Calif Fire Looks Like Volcanic Eruption

Image of the Day: ‘Guiberson Volcano’

A ridge of fire works its way through Grimes Canyon toward Fillmore, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009. (AP Photo/John Lazar). Image may be subject to copyright.

More dry, hot weather; more red-flag warnings!

The three-day, 16,400-acre Guiberson fire in Ventura County, which has so far cost about $3.5 to tackle, no longer poses a threat to Moorpark, Somis and other communities on its southern edge, the authorities said.

The National Weather Service has extended red-flag warnings for many areas in Los Angeles and Ventura counties until 9:00 PM Saturday because they expect dry, hot weather  to continue.

Today’s temperatures stayed high throughout the region, reaching a high of 105 in Riverside, 103 in Anaheim,  102 in Pasadena, 100 in downtown Los Angeles, 98 in Santa Ana, and 97 in Long Beach.

Fire officials sent hand crews up into the hills to carve firebreaks on the northeastern and western flanks of the 27-square-mile fire, said Ventura County Fire spokesman Bill Nash. The blaze was 65 percent surrounded and about 2,750 personnel were assigned to the fire Friday. —AP

“We have an army of firefighters on the fire right now,” AP reported Nash as saying.

The LA Times reporter was more modest and put the number at “more than 1,800.”

The Station Fire is now at 98% containment, the fire authorities reported.

Related Links:

• SoCal End-to-End Corporate Arsons Blaze On!
• Calif Fires 2009 – Part 2 ‘We’re Watching You!’ [includes entries up to September 22, 2009]
• California Fires 09 – Part 3 ‘Pile on the Manure, Sheriff!’  [for entries dated after September 22, 2009]

The Problem with SoCal

Breaking News: Station fire arson; homicide investigation underway

“No-Good” for “Lifestyle” and fires cost too much to “fight!”

A [Neanderthal ] took up residence [in SoCal], dug a cellar [deep inside the forest] and built a log house on top of it; paved up large tracts of the forest and mountainside and bought two cars. After 20 years he decided SoCal was no good for living, for most of his forest had gone, the water table had dropped by 8 yards and he didn’t have enough water to spare the fish [and the cost of ‘fighting’ the fires had become unaffordable.] —Adapted from My Life, My Trees, by Richard St. Barbe Baker [Quoted by EDRO]

Station Fire 38% Contained

This UPDATE was posted on September 3, 2009 at 5:32 PM PDT (September 4, 2009 at 00:32 UTC)

Some 4,735 fire crew have contained about 38 % of the Station Fire, estimated at 144,743 acres.

Five other fires are still burning in SoCal:

• Oak Glen 3 (San Bernardino Unit, Cal Fire): 1,159 acres at 75 percent contained. This fire is four miles north of San Bernardino. Minimal fire activity was reported.
• Morris (Angeles National Forest): 2,168 acres at 95 percent contained. This fire is five miles north of Azusa.
• Big Meadow (Yosemite National Park): 6,283 acres at 60 percent contained. This fire is two miles northeast of El Portal. Structures remain threatened and roads are closed. Precipitation fell on the fire yesterday.
• Pendleton (San Bernardino Unit, Cal Fire): 860 acres at 95 percent contained. This fire is burning two miles east of Yucaipa. Fire activity was minimal.
• Red Rock (Klamath National Forest): 1,382 acres at 90 percent contained. This fire is 15 miles west of Fort Jones. Minimal fire activity was reported.

Year-to-date statistics:
Fires: 65,483; Acres: 5,459,428

10-year average
Fires: 62,862;  Acres: 5,754,861

Cost of fighting “wildfires?”
(CALFIRE Budget)

1998/9:  $44 million
2008/9: Just under $1.7 billion
2009/10: $2.0 billion (?)
A rise of  more than 45 folds!

• Fire industry worth billions of dollars
• Under Bush’s watch, decay of public firefighting has spawned billion dollar private industry

Problem with SoCal:
“No-Good” for “Lifestyle” and fires cost too much to “fight!”

SoCal Fires: “Nothing personal; it’s just business, folks!”

External Links:

• Fire industry worth billions of dollars
• Under Bush’s watch, decay of public firefighting has spawned billion dollar private industry

• Fighting wildfires in a cash-strapped state

Related FEWW Link:

• Hazard Mapping System Fire and Smoke Product [Links to Satellite Images]
• Our Forecast for 2009 California Fires
  
• Thought for the Day: The Car Salesman & SoCal Fires
• Tell Schwarzenegger Damage from Fires Is Preventable!
• Shock and Awe Southland Fires Take No Prisoners
• California Fires: Not Hard to Understand!
• The War on Wildfire
• Links to FEWW SoCal Fires Entries

SoCal Fires Rage On!

500 km² consumed by out of control fire

The Fire in California Mainly…

• The Station Fire has more than doubled in size to about 110,000 acres burning completely out of control for a sixth day.

• Two fire crews were killed Sunday when they drove off the side of a road in the Mt. Gleason area, south of Acton.

• About 2,600 personnel are currently tackling the  massive blaze.

• Fire destroyed 18 homes Sunday and at least three structures early Monday, according to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

• Two school districts canceled the first day of classes due to heavy smoke, which made breathing difficult.

LA Times Google Map of the Station Fire. Image may be subject to copyright. The areas shaded in yellow are (L-R) Acton/Agua Dulce area (evacuated), Cheseboro Road south of Mt Emma Road (evacuated),  Juniper Hills neighborhood (under evacuation orders).

Towering Inferno. A structure burns during the Station Fire in the Big Tujunga canyon area of Los Angeles, California August 29, 2009.  REUTERS/Gene Blevins. Image may be subject to copyright.

Smoke from the Station fire over the Angeles National Forest as seen from a hellicopter. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times /August 31, 2009). Image may be subject to copyright.

South of Dixieline? Flames burn near a cross during the Station Fire in the Big Tujunga area of Los Angeles, California August 29, 2009. REUTERS/Gene Blevins. Image may be subject to copyright.

What da  fiia ma  gonna do now? A deer walks through charred forest in the Angeles National Forest near Acton.(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images /August 31, 2009). Image may be subject to copyright.

More images at

• LA Times Photo Album
• Reuters Photos

Related Links and Previous Entries:

• https://feww.wordpress.com/calif-fires-2009/

SoCal Blazes Blacken More Scrubland

Calif Fires Beat Clunker Boost Any Day!

Sunday, August 30, 2009 at 5:48 AM PDT (12:48 UTC)

From InciWeb and other sources:

The Station Fire started off Angeles Crest Highway (SR 2) about one mile above Angeles Crest Fire Station around 3:30pm Wednesday August 26, 2009. Angeles Crest Highway, Tujunga Canyon and Big Tujunga Canyon roads are closed. As a result of extreme fire activity, and to protect public health and safety, Angeles National Forest officials implementing an area closure for lands in the vicinity of the fire. This closure is in effect until canceled.

3 injuries have been reported. Residents are advised to be ready to evacuate if they are near the fire boundary.

As of 8:00 p.m. Saturday evening the fire is moving very quickly to the north towards Acton. If the fire continues on this aggressive path it could be very near Acton by early morning.

Station Fire: Location Map. Google Map may be subject to copyright.

Flames from the Station Fire are seen above the NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in La Canada, California August 28, 2009. REUTERS/Rod Seward. Image may be subject to copyright.

Fire Stats:

• Size: 20,500 acres
• Percent Contained: 5%
• Estimated Containment Date:  Tuesday September 08th, 2009 approx 06:00 PM (!)
• Fuels Involved: Very heavy fuels of ceanothus, chamise, scrub oak and manzanita across the entire fire area, 15 to 20 feet in height with Big Cone Douglas Fir in the drainage bottoms. Fuels have not experienced any significant large fire activity in the past 40 years.
• Fire Behavior: The fire quadrupled in size driven by SE winds. Saturday behavior was extremely active with rapid rates of spread and flame lengths up to 80 feet. There is a potential for Sunday’s fire behavior to be similar to Saturday. Upslope winds are likely. Spotting may occur from 1/4 mile up to 1/2 mile.
• Significant Events: Mandatory Evacuations are in effect for over 10,000 homes. The fire is threatening the Mount Wilson Communications Facilities and Observatory.

The Station fire in the Angeles National Forest has tripled in size today, spreading rapidly to the east and west this afternoon, and prompting the evacuation of at least 4,000 homes in a broad swath of foothill neighborhoods in areas including La Cañada Flintridge, Glendale, Altadena and Big Tujunga Canyon as temperatures reached triple digits and flames drew closer to houses. Photo credit: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times. Caption: LA Times.

Other Remarks

• Growth Potential: Extreme
• Threatened:
  • 10,000 homes threatened.
  • 500 commercial properties
  • 2,000 other structures threatened.

Current Weather:

• Wind Conditions 6-12 mph SE
• Temperature 100 degrees
• Humidity 7%
  

Other Fires

Gloria Fire:

• Date/Time Started: August 27, 2009 2:57 pm
• County: Monterey & San Benito County
• Location: Northeast of Soledad
• Acres Burned: 6,437 acres
• Containment 6,437 acres – 60% contained

• Structures Destroyed: 1 residence and 1 outbuilding destroyed
• Threatened: There are approximately 100 homes threatened by the fire.
• Evacuations: All evacuations have been lifted on Highway 146, Bryant Canyon and Stonewall Road.

• Total Fire Personnel: 1,083
• Engines: 110
• Fire crews: 32
• Airtankers: 3
• Helicopters: 5
• Dozers: 26
• Water tenders: 8
• Costs to date: $2.5 million [The Cheap Fire!]

Pacheco Fire

• County: Santa Clara County
• Location: Pacheco Pass Road near Dinosaur Point
• Status/Notes: 1,650 acres – 50% contained
• Date Started: August 29, 2009 2:20 pm

• Total Fire Personnel: 389
• Engines: 40
• Fire crews: 5
• Airtankers: 4
• Helicopters: 3
• Dozers: 4
• Water tenders: 3

Big Meadow Fire:

• County: Mariposa County
• Location: Foresta Community
• Administrative Unit: Yosemite National Park
• Status/Notes: 3,506 acres – 30% contained
• Date Started: August 26, 2009 12:08 pm

Cottonwood Fire:

• County: Riverside County
• Location: Highway 74 cross of Bee Canyon
• Status/Notes: 2,290 acres – 30% containment
• Date Started: August 27, 2009 5:13 pm
• Total Personnel 698

Red Rock Fire:

• Name: Red Rock Fire
• County: Siskiyou County
• Location: 15 miles west of Fort Jones, CA
• Administrative Unit: Klamath National Forest
• Status/Notes: 1,373 acres – 80% contained
• Date Started: August 21, 2009 6:40 pm

Related Links and Previous Entries:

• https://feww.wordpress.com/calif-fires-2009/