Station fire grows to 42,500 acres, destroying 18 homes

Eighteen homes have now been destroyed by the Station fire, which has burned 42,500 acres in the Angeles National Forest, fire officials said Sunday evening.

The blaze is 5% contained. It continues to threaten Mt. Wilson, home to a 105-year-old observatory and transmitters used by television and radio stations, cellphone providers and numerous law-enforcement agencies, including the FBI, CIA and the Secret Service.

The fire is pushing toward the Acton area to the north and Sunland to the west. Firefighters were able to stop the fire from approaching homes in Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge and La Crescenta.

-- Hector Becerra

Photo: Smoke from the Station fire billows over Soledad Canyon Road beneath a glowing moon in Acton. Credit: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times

Photos: Southland wildfires

Related articles: 

Two L.A. County firefighters killed in vehicle accident near Station fire

Fire forces Acton family to take stock of what is important

Map: The Station fire

How are you coping?

Comments

[ric]

has anyone heard the status of methodist camp colby by the monte cristo ranger station. hear it was evacuated last night and forest service pulled out this morning. FS said fire should hit tonite... used to go there and work there.

[Chuck weiss]

Eighteen homes destroyed ..... where? La Canada? La Crescenta? Big Tujunga Canyon? Acton? You owe us a little more information on this, since the fire is of such great size and now covers literally hundreds of square miles.

[Actual FF]

As an wildland firefighter that's been fighting fires for years all over the west and am getting ready to head out the door to fight the Station Fire, I want to remind everybody that a mandatory evacuation is a mandatory evacuation. There's a reason we tell you to get out. There are many factors that we consider in making evacuation orders-and many of these neighborhoods are just too dangerous to be in when the fire rolls through. these fires can be 1500 degrees folks.
As firefighters, we consider that when we go in to save a neighborhood-and folks, we really do the best we can, but when push comes to shove, your and our lives are worth more than any property. We save what we can-and set up to protect what we can't stick around for.

Here's a couple of things you can do to prepare for the fire if it's heading your way and an evacuation order has NOT been ordered. If an evacuation order has been ordered, grab your most prized belongings, shut your windows and doors (but do not lock them!), close your interior doors, and leave. Don't leave hoses running unless it's a sprinkler on your roof. Anything else is just a waste of water and takes up precious water pressure. If you have a pool or any other water sources (at least hottub size) make a sign and post it on your garage, heck spraypaint it on the garage door if nothing else.

Ok, here's what you can do if you have some time and an evacuation order has not been ordered.

First and foremost, get your prized possessions loaded up and ready to go. The call to go can come sooner than you think. If you have young children, consider leaving anyway. Smoke isn't real good for you-and it's not good for young children or the elderly.

Third, take a look at your house. If you have lots of brush around your house, start clearing what you can, starting close to your house and working out. Likewise, clear firewood piles, lawn furniture, gas cans, lawnmowers, anything combustible away from your house at least 200 feet if you can. If you have a propane tank, make sure you take time to clear brush away from it. make a sign and let firefighters know where it is-so they can keep it cooled with water.
Now that you have cleared what you can from around your house, take a ladder if you have one and set it up on your roof from the driveway. Take a look at your roof. If it's tile, you're in much better shape than others and you probably don't need to set up a sprinkler on it. If it's wood or asphalt, set up a sprinkler on your roof. Don't turn it on yet though! If you have large wooden decks, set up a sprinkler on them as well.

Now, take what other hoses you have and begin wetting brush down away from your house. Use water sparingly though. Remember, other people's life's could be depending on that water a couple miles away!

Once you have that done, take another look around. Take a deep breath, and relax. It's important to remain calm. When you panic-you stop thinking clearly.

After that, just wait inside patiently. If the call to evacuate comes, turn on an outside light, turn on your roof sprinkler, and leave. Leave your front door unlocked just in case we need access to a phone.

You don't want to stay behind. it's just not safe. we have fire shelters that can protect us-but we don't want to be in a situation where we ever have to use them. and even with them, surviving is a gamble. sitting in a hottub isn't going to save you-even a pool-it gets so hot the water just boils.We'll do our best-we promise. We train all year for this.

For those of you living in an area that's not near a fire. PLAN AHEAD. This could be happening in your neighborhood-so have a plan and clear brush ahead of time. Check out firewise for more information. you don't want to be in a situation where you are trying to clear out brush at the last minute-as there may not be time!

[Americans in Mexico]

Reside in Baja since 40 yrs young, born & raise in Los Angeles, it is beyond me to comprehend that California is on fire again. What is wrong with the State, gosh years past it was Natural Disasters, but today these are sick people who start them....sad. Bad news in California as of late, sex offenders, you name it, no wonder they take breaks and feed on the frenzy of Mexico problems. Regardless, us Americans who reside in Mexico express our sincere concern for those who suffer from the hands of evil people....gosh we faith that they dont blame it on the Mexico Drug Cartel this time around.

[j a higginbotham]

Mr Weiss said it. If you people have a number as specific as 18, someone must know the whereabouts. Why not tell us?

[HW]

Thank you Actual FF!

Every firefighter is a hero. Los Angeles lost two of them tonight, who gave their most precious possession.. their lives... to safeguard the rest of us.

My daughter is two... since she was born, every time we see a firefighter we shake their hands, and thank them. I want her to always feel the weight of the sacrifices others make to protect her.

[Lisa]

I was wondering about Camp Colby, too! I've been there many times as a teacher chaperoning students at Outdoor Science School. From the looks of the interactive map, it doesn't look good. :(

[Barbara Webb]

My family owns 16.5 acres in Angeles Forest, next door to Hidden Springs Cafe. At about 4:30 this afternoon our big building at the highway was hit by a blast of fast moving flames. My gatekeeper was there and got out as embers blew against his skin in a strong hot blast and ignited the building where he lived for many years. If you want to see how beautiful it was BEFORE this afternoon, look at www.SingingSprings.info
I am waiting to hear news about the other 7 buildings on the property which includes my cabin. I am surprised that there is no news about that area and what has burned there. I assume that Hidden Springs must have been burned just before our property was hit.

[Buenaventura]

Mr. Weiss and Mr. Higganbotham,

The Times is reporting the number of structures the fire Incident Command Team has provided. Those team members are attempting to gather and release accurate information in a situation that closely resembles a battlezone. Expecting information to be accurate AND detailed in a timely manner is an unrealistic expectation. As the flames subside, the details will come out. Please be patient.

[Mary]

Stonyvale Road - Are the houses lost on Stonyvale Road? Why isn't there more information about where these losses are...

[Peg]

I am so frustrated with the LA Times. All of the reporting is short on details, as well as not up-to-date. For instance, the evacuation map for the Station Fire is over 24 hours old. Being a resident of Pasadena and having relatives in the foothills of Glendale, it would be nice to have a clearer picture of what is going on.

[El Marco]

I know it isn't much, but when this is all over we're going to bake a big pie or cake or something nice and take it over to our little fire station, just to show our appreciation. One thing this tragedy should remind all of us is that firefighters are true heroes and deserve to be treated as such. We live up in the canyon, and all day and night we hear their siren as Engine 97 goes somewhere to help somebody, but at times like this, the somewhere is right here and the somebody is all of us.

[Dave]

I'd love to know why a fire like the Station Fire isn't hit harder early on. It seemed to take everyone a long time to realize how bad thie fire was going to get -- even though conditions made it obvious this would turn into a monster.

Are there just not enough resources? Were resources committed to other fires like the Palos Verdes blaze?

I'm stumped. When a fire like this starts in such a rugged area in the national forest with so much fuel to burn, why not hit it with everything possible when it's 200 acres?

[Barbara Webb]

How can we find out if our structures have burned? We KNOW that we lost one structure, but we have a total of 9 structures on our property called Singing Springs on Angeles Forest Hwy.
WHERE is the news about Camp Colby, Hidden Springs Cafe, Singing Springs, Monte Cristo Ranger Station? ? ? ?

[Janet]

Just spoke with the owner of Hidden Springs Cafe. It's gone.

[Palmdale]

Hey Americans in Mexico,

That was pretty stupid there bud.

RIP to the 2 firefighters who have lost their lives.

Arnie was the husband of my 8th grade history teacher. Cool guy, he was due to have a child within a month.

[Laurie]

Just heard from a friend @ Camp Colby. The entire camp survived! Prayer works!!!!!!!!!

[Sarah]

I've been scrolling for info on Colby, too. Here's an update from the Methodist conference which owns the camp as of 8/31 midday.

http://www.cal-pac.org/con_News_Conference.cfm?c=1004219&v=3

[Jess]

I'm in RI, but I have been checking the fire maps every day, because I have a friend in living in Lancaster. Are there any websites for concerned family/friends to check via blackberry? I don't know much about fires and so I'm not sure how often to check, or when to call and ask him if he's evacuated yet.

[Colby Camper]

Just heard they lost 9 structures at Camp Colby. I used to go to Leadership Camp there back in the day. Found this article online too http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/09/at-camp-colby-assessing-the-fire-losses-and-saves.html