2009 - CA - Station Fire - Post Apocalypse

DAY 11 - The Station fire is now the largest fire in Los Angeles County History.

The fire still burns out of control. But most of it has been contained deep in the San Gabriel Mountains, a steep and mostly inaccessible range spanning the Angeles National Forest.

Directly above my house, the danger is gone. Everything that could burn, burned. But because of the work of the crazy firefighters, a fortuitous lack of wind and improving weather, thousands of homes were saved.

To date:
155,000+ acres burned.
89 homes damaged or destroyed.
3 commercial properties destroyed.
104 outbuildings destroyed.
2 communications sites destroyed.







Last Wednesday, the morning following "the end of days," these firefighters gathered a couple blocks up from the house. They coordinated, planned and prepped for about two hours at the base of the hills.



(A fire fighter tells a local resident he can't go back to his house.)




Helicopter water drops bombarded the flames which were dangerously close to homes.

Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane


The synchropter Kaman K-MAX





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Yesterday, I took a moto ride up to the mouth of the mountains to see what I could.

The CHiPs had the road closed to anyone except residents and the cop said he had no idea when it would re-open.

From what I could tell, the San Gabriel Mountains were destroyed. It looked like the moon.

(Looking North up Big Tujunga Canyon)

My preferred DEV - Disaster Escape Vehicle.



On my way to work on Thursday, I spotted this nonsense...

What are two guys dressed up like cops doing near a fire evacuation zone at 8am?

2009 - CA - Station Fire

August 32nd


It's now Tuesday...morning...early...like 3:45am early. Ash is falling like snow outside and the sky is glowing a nice orange. I can't sleep.

A peak out the blinds in my living room reveals...



Now in it's fifth day, the so called "Station Fire" in the Angeles National Forest (ANF) is raging completely out of control. Over 100,000 acres have already been torched. The official ANF site says fire danger is "very high." I'd say the danger is more like "ridiculously insane!"

And it's not even fire season yet! BWAAHAHAHAHHA!!!

It's been a real hectic couple of days, to say the least. With 100 foot flames and 20,000 foot clouds of smoke above my little town, it's hard to motivate and go to work, when you just want to sit on the back porch with a garden hose, drink a cold one and wait....

(Wes at his home in La Crescenta.)

But the wheels of commerce keep on rolling and I must do what I must to make a buck... to pay for a house that is made of wood...and in the shadow of 655,000 acres of tinderbox forest that has not burned in 50+ years.


The first day the "Station Fire" sprang to life, it seemed like no big deal. I didn't even take a picture. It was small and seemed like it would be contained quickly. It appeared to be a typical little fire with a simple name that made me think it was burning near a fire station. Aren't those the easiest to put out? The guys are right there.

But on day two, things had changed...

This is what I saw as I drove down HWY 2, into the city.

And, this is what i saw when i came home! DAY 3.


Wes, a comrade down the road from me, sent his wife and kids up to NorCal to get out of the smoke (only to find themselves evacuated from another fire, 8 hours away). Mandatory Evacuation Orders had begun just above Wes, and he had decided to hold down his fort, so i thought I'd join him for moral support.

Only a couple blocks up the hill from me, I drove passed the evacuation lines. Police cordoned every street heading toward the fire, taking names and info of any one going out, making sure no one goes back in, and more importantly, that no looters or lookie-lu's make it through to the empty neighborhoods above.

Soon after arrival, Michael showed up to gaze. So we circled some chairs, grabbed a couple cold Coors lights and watched the show.

There is really nothing funny or fun about any of this...

Day 4 - The fire doubled in size. 20+ structures burned. Two fire fighters died in a tragic accident near Mt. Gleason. Their truck rolled 700 feet off a fire-road.

DAY 5 - Estimates are saying they will have this fire contained by the 15th of September. Ouch.

LINK - MAP OF THE FIRE - LINK

I came home from work last night and had to make a stop at the Albertson's parking lot to stare in awe. A small crowd had gathered to chat and socialize about the impending doom. The flames spanned the entire mountain. Everything was glowing. Flames were raging. And it was coming down the mountian. WoW!


I was relieved and happy to see about 50 firefighters eating a healthy meal before heading back into the thick of it.

I thanked a couple of the burly, dirty FF's for their hard work. They looked at me and my camera and grunted, as if to say, "Hey panzy, do something useful. Can't you see the world is burning?"

Tax dollars in ACTION!

I love you "Governor's office of emergency services!"


From my front yard...


California dreaming.