'Treacherous' fire bears down on Acton with air assault underway [Updated]
The Station fire was bearing down on the small community of Acton as firefighters made an all-out battle to keep a wildfire that has burned 35,000 acres from destroying more homes.
U.S. Forest Service Incident Chief Mike Dietrich characterized the Station fire as “treacherous," adding that the current fire plan was “to go defensive, to let the fire come to us, because it has been going so fast.”
Fixed-wing aircraft and a DC-10 were dropping water and flame retardant on the fire this afternoon.
Officials did report some progress. In La Cañada Flintridge, some residents living west of the Arroyo Seco were told they could go back to their homes. An evacuation order in portions of Glendale also was lifted. But about 6,000 homes across the 19-mile fire line remained under an evacuation order.
In Acton, the situation was tense. Wind picked up around 1:30 p.m. and began to drive the fire down canyons, threatening the community.
“This fire is converting from slope-driven to wind-driven,” said Battalion Chief Scott Johnson, of the Santa Maria Fire Department. “It’ll get larger because of the wind. That’s when it gets dangerous.”
Over the radio, he told strike teams up in the canyons to make sure they had safe space to shelter if the fire came upon them. Firefighters hoped the northeastward track of the breeze might take the fire just east of the semi-rural area, into more sparsely populated terrain.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today urged residents in fire evacuation zones to flee as firefighters predicted another difficult day.
Schwarzenegger noted at a morning press conference that three residents in Big Tujunga Canyon had suffered serious burns trying in vain to save their homes Saturday.
"There will be people who don't listen," the governor said at the fire command post in Lake View Terrace. "Move as soon as [firefighters] say to move."
Although thousands of homes are covered in the evacuation orders, many residents have stayed behind, some vowing to fight to protect their homes.
The fire line now extends about 19 miles east to west. The governor and other elected officials praised firefighters for successfully protecting subdivisions in the foothills.
[Updated at 4:09 p.m.: Firefighters this afternoon were also dealing with a new fire near Yucaipa that had burned at least 200 acres. Sections of Oak Glen were being evacuated.]
With temperatures expected to reach the mid- to high 90s today in the fire areas, officials said they were anticipating extreme fire conditions, mirroring Saturday’s, when flames leapt as high as 80 feet and spread at a rate of about 2.5 miles an hour.
More than 2,000 fire personnel now are deployed fighting the Station fire.
In the Acton area, mandatory evacuations have been ordered along the 14 Freeway from Soledad Canyon Road to Crown Valley Road and along Aliso Canyon Road from Soledad Canyon Road to Angeles Forest Highway.
The California Highway Patrol also has closed the on-ramps and off-ramps to the 14 Freeway at Soledad Canyon Road, Agua Dulce, Escondido Canyon Road, Red Rover Mine Road and Crown Valley Road. They said they were concerned that fire behavior in the area could become extreme as they were expecting the wind to shift about 10 a.m.
At its eastern flank, officials said, the fire was about 2 miles from Mt. Wilson, the site of a number of important communications towers and an observatory. Ground crews are cutting back vegetation and brush in the area to arrest the fire’s progress.
At its southwestern flank, the fire is spreading in the foothills above the 210 Freeway, from Altadena to Little Tujunga.
-- Jessica Garrison in Acton, Alexandra Zavis at Hansen Dam, Raja Abdulrahim and Louis Sahagun in La Crescenta, Sam Quinones in Altadena, Corina Knoll and Cara Mia DiMassa in Los Angeles
Photo: A DC-10 drops fire retardant on the Station fire. This picture was taken from Soledad Canyon Road in Acton. Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times Photos: Southland wildfires
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Map: The Station fire
We're trying to track the progress of the fires from up in Vancouver, WA because we have many friends in southern California. I'm trying to find out how Shambala, Tippi Hedren's animal preserve, is doing in Acton. Has anyone heard anything? Are the animals safe or are they being evacuated?
Posted by: Carol Johnsen | August 30, 2009 at 03:11 PM
Carol--
Check out the article in the Los Angeles Daily News, they mention Shambala:
http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_13235235
Posted by: Gonzavi | August 30, 2009 at 04:21 PM
Hi,
to me this is just common sense and I am assuming that the fire dept. is already doing this, or the city.
Is there anyone with tractors and bulldozers making wide dirt roads that could possibly hinder the fire before it reaches the next destinations?
I realize fire can jump over roads and such, but it's worth a shot.
If the firemen are busting their butts to save thousands of peoples lives and homes, then people that know how to drive heavy equipment vehicles should be helping out to plow away brush to make only a dirt road barrier.
I realize easier said than done, and that they may be already doing this, but I haven't heard anything about it.
I know my heart goes out to all those tired firefighters. The weather is so hot mixed with the fire, I know I'd pass out.
I hope the pieces of crap that started this fire get caught and get their balls cut off. This stuff shouldn't happen!
God Bless everyone.
Posted by: Mike D | August 30, 2009 at 04:37 PM
Having spent the last week in the Glendale area, I cannot believe the 24 hour coverage as well as fire fight that Rancho Palos Verdes received kind of to the detriment of the Station Fire. Once the Rancho Palos Verdes fire was mostly contained the programming resumed to the Kennedy funeral. Kind of disgusting.
Posted by: KATE | August 30, 2009 at 04:51 PM
I think it is HIGH time that baby boomers should step aside in the name of diversity, an give their jobs to those less fortunate. I also believe that they should give up part of their pension, because it was them that benefited from the lack of diversity in the past. How would you baby boomers feel about diversity then? I do not believe that it should be the younger white males that pay for your past benefit...
Posted by: Kevin | August 30, 2009 at 05:26 PM
In not one of all the many LAT stories I've read about these fires have I seen one mention of a cause or an investigation of a cause. How can the reporters be missing such an obvious angle to the stories?
Posted by: WTL, Los Angeles | August 30, 2009 at 05:50 PM
Kevin,
As a black man, I find your comments inappropriate for the subject. By the way, you are owed nothing. If you want something, go out and earn it. People with your mindset are an embarrassment to all Americans.
Cleo Watts
Posted by: Cleo Watts | August 30, 2009 at 08:01 PM
To Carol...
Shambala was holding tight and not evacuated as of late this afternoon. We were told however, that fire was visible from the property. Lots of fire personnel are close by. Praying they are all safe overnight.
Posted by: White Cat Mom | August 30, 2009 at 08:07 PM
Is there an account of the fire where the exact boundaries are shown?
Posted by: Wallace Brand | August 31, 2009 at 10:18 AM
We all send so many requests for EVERYONE to please give lots of support to our animal community. If you have a Horse Trailer or any supportive CRATES and know of any with large amounts of Dog, Horse or other large animal SUPPLIES, please contact your local Animal Foundations. ACTON is home to 64 BEAUTIFUL exotic large cats to include Michael Jackson's tigers too at SHAMBALA aka The ROAR FOUNDATION. SUPPORT DONATIONS ONLINE NOW......and THANK YOU. Also, LB World Heart Foundation for DOGS is very close to having to EVACUATE and DONATE ONLINE to BOTH FOUNDATIONS.
Posted by: SUPPORTERS TO THE WILD ANIMAL COMMUNITY IN ACTON | September 01, 2009 at 06:30 PM