From Greg Sweet. Chantry Flats pack station
I have just received word from a Forest Service briefing that they are going to let Chantry Flat and Big Santa Canyon burn. The Station fire is to the west and they have cut a fire break to the east. This canyon is home to 80 historic cabins, 113-year-old Sturtevant's Camp, and the last pack station in Southern California. It would be a shame to loose this piece of history, but to have no intention to defend it is disgraceful. This canyon is a living museum and as much a part of LA history as the Observatory. PLEASE pass this along - and fast!
Angeles National Forest
Contact: Sherry Rollman
626-574-5208
srollman@fs.fed.us
Supervisor's Office
701 N. Santa Anita Ave.
Arcadia, CA 91006
Jody Noiron, Forest Supervisor
jnoiron@fs.fed.us
(626) 574-5200
FAX (626) 574-5233
CRS 1 800 735 2929
M-F 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
District Ranger
Mike McIntyre, District Ranger
mmcintyre@fs.fed.us
(818) 899-1900
FAX (818) 896-6727
CRS 1 800 735 2929
M-F 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Chantry Flat
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cougarmagic
- Posts: 1409
- Joined: Wed May 07, 2008 5:21 pm
Does anyone know how to contact Greg Sweet? (phone, not email)
I dont know...but dont think those ANF people have much sway..it seems all up to the incident commanders as to where the firefight will take place....well it could be even further isolated than that. For some reason, I see a guy in a room with the USGS fighting this fire from Washington DC.
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whatmeworry
- Posts: 57
- Joined: Tue Mar 03, 2009 1:28 pm
Is Greg (or Sue and Deb) still up the hill?
I spoke with Rich?whatmeworry wrote:Is Greg (or Sue and Deb) still up the hill?
He was the only one there... Manning the phone trying to save the place
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robnokshus
- Posts: 130
- Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2008 7:25 am
I emailed Jody Noiron (for what it's worth) and emplored that they PLEASE not give up Big Santa Anita without a fight. I don't know what else I can do. I feel for all of the cabin owners, Sturtevant's and the pack station.
It's literally a crying shame.
It's literally a crying shame.
The homes in Bear Canyon, Ice House Canyon, Holy Jim Canyon, Chantry, ect. will all be burned down at some point. (some already have burned down) They are built in thick vegetation areas and are constructed with non fire resistant material. There is zero clearance around most of those homes and there probably isn't a fire hydrant with in miles. The fire department would protect them if it was feasible.
Hey, those folks bought a cabin up there knowing that someday a fire may (will) go through the canyon. That's the risk of buying in the mountains in riparian habitat surrounded by chaparral.
Like Hvydrt implies they are virtually unprotectable. I bet coating them with Phoschek from the air would do little to protect the cabins. Hmmm, I wonder if one could get a truck up there and foam the cabins??
Like Hvydrt implies they are virtually unprotectable. I bet coating them with Phoschek from the air would do little to protect the cabins. Hmmm, I wonder if one could get a truck up there and foam the cabins??
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robnokshus
- Posts: 130
- Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2008 7:25 am
Well sure, as far as the mountains go, they've been doing this for millions of years; burning and re-growing, etc..The homes in Bear Canyon, Ice House Canyon, Holy Jim Canyon, Chantry, ect. will all be burned down at some point.]
The sadness and dissapointment come from my own point of view as a human with a limited life span on this earth, knowing that I have seen this country at it's best and that from here on out that will be but a memory.
It's king of like when you go up to Echo Mountain or Mt. Lowe camp and wish that you could have been around during that era. Well, now another era has passed. At least I was there and basked in it's beauty and history and I'll have those memories. From here on out that will have to be enough.
From the Los Angeles Times
Station fire is approaching Big Santa Anita Canyon
September 2, 2009 | 6:07 pm
As the Station fire continues to grow within the Angeles National Forest, flames are nearing Big Santa Anita Canyon, threatening the foothill communities of Sierra Madre and Monrovia, as well as what is believed to be the last pack station in the United States.
At the entrance of the canyon this afternoon, U.S. Forest Service firefighters Chad Nagasawa and Bart Barreto were preparing to head into the canyon to monitor the fire and see what direction it was heading. The men said hand crews were going to try to direct the fire east, away from the foothill communities.
“Back to the bush,” Barreto said.
Forest Service officials said fire prevention work began at the canyon five days ago with the evacuation of two homes in the area and all of the 80 antique cabins nestled along the Chantry Flats Trail. The cabins were built in the mid-1800s and are rented out to hikers. Officials said fire crews have already cleared brush around those structures and set up hoses and laid sprinklers on rooftops to keep them wet.
Firefighters have also evacuated 12 donkeys, one mule, six goats -- including one that had gone missing -- and a dog from the pack station. The animals were transported to the Santa Anita racetrack, officials said. The pack station is the last of its kind in the United States, according to its website. It serves the 80 cabins in the Chantry Flats area.
Also evacuated from the area was Derryl Forrester, the Santa Anita Dam keeper. Forrester said he lives in the dam with his girlfriend, dogs and cats. He said this was the fourth fire he had experienced since working and living at the dam. He has been staying at different hotels. Although not concerned about his home, because it’s made of concrete, he worried about the canyon’s historical aspect, such as the cabins and pack station.
“That would be a great loss,” Forrester said.
-- Carla Rivera reporting from Sierra Madre
Well that certainly adds to their credibility.As the Station fire continues to grow within the Angeles National Forest, flames are nearing Big Santa Anita Canyon, threatening the foothill communities of Sierra Madre and Monrovia, as well as what is believed to be the last pack station in the United States.
And those cabins were built in the mid 1800's? I don't think so. I thought they dated back to the Great Hiking Era (early 20th century).Forest Service officials said fire prevention work began at the canyon five days ago with the evacuation of two homes in the area and all of the 80 antique cabins nestled along the Chantry Flats Trail. The cabins were built in the mid-1800s and are rented out to hikers. Officials said fire crews have already cleared brush around those structures and set up hoses and laid sprinklers on rooftops to keep them wet.
Rented out to hikers? Those cabins are on long term leases, although the cabin itself may be wholly owned.
Nicely said....I might add I hope we dont try to get the old back which will probably be the outcome ....spending $$$...and it could well end up worse than before.robnokshus wrote:Well sure, as far as the mountains go, they've been doing this for millions of years; burning and re-growing, etc..The homes in Bear Canyon, Ice House Canyon, Holy Jim Canyon, Chantry, ect. will all be burned down at some point.]
The sadness and dissapointment come from my own point of view as a human with a limited life span on this earth, knowing that I have seen this country at it's best and that from here on out that will be but a memory.
It's kind of like when you go up to Echo Mountain or Mt. Lowe camp and wish that you could have been around during that era. Well, now another era has passed. At least I was there and basked in it's beauty and history and I'll have those memories. From here on out that will have to be enough.
From the Pasadena Star News
Concerns for cabins at Sturtevant Camp, Big Santa Anita Canyon as fire approaches
By Janette Williams, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/02/2009 06:47:47 PM PDT
ARCADIA - The Station Fire's steady approach toward the 116-year-old Sturtevant Camp, now used as a Christian retreat, and the rustic 1920s cabins in Big Santa Anita Canyon is causing anxiety for owners.
The Rev. Samuel Yun, director of program development at Sturtevant, said Wednesday that no one is at the camp now, and "we're in the dark like everyone else."
The weekend on-site manager is on vacation, he said.
Yun said rumors were circulating among owners that the Fire Service would not defend the historic cabins in the thickly wooded area; but spokesman Bruce Quintelier said he was "confident no firefighters would abandon any structure ... unless their lives were in peril."
There had been no discussion of letting the cabins, which cannot be rebuilt, burn down, he said.
The remote camp is accessible only on foot, a four-mile hike from Chantry Flat where the mule pack station that serves Sturtevant was evacuated on Monday.
"There's no way for us to take (fire) precautions," Yun said Wednesday.
"It's right there in the middle of the forest," he said. "I think one of the encouraging things is that a little river runs alongside the hiking trail all the way up to Sturtevant. But I don't know how much that moisture will help protect the camp itself."
Sturtevant, he said, is "a cherished and historic campsite that's been with us a very, very long time. And if it were to burn down, there's no possibility of rebuilding."
Yun said Camp Colby Ranch in La Canada Flintridge, one of several run by Cal Pac Camps in Southern California, had survived the fire there "90 percent intact," and everyone was praying for the same outcome for Sturtevant.
At least they got when the cabins were built right which is more than I can say for the Times.AlanK wrote:From the Pasadena Star News
Concerns for cabins at Sturtevant Camp, Big Santa Anita Canyon as fire approaches
By Janette Williams, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/02/2009 06:47:47 PM PDT
ARCADIA - The Station Fire's steady approach toward the 116-year-old Sturtevant Camp, now used as a Christian retreat, and the rustic 1920s cabins in Big Santa Anita Canyon is causing anxiety for owners.
The Rev. Samuel Yun, director of program development at Sturtevant, said Wednesday that no one is at the camp now, and "we're in the dark like everyone else."
The weekend on-site manager is on vacation, he said.
Yun said rumors were circulating among owners that the Fire Service would not defend the historic cabins in the thickly wooded area; but spokesman Bruce Quintelier said he was "confident no firefighters would abandon any structure ... unless their lives were in peril."
There had been no discussion of letting the cabins, which cannot be rebuilt, burn down, he said.
The remote camp is accessible only on foot, a four-mile hike from Chantry Flat where the mule pack station that serves Sturtevant was evacuated on Monday.
"There's no way for us to take (fire) precautions," Yun said Wednesday.
"It's right there in the middle of the forest," he said. "I think one of the encouraging things is that a little river runs alongside the hiking trail all the way up to Sturtevant. But I don't know how much that moisture will help protect the camp itself."
Sturtevant, he said, is "a cherished and historic campsite that's been with us a very, very long time. And if it were to burn down, there's no possibility of rebuilding."
Yun said Camp Colby Ranch in La Canada Flintridge, one of several run by Cal Pac Camps in Southern California, had survived the fire there "90 percent intact," and everyone was praying for the same outcome for Sturtevant.