Tending...

The Station Fire has turned much of our beloved San Gabriel mountainside into a black and white moonscape. I need color to bring me back down to earth. Here, an impossibly pink bougainvillea flirts with a row of green cactus against an old red brick wall.

When I took this picture, I kept marveling at the fact that almost everything grows here with little effort. This region is a botanical wonderland. I'm not just talking about landscaping or tended gardens. On every hillside you'll find sprawling native grasses, chaparral, blooms and reeds. You can't walk past a crack in the sidewalk without stumbling over a patch of clover or collection of wildflowers. It's fertile here. Things grow.

The ravaged mountains will grow back, too.

UPDATE: 11:40AM An upper hand: fire 51% contained as of today. Battle continues: blaze jumped firebreak over Angeles Crest Highway and is moving toward Juniper Hills and Littlerock. Fire has burned a quarter of our national forest.

Smoking Section

The fire continues to burn. Heavy smoke on the eastern perimeter yesterday limited air drops of water and fire retardant. That same smoke fills the foothill communities, choking the city and turning the moon orange. On a normal South Pasadena night, mountains would span the background of this view.

Now I fully understand the term "smokescreen."

Of course, everything reminds me of a poem. As I stood on the hillside trying to make some sense of scorched earth and shrouded mountains, I remembered these few lines by Tennyson:

The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks.
The long day wanes, the slow moon climbs,
The deep moans round with many voices.
Come, my friends,
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.

--------------------------

For continuing fire coverage, refer to my usual links:

Altadena Hiker
Altadenablog
LA Observed
Firefighter Blog
Inciweb
LA Times dynamic map of current fire zone
LA Now (LA Times blog)

UPDATE: 8:45AM Station fire 42% contained. New fire on Ortega Highway.

UPDATE: 2:30PM 40 miles of Angeles Crest Highway closed "indefinitely" due to fires.

Who needs a distraction?

After smelling woodsmoke for days on end, barbecue seemed like a natural choice. And nothing beats Gus's for great barbecue. I can't comprehend 150,000 acres of burning forest ... but brisket and baked beans? No problem!

To peruse all the yummy selections at Gus's, click here.

To keep up with the latest fire information, check out the following links:

Altadena Hiker
Altadenablog
LA Observed
Firefighter Blog
Inciweb
LA Times dynamic map of current fire zone
LA Now (LA Times blog)

UPDATE: 10:00AM Fire at 38% containment. (Firefighters are remarkable!) Check the above links for details.

UPDATE: 6:55PM It's official: Station Fire was caused by arson.

Smoke World

The good news? Finally, a number other than 5%. As I write this shortly after midnight, authorities claim the Station Fire is 22% contained. Sure, that could change on a dime, and a 120,000+ acre wildfire that is 78% uncontained is still terrifying, but we'll all take what we can get.

The bad news? Smoke. Smoke is EVERYWHERE. It permeates everything, even laundry in the dryer. It stretches out over Los Angeles like fog from a classic noir film. Radio stations reported people smelling the stuff as far away as Vegas.

But it's not just the smell of smoke that affects you, it's the way it changes the light. It's kind of like the light during a partial solar eclipse. If anyone has ever been in theatre, think of a half-dimmed spotlight with an amber gel.

This is the view from Arroyo Drive just before sunset yesterday. See what I mean?

For continuing fire coverage, be sure to check out these great sources:

Altadena Hiker
Altadenablog
LA Observed
Firefighter Blog
Inciweb
LA Times dynamic map of current fire zone

UPDATE: 3:00PM Fire now at 140,000+ acres moving east toward Sierra Madre, west encroaching on Little Tujunga Canyon. More here Evacuation rumors/reports are contradictory. Altadenablog is a good place to check, including the comments sections.

UPDATE: 4:00PM We all want to help out during this crisis, but make sure the fund is legit. REad Atty Gen. Jerry Brown's news release about avoiding sham charities.

UPDATE: 4:20PM Of note: just filed by Associated Press Feds failed to clear brush in wildfire areas."

UPDATE: 10:50PM At 150,000+ acres, this is the largest fire in LA County history. Sierra Madre, Monrovia and parts of Pasadena now threatened.

Big

It's the first of the month, and that means Theme Day for participating City Daily Photo bloggers. I missed the last one, but when I checked yesterday found out this month's theme, I knew I had to participate. This month's theme is Big. Well, I certainly have a picture for that. (In fact, I have a whole slew of them...)

As of just past midnight, the Station Fire now exceeds 105,000 acres and may end up on the books as the biggest fire in LA County history.

From our South Pas perspective, it means worrying about friends and loved ones in Altadena, Sunland, Tujunga, Glendale, Acton, La Canada and La Cresenta who are at immediate risk from the unstable blaze. It means worrying about friends and loved ones in Santa Clarita, Palmdale, Newhall and any number of other communities who might end in the path of the seemingly unstoppable firestorm. It means marveling at the miracle work of firefighters who have tirelessly battled for five days and saved countless structures. It means grieving for the two firefighters who gave their lives in the process.

It means mourning the loss of so much forest -- of beloved hiking trails and nature walks, bike tracks and rock climbing spots. And it means mourning the loss of those secret spots off the trail -- the ones where special picnics happened. Where you might have fallen in love or figured out your life.

It means wondering if Mount Wilson is next -- home to the observatory that helped write the birth certificate of our universe, and to the telecommunications towers that hook up our cell phones. (The ones that we keep using every hour to check news updates and blog posts.) It means now knowing terms like pyrocumulus.

From a South Pas perspective, it means being nestled right up against catastrophe but still going about life's business, with smoke-filled days and uneasy nights that now have a fiery mountainside as a nightlight.

For the latest fire updates:

Altadena Hiker
Altadenablog
LA Observed
Firefighter Blog
Inciweb
The Mount Wilson webcam
LA Times dynamic map of current fire zone

For other creative interpretations of today's City Daily Photo theme:
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

UPDATE: 2:15PM Just reported by our friends at the informative Altadenablog:

The Battle for Mt. Wilson: it's on. Flames are in the complex, but there's a lot of "fog of war" as to what's really going on up there. Air support seems to be the only way to fight it now, altho' LA County Fire twittered around 1:45:

*Station IC* LACoFD is sending units to stage at Red Box Ranger Station for structure protection @ Mount Wilson.
Lots of aircraft flying over us in East Altadena, apparently headed for Mt. Wilson.

UPDATE: 5:00PM Lots of comments on blogs about aerial water drops over Mt. Wilson. Here's the latest from LA Times. It's eerie outside here in South Pas. Ash rains down on everything. Saw one woman wearing a respiratory mask as she walked down Fair Oaks. Sun blotted by smoke.

UPDATE: 8:30PM Mt. Wilson webcam is now out of commission. Click here for the last shot. This briefing about the fight to save Mt. Wilson (linked at the bottom of the webcam picture) offers encouraging news straight from the source.

Smoldering Sunset

The Station Fire rages on, but it appears to be moving more toward Acton and Sunland. (And right toward the telecommunications towers and historic observatory on Mount Wilson.) While I am glad not to see as many mountainside bonfires from South Pasadena's vantage point, I know the 42,000+ acre inferno is very much out of control, en route to ravage more chaparral and forest, and poised to terrorize more towns. Two firefighters lost their lives yesterday in a vehicle crash. Tonight, 6600 homes in the region are under mandatory evacuation. The slightest increase in wind could churn this disaster into a real catastrophe.

But there is far less smoke in South Pasadena tonight, and our beautiful neighboring cities of Pasadena and Altadena seem -- at least for now -- to be out of the direct line of (literal) fire that threatened for the past few days. I'm grateful ... but not quite relaxed yet.

Check out my overflow blog for a few more images from yesterday.

UPDATE: 8:45AM Fire doubled in size overnight to 85,000 acres. Hard to believe it is growing this fast and out of control with no Santa Ana winds pushing it. It is still only 5% contained, but at least superscooper planes have arrived to assist in the fight.

Our friend Altadena Hiker is doing a great job of posting information about this fire. For more excellent coverage of the growing/changing situation,check out:
Altadenablog
LA Observed
Firefighter Blog
Inciweb
The Mount Wilson webcam
LA Times dynamic map of current fire zone

UPDATE: 10:15AM While South Pasadena and Pasadena may not be in the direct line of fire, we are suffering from "very unhealthy" air quality due to the smoke/particulate matter generated by the Station Fire. Here is the latest map from AQMD. Stay indoors, folks.

UPDATE: 1:30PM Just got back from running errands around the area. There is a dreadful amount of smoke in the air. The mountains have virtually disappeared. A thick haze hangs over everything -- kind of like the air in a Holiday Inn bar at a 1955 Tobacco Council convention. I was over near Hastings Ranch and the smoke seemed even thicker there but it's pervasive and noxious everywhere you go in the San Gabriel Valley. Here's the latest about Mount Wilson. Don't know if fire has actually hit but the webcam is down. (That could be to increased traffic.) Altadenablog has the latest on evacuations.

UPDATE: 3:00PM This fire is the biggest in county history since 1897. KNX reports it at 100,000+ acres.

UPDATE: 9:24 Mount Wilson still stands for now, fire still grows bigger -- latest from LA Times. The air in South Pasadena and Pasadena is better tonight than it was during the day. Winds must have shifted.

20,000 Acres Up in Smoke

It's almost 1:30AM as I write this. I shot this image standing on Grand yesterday evening -- or maybe it was Arroyo Drive. I'm addle-brained from a day of watching the wildfire triple in size and leap across my beloved San Gabriel mountains like some kind of demon lightening bug doped up on speed and steroids.

The smoke is extremely intense here now, and it is really uncomfortable to breathe outside for any length of time. For the first time since moving into our charming 110 year old house with original fixtures, I actually understand the concept of duo-pane vinyl windows. We have towels rolled up against our drafty door jams, paper towels stuffed into the gaps of our original sash windows, the AC pumping air through a 3M filter and a portable air purifier cranked up to high.

It still feels somewhat like being inside a mesquite barbecue pit.

I can't explain how surreal it felt earlier tonight to actually see flames in the mountains as I turned the corner to my house. We've all seen movies of huge fireballs sweeping across ridges. It's unsettling when it's so close to home.

Click my overflow blog here to see many more of my pictures of this devastating wildfire.

I'll update here with news as it unfolds.

UPDATE: 9:45AM Fire almost doubled in size overnight. Currently burning over 35000 acres moving primarily northwest and east. La Canada threatened. Flames near Kinneloa Mesa area of unincorporated Pasadena. So far, Mount Wilson communications area untouched. More here.

UPDATE: 10:45AM I'm getting email from area residents wondering about exact location of fire. Altadenahiker also mentioned increase in visitors looking to bloggers for up to date information. Here's a link to the current fire zone. I believe it is dynamic and will change as day progresses but if not, at least it gives a snapshot of this morning.

UPDATE: 11:15AM Okay, folks. Current info: South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) has the current air quality, smoke advisories and advice. Inciweb, a multi-agency reported website, updates regularly with wildfire overview, conditions, current evacuation info, weather, outlook, etc.

UPDATE: 5:20PM Depending on the source, the fire is reported to be between 1 and 2 miles of Mount Wilson -- which would mean a devastating possibility of loss of communications systems for media, police and fire deptartments. I'll try to verify this. Media coverage is spotty about these details. Anyone with more information and a source, leave it in comments.

UPDATE: 7:00PM LA County Fire Dept. Mark Savage told reporters as of 5:30 fire "hours away" from Mount Wilson. Latest from Pasadena Star News. Was in Pasadena today, and South Pas is oddly more smoky. I think we're getting channels of the stuff funneled down the Arroyo.

UPDATE: 8:50PM Here's the view from the Mt. Wilson web cam. Yikes. 18 homes lost in fire's path, 2 firefighters perished in vehicle crash. The view from South Pas is less dramatic than last few days, but still unnerving as fire moves toward Acton to the north and Sunland to the west. Smoke is less tonight than last night.

Too Close for Comfort

The rest of the world loves to say that Californians don't know anything about weather. Sure, we have a lot of days that are mild and sunny. And I'll grant you that we don't know much about blizzards. We enjoy an inordinate amount of beautiful days, but like most pretty creatures, California is temperamental. And when she throws a fit, it's usually a doozy. There is nothing mild and breezy about earthquakes, floods, mudslides...

...or fires.

100+ degree days and gusty winds have given local firefighters a challenge. The Station Fire has grown into an out-of-control blaze, consuming 5100 acres above nearby La Canada/Flintridge. And when I say nearby, I really do mean nearby. The above picture was taken from Via Del Rey at noon yesterday. The giant plumes of lavender smoke billowed throughout the day as most of San Gabriel Valley rubbed red eyes. By nightfall, the hills burned a crackling, surreal orange.

Check out my overflow blog for my dramatic night wildfire images from Pasadena and South Pas. You'll find links for fire coverage from other local bloggers too.

UPDATE: 10:45AM The fire has spread to 5500 acres and is only 5% contained. Be sure to click the links off my overflow blog post for even more photos and information from other local bloggers.

UPDATE: 12:20PM Evacuations begin in Altadena. 7500 acres are burning. Partial closure of Jet Propulsion Laboratory. More info here.

UPDATE: 3:15PM Huge smoke plumes blanket the skies north of South Pas. The view from Raymond Hill is staggering -- flames leaping across most of the mountainside. La Canada residents flee, fire closing in on more of Altadena. Check out Altadenahiker's latest post, especially if you can help a family that needs to move animals right away.

UPDATE: 6:45PM Station Fire now burning 20,000 acres and moving in every direction. Structures in Big Tujunga burned. Fire came close to communications stations for LA Basin located at Mount Wilson. Evacuation area expands. Details here. As the sun sets, Los Angeles has a very uneasy feeling.