Archive for San Gabriel Mountains Discussion Forum Open discussion board for activities in the San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California
 

Donate to our new server appeal.

       San Gabriel Mountains Discussion Forum Forum Index -> News and Current Conditions
mattmaxon

Station "The Beast" Fire 9/9/2009 -NO ACTIVE BURNI

Yes that is correct , -NO ACTIVE BURNING- was detected in the last 12 hours

Cautious optimism is the phrase of the day


mattmaxon

edenooch

this place should have been actively re opened 12 hours ago
simonov

A week ago they were predicting containment by the 8th.  Not bad.
harper

Re: Station "The Beast" Fire 9/9/2009 -NO ACTIVE B

ah -- that's wonderful news!

:-)harper
cougarmagic

tarol

Thought this was quite the dramatic pic, from http://www.inciweb.org

tarol

BTW, and not to downplay the fact that this fire was arson-caused and two firefighters lost their lives senselessly, but I work in an area that was burned in a similar sized fire in 2003 (Old/Grand Prix).   Yes, you can still see evidence of the fire, still plenty of burned tree skeletons.  But it's amazing to me how well and quickly chaparral grows back.  It's becoming harder to see the black skeletons for all the new green growth.  Chaparral is made to burn, 80% of the plant species can only reproduce when there is a fire.  In fact most of the temperate forests of the world are adapted to fire. and only exist because of it.

And it's easy to look at a fire perimeter map and imagine total destruction in the entire area in between.  But that's rarely the reality.   Pockets of vegetation do survive fires.  North facing cooler slopes and canyons likely still have big trees that didn't succomb to flames.  So all is not lost.  All has been renewed, however.  I imagine some great wildflower displays in the next few years, and I often spot more wildlife in recently burned areas for they like to nibble on the new growth.
mattmaxon

Very little smoke showing

Very Little smoke is showing on the Tower Cam

Tower Cam

Just a few small columns of smoke.....

National Weather Service point forecast

Light to moderate winds

Unfortunately RH is low in the Mountain areas

Clear Crk 11
Chilao 11
Mt Wilson 17
mattmaxon

Two additional passes

The satellites (Aqua, & Terra) have  made two passes overhead with no new "Thermal Anomalies" Fire detections

The worst maybe behind us for now.
HikeUp

View of east end of Lukens Ridge from Josephine Peak Cam on the morning of 9/9/09...


Click to see full size image
mattmaxon

The MODIS is aging with no new detections!

It may well be true.... Oh Please Oh Please Oh Please
Rick Kent

Wow.  Did the fire run out of fuel or is this due to firefighting efforts?  In either case this is good news!  I didn't think anything was going to stop it.
Layne Cantrell

Re: Two additional passes

mattmaxon wrote:
The satellites (Aqua, & Terra) have  made two passes overhead with no new "Thermal Anomalies" Fire detections

The worst maybe behind us for now.


What a roller coaster. Yesterday it seemed like Waterman/Buckhorn/Cooper etc. were all toast. Now it looks like they might actually make it.

And just to keep us from relaxing and/or celebrating, of course, the damn fire reserves the right to flare up at any point and set us up for even more disappointment. I hate fires.
harper

mattmaxon wrote:
The MODIS is aging with no new detections!

It may well be true.... Oh Please Oh Please Oh Please


'scuse me while i kiss the sky...

:-)hh
HikeUp

Updates from the Mt. Wilson dudes regarding plans for "back fires".
AW

Another good site is
http://www.angelescrestservices.com/News%20and%20Updates.htm

Not good enough to be on misc news, but has some good info on road closures(near the bottom of the page) especially. Lots of pics too.

Had an interesting photo of dust from the AFH
http://www.angelescrestservices.com/101_0232.JPG
Layne Cantrell

HikeUp wrote:
Updates from the Mt. Wilson dudes regarding plans for "back fires".


::sigh::

They're dicking around with some sort of controlled burn near Mt Wilson. Check out the cam. It was beautiful and smoke-free the whole day until they started messing around with this.

Again, is Mt Wilson even threatened anymore? This is weird, fishy stuff.
Layne Cantrell

Layne Cantrell wrote:
HikeUp wrote:
Updates from the Mt. Wilson dudes regarding plans for "back fires".


::sigh::

They're dicking around with some sort of controlled burn near Mt Wilson. Check out the cam. It was beautiful and smoke-free the whole day until they started messing around with this.

Again, is Mt Wilson even threatened anymore? This is weird, fishy stuff.


More info, makes sense to me - hey I guess I really am a novice and should quit my bitching.

 

Quote:
The Incident Commanders have talked about a firing operation to remove the unburned fuel below Mt. Wilson, and to tie the fire together. That will allow earlier access as the mountain will be fire safe after the unburned fuel is gone, and we won't have to wait for the fire to get there on it's own



(a)  Redbox Road will be HARD CLOSED AND LOCKED sometime
 after midnight tonight,

 (b)  you will not be able to drive into the back of the
 Observatory as that road will be closed as well,

 (c)  the big parking lot at Skyline Park is the safety area
 for us here on the mountain should anything jump lines or get
 out of control.  I have been assured we will be very safe as
 we will shelter in the parking lot, and

 (d)  three burns will be started.  The first burn will be hand
 ignited going east.  The second will be the north slope using
 a helitorch.  The final one will be on the east side of Redbox
 Road and will be ignited with ping pong balls.

 Again, I have been advised that we will all be safe and there
is no cause for concern.  Safety has been at the forefront of
this operational plan by fire experts.  I have fire-protective
gear.  After the burns are completed, broadcast engineers will
have better access to the hill.

 Keep in mind this very important point:  NO TRAFFIC WILL BE
ALLOWED ON THE ROADS before, during and for a few hours after
the burn operation.  The definition of "few" remains to be
determined, and Murphy lives, but at least there is an end
in sight.

 It was explained to me that this burn-out operation is being
done for addition protection against future fire events and the
Santa Ana Winds.  Without the burn, fire officials are concerned
that for a few weeks plus, we would have hot spots that could
quickly re-ignite and cause a catastrophe in a wind-driven event.
We don't need that.

 Dennis Doty, Mt. Wilson
outwhere

Always here to bring a cup of joy Sad  Confused  Rolling Eyes  Crying or Very sad

Friday, September 11th, 2009, 6pm

cougarmagic

Layne Cantrell wrote:
They're dicking around with some sort of controlled burn near Mt Wilson. Check out the cam. It was beautiful and smoke-free the whole day until they started messing around with this.


Laughing  Laughing   This is pure, honest sentiment - "you know, I think I've seen enough smoke already!!!"  

We'll be smoke free soon.  Look forward to that first cool, clear fall day.  It's coming.

By the way, I'm proud to report it has been over 24 hours since I have looked at a MODIS map.  I think I had a problem.  The first step is admitting it.   Cool
Layne Cantrell

cougarmagic wrote:
Layne Cantrell wrote:
They're dicking around with some sort of controlled burn near Mt Wilson. Check out the cam. It was beautiful and smoke-free the whole day until they started messing around with this.


Laughing  Laughing   This is pure, honest sentiment - "you know, I think I've seen enough smoke already!!!"  


You got it! Smile

I knew I had had my fill when I started changing the channel - be it radio or TV - with every imagine or mention of fire.

Quote:
We'll be smoke free soon.  Look forward to that first cool, clear fall day.  It's coming.

By the way, I'm proud to report it has been over 24 hours since I have looked at a MODIS map.  I think I had a problem.  The first step is admitting it.   Cool


Oh I can't wait!

And you're doing much better than me. It's been... oh... 10 or so minutes since I obessed over a MODIS map. Smile

       San Gabriel Mountains Discussion Forum Forum Index -> News and Current Conditions
Page 1 of 1
Create your own free forum | Buy a domain to use with your forum
For many GPS tracks, Google Earth KMZ files and Google Maps for the San Gabriel Mountains and beyond, please visit my website: www.gpsmountaineering.com