full service parish.” Each year I giggle a bit during the beginning of the Easter vigil when “fire is kindled.” Yep, it’s part of the liturgy that the priest does it, but hey, he’s a fireman, too.
April 27th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Great pictures, Michael. Thanks for the heads up.
April 27th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Bill Coburn at sierramadrenews.net reports that all Sierra Madre schools will be closed tomorrow.
Evacuations may be lifted tomorrow morning.
Bill is keeping in touch with city hall, and updating city press releases.
April 27th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Why have the schools been closed?
April 27th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Just wanted to say a big thank you for all the great info on this thread. My husband and I *just* bought a property on Skyland (literally…we just got the keys late Thursday evening). The firefighters indeed are doing an amazing job.
April 27th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
God Bless the brave firemen and women.
April 27th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Thank you for running this website. No where else on the web have I been able to find this information so clearly placed and updated as often. It’s a shame that we don’t have a system like San Diego that is dedicated to these kinds of problems.
The firefighters are indeed doing a wonderful job. If you really want to thank them, you can contribute to one of the many different firefighters’ funds. My family donates to the lafra, but there are plenty of other legitimate organizations. It’s not very hard or terribly inconvenient, but it is a way to show support.
It’s sad that only in times of crisis we find a sudden “support our ___” mood. But, they truly are dedicated to serving us citizens. And for that we should all be grateful, no matter what time it is.
April 27th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Yup #62 FCBlog rocks, quickly outstripping traditional media on what’s happening or important in the Foothills. Remember that next time the yayhoos in various city halls refer to us as that “anonymous blog” as if it some how is being insulting. They don’t name this blog as they don’t want more to know the truth.
April 27th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Pulling Together
It’s like war out there. The troops come in, rest for a few minutes, re-arm, eat something, and head back to the fight. Some of the first responders are just now coming off the line after over 24 hours on station. Its amazing what these brave men and women are doing for our community. If you only knew how absolutely close we came to losing a large portion of the town last night… until the winds changed in our favor.
excerpt from Jae at penitentramblingsblogspot.com
April 27th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
and please thank joe, captain larry and chief diaz, they are all still working !
the hill does seem to be lit up right now, i can hear a helipcopter at the south end of town.
April 27th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
I just peeked out my back window (about 10.04 PM), down here on the southeast border of town, and I saw a bright fire about midway up the mountain that wasn’t there an hour ago. I hope this isn’t an unexpected resurgence.
Earlier this evening I was relieved to look up north and see nothing but darkness.
April 27th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Its back. Just as started to lay down and try to sleep. Walked up to the top of the upper canyon. The ridge above the dam is full of lames again. the helicopters can be heard, but its media as NO water dropping is going on. Whats most ditressing is all the engines and crews that were all park in the canyon seemed to have left. Why?
April 27th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
wait i dont see any fire anymore on the mountains but only smoke. does that mean the fires are gone?
April 27th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
The most current official information on the internet would appear to be here:
http://inciweb.org/incident/1233/
The City of Sierra Madre website reports that this agency has assumed command of the fire.
April 27th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Thank you for the Foothill Cities Blog.
April 27th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
The fire trucks head up to the canyon now. If you are planning to leave , you should leave now before in the way.
April 27th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
how did the fire start?
April 27th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
A big yada yada to community services personel, city works personal, and city officials for over 24 hour none stop emergency service.
(And Monday is the beginning of their work week.)
To our Sierra Madre Firefighters we send Big love with prayers and hopes that they have enough equipment, etc. we know they have the trianing, and the desire.
Congrats to all community volunteers I omit.
“The Ice Lady Cometh!!!”
My wife and I heard your names and voices on the scanner all through the night.
Next time someone on this blog complains about Joe Mosca, The Police Department, or the Fire Department’s management, I suggest you take a look at the pictures shown on this blog of the week-ends brush fire incident.
Thank God for the afore mentioned Counsel MAN Joe Mosca, Police Chief Marylyn Diaz and our Police Captain Larry “The Diplomat.” This trio had
the foresight and deligience to inter-face with a large number of emergency response teams.
The result of the combimed work was what we saw during this brush fire, and what we will continue to take advantage of, as an unbiased community in the future.
Love you to, T.C. Canterbury
“Everybody’s happy when they get what THEY want.”
April 27th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
I am so thankful for this site since we are in Dubai and am not getting a lot of updated information. Also, flickr is currently blocked here so I am unable to get very many photos of what is happening. Since our house is on Skyland does anyone know if the homes have been hosed down? It sounds like the fire department is doing an excellent job. It’s time for another donation to SMFD as a token of appreciation!
April 27th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Ps
Alberson’s Market has a Sheriff’s satellite truck
in the cordened off north-west parking lot.
This was at 9:00p.p.m. Sunday night.
It should not be an inconvience as long as drivers enter from Michellinda or Sierra Madre.
T.C.
April 27th, 2008 at 11:35 pm
ps…
Albertson’s Market has a Sheriff’s Satellite
Truck parked in the North-West paking lot. This
lot is cordened off by yellow tape.
This lot was inaccessible at 9:30 p.m. Sunday night. It’s not a problem if you enter from
Michellinda of Sierra Madre blvds.
T.C. fyi
April 27th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
#75 LORIE:
The homes of the upper canyon are being threatened. I just came down from Idle Hour and although it’s still one ridge away( as far as I can see) it’s close. It’s the ridge the leads down to the dam. Homes close to the dam are threatened also. Sheriffs and SMPD are patrolling telling people who are still there to leave. GOOD NEWS: There are tons of pumper trucks up there with many fire personnel(I’m guessing) Companies from all over. I’m on Sturtevant straight south from where it’s burning. I’m not leaving for a while and will keep posting things as I hear anything new. Good Luck!
April 27th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
And no, they haven’t started hosing down homes yet. It still has to go down and up another ridge to be very close.
April 28th, 2008 at 12:21 am
I can see the glow from the fire, and we live on North Auburn, a bit below the reservoir. It looks as bad as last night. Good luck!!!
April 28th, 2008 at 1:37 am
Hi Margaret Q,
I have a pickup, and as you know I don’t sleep at night. So as one friend to another…
The fire scene as I see it now at 1:24a.m. @ Auburn and Baldwin, shows the fire finding new fuel and moving accordingly up and down the hillsides, n/w and s/e depending on the slope and availability of the chapparal.
I hope the Canyon folk take advantage of fair warning and the evacuation centers allocated for them in the emergency plans. A fire don’t ask how long you’ve lived in Sierra Madre.
Good luck and God Bless… T.C. Canterbury
ps. The traffic at Baldwin and Grandview going east looks like Sunday morninig.
April 28th, 2008 at 1:40 am
How far west has the fire moved???
April 28th, 2008 at 1:43 am
From my 4th floor balcony the fire looks quite low now. I’m on Sturtevant about 5 houses from Mountain Trail, looking straight north. My friend who lives on Idle Hour left an hour ago and there was a crew of 100+ firemen with chainsaws cutting stuff down in back of homes on Skyland. I can hear them yelling, many chainsaws buzzing, and the water being sprayed. It doesn’t look as though any structures have burned. Been watching it steadily for over an hour and the big flare ups were definitely trees. It burned up that ridge, around the back of it and is now burning strongly on the front face overlooking town. It’s very bright, strangely illuminating everything. It also looks as though it’s burning right at Sumac Trail but it’s hard to tell.
April 28th, 2008 at 1:55 am
Hi Margaret,
I’ve been talking in vertical slopes ie.the distance walking up one hill slope and down the
other.
It’s still on the “Back Ridges.” The two small hills I see framed in my front windows are in front of the fire line.
The fire line is from my vantange point following the ridge line up and down and to
the North/ East.
The exact opposite of the Eaton Canyon Fire.
Magaret I know exactley where you live. It may still has the capability to come down to the structure line. I’d listen to the Sheriffs
Hey, you’ve been through this. The firefighters
are all in positiion to do what it takes to stop
this fire
love Tc.
T.C.
What kind of deployment is there so far?
April 28th, 2008 at 1:57 am
Margaret I ment North/west
April 28th, 2008 at 2:02 am
I woke up JQ and he is going down to Carter to talk to the deputy on duty.
Earlier the glow was to the east, but now it is brightest to the north east. We are fairly secure, but nothing is foolproof. Maybe I should reload the cars. 1993 all over again.
April 28th, 2008 at 2:08 am
Hi Margaret,
How’s this; at 1:30 I had to walk to the corner at
Baldwin to the the whole picture.
It is now 2:05p.m.(I can’t sleep with the brush fires going. Go figure?) I can look out the front Dutch Door and see the ridge line burning bright
orange as it heads north and west in the darkness.
T.C.
April 28th, 2008 at 2:38 am
Fire update 2:33am
The Santa Anita Fire information line is 626-821-6700. Just spoke to them, they said still no report of structures other than the shed on Lotus Lane, seems hard to believe. Evacuation area remains the same. Upper and Lower Canyons, everything north of Carter from Lima east, everything north of Grand View from Mt. Trail east to Santa Anita.
April 28th, 2008 at 2:42 am
#78 Margaret, Thank you very much for the information. Let’s hope that the news turns for the better soon. As I watch the fire from a helpless distance, I realize how difficult it must be for those of you in the midst of it. I wish the best for all of you.
April 28th, 2008 at 3:01 am
The fire is completely out of control and moving west across the entire mountain. From the parking lot at Howies it looks really bad - It is really bad.
Morning and any support from the air is at least 3 hours away. By that time it will be too little too late, I’m afraid. I can only hope that we don’t lose and homes.
Stay safe everyone!
April 28th, 2008 at 3:13 am
I am hoping for the best, everyone. Are there any changes in evacuation area?
April 28th, 2008 at 4:31 am
I just spoke with some of the Pasadena police at the corner of Carter and Oak Crest, and the evacuation is still north of Carter only. Despite the panic in the posts above, things do seem to be under some sort of control, with a line of fire fighters and police standing between us and the blaze. The fire is very slow burning, absolutely no wind here whatsoever. The choppers will be back soon, and I think we will be OK. It certainly isn’t the 60 foot flames people in the canyon witnessed.
April 28th, 2008 at 6:42 am
Folks, 91024 evacuated at 12:30 a.m., so her blog is shut down for now.
April 28th, 2008 at 6:42 am
Folks, 91024 evacuated at 12:30 a.m., so that blog is shut down for now.
April 28th, 2008 at 7:00 am
there were a couple of hundred people activly fighting the fires all night, we were not alone…
April 28th, 2008 at 7:11 am
it is above one carter, i can’t get to canyon crest, but i think firet is right above skyland. the trail to mt wilson looks like there are flames, the “little hill- pat’s peak” is on fire. i walked thru carter but can’t go on any streets above carter. friends on top of auburn are OK. hang in there everyone, the sheriffs are talking to us that are on the corners. still NO structures burned, yeahhh!!! 91024 call me
April 28th, 2008 at 7:29 am
Just walked Carter, spoke with a lot of fire fighters and folks standing along the way. And as far as I could see there are a lot of fire crews up in the hills taking these fires on. Here’s some of the scuttlebutt I picked up, and I do not necessarily believe all of it: This is a slow smoldering fire because the vegetation there is still pretty green from the rains in February and March. Unless winds pick up there won’t be the explosive wildfires that we would see in August. Choppers are being held back for the moment. They can apparently time out after 8 hours, and they want to save them for later when the heat goes up. There was talk of using back fires yesterday afternoon as part of a strategy to stop the kind of spread we saw last night, but it was decided against out of fear of upsetting residents. The ironic thing here is the fires we now see are in large part achieving the same things, are not not necessarily a bad thing. And the weather report is better now. It will be hot today, but tonight we could see a marine layer,. and there could even be patchy fog. If that is the case today will be the last of the bad days.
April 28th, 2008 at 7:45 am
click on sierramadrenews.net bill is a vampire and does not sleep! updates in last couple of minutes
April 28th, 2008 at 8:42 am
Photos of firefighting efforts (most aerial) during the afternoon and early evening of April 26th can be found at http://www.starfireimaging.com/santa-anita-fire/. These were taken from the top of Santa Anita Ave.
April 28th, 2008 at 8:43 am
91024 is ok, i found them. amazing photos!!
April 28th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Anyone on this blog from Holly Trail Path?
April 28th, 2008 at 9:42 am
I don’t know if Tim Hayden is still up there, I know him and a couple of other men stayed up there Saturday night to try to protect homes.
I hope everyone is out of there, smoke inhalation is bad right now.
April 28th, 2008 at 9:55 am
Matt was staying up there as well. I haven’t heard from him but we hope he left.
Good to know this post is here!
April 28th, 2008 at 10:13 am
video from last night: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLeLLX_aShA
April 28th, 2008 at 10:40 am
Just wondering if there is any news on what is happening on Skyland? Watching David Drier’s news conference but not learning much but it looks like the fire is in our canyon area (upper canyon. I really appreciate all the information on this blog. I do hope everyone is safe.
April 28th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Lorie. Feel free to email me directly. I think I met you briefly before you left for left for Dubai and I now live down the street on Skyland.
April 28th, 2008 at 11:38 am
[…] Pasadena - District 1 Community Meeting It’s an eerie Monday morning here in Pasadena. The car is covered with ash, and the sunlight filters weird yellow through the dense smoky clouds. For coverage on the Sierra Madre fire, try Sierra Madre 91024 and The FC Blog. […]
April 28th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
400 n grove block has been evacuated. you can NOT go up any street above w. grandview
April 28th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
700 n sunnyside being evacuated
April 28th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
my friend in the 200 block 0f west carter got evacuated
April 28th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Anyone know Dennis Beris on Idlehour? He has lived there for a million years. He is the guy with the yellow jag and big white and green truck. He okay?
April 28th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
fairview evacuated
April 28th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
My friend on Canon (not sure what block) being evacuated. She’s been afraid to leave because two houses near her have been burgled. One family was standing outside watching the fire when their house got robbed.
April 28th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
i hope the police were notified. what street wre they on?
April 28th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Just so you know, if you google “sierra madre fire” an laist article comes up with a link straight to here. You guys are ahead of all the big media on coverage. Good job.
April 28th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Re: 113
Just spoke to Corporal Doyle at SMPD re: burglary. She said there was one report of burglary, not two, and it was on Saturday. She said it was on Sierra Madre Blvd., not up in the evac area. My understanding of the situation (from another source, not Corporal Doyle) is that it was on or near Canon at the Blvd. But it was not in the evac area, and it was on Saturday.
April 28th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Bill, thanks for clarifying. @115: Henry, I was wondering if you’d swing by…
April 28th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
thank you
April 28th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
To try and put a few minds at ease…much like we saw in Monrovia in recent months, there is a large contingent of Area D Law Enforcement from throughout the SGV working mutual aid in Sierra Madre right now. Not just for traffic control, but the units are being used for patrol in the evac areas as well.
April 28th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
[…] best blog for most current first hand info is a toss up. Foothill Cities Blog comments have a lot of first hand information goint out. Crime Scene Blog has experienced […]
April 28th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Thanks, Tom, for the heads up.
April 28th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Looks like the wind is picking up a bit. Any weather report?
April 28th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Hi there. I copied the InciWeb topo map onto a Google Map this morning. I’ll keep it in sync with the InciWeb burn area. You’re welcome to link to my post or directly to the map.
http://blog.stonehillnews.com/2008/04/santa-anita-fire.htm
View Larger Map
April 28th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Check this article on the City Website for the most updated information that they have.
http://cityofsierramadre.com/index.php?mod=city_article&id=74
91024, for the official National Weather Service Forecast, go to:
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?site=LOX&llon=-118.991247&rlon=-117.538747&tlat=35.199584&blat=33.749584&smap=1&mp=0&map.x=162&map.y=180
April 28th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
As of now the wind is supposed to be a southwest wind at 3 mph. It might pick up to 6 mph. The forecast for tomorrow is 6-9mph.
There are some coastal gusts which might sweep inland.
That’s the forecast from the noaa website
Hope everyone out there is holding up ok.
I’m still at work, butanyone knows if and where we can help/volunteer tonight?
I’m hoping we can return this evening.
April 28th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
By the way, it’s pretty interesting to add the InciWeb burn area map and PSN’s evacuation area map to your “My Maps” tab, because then you can view them simultaneously.
a useful Google map
April 28th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
For the latest weather report, use the official government one at http://spot.nws.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/spot/spotmon?site=lox