Page 1 of 2

Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 5:23 pm
by He219
Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa
Pasadena Star-News - ‎8 minutes ago‎

Posted: 08/25/2009 04:57:29 PM PDT

ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST - A large fire is burning in the Angeles National Forest north of Azusa.

The fire is on both sides of Highway 39 and firefighters with the Angeles National Fire Service are combating it, Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman Fred Stowers said.

Between 25 and 50 acres have burned so far near Morris Dam.

County fire also has helicopters, ground crews and engines assisting, Stowers said. The fire, which started around 4:30 p.m., appears to be moving north, Stowers said.

Highway 39 is closed in both directions.

The cause is under investigation.

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 5:48 pm
by cougarmagic
Not cool, not at all. Towercam is looking right at it:

http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~obs/towercam.htm


Huh...what a coincidence that a fire was started right as a few days of hot dry weather sets in.

I realize it's almost impossible to prevent arson. But the ones they catch should be drawn and quartered, publicly.

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 5:56 pm
by lilbitmo
cougarmagic wrote:Not cool, not at all. Towercam is looking right at it:

http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~obs/towercam.htm


Huh...what a coincidence that a fire was started right as a few days of hot dry weather sets in.

I realize it's almost impossible to prevent arson. But the ones they catch should be drawn and quartered, publicly.
And the meat should be hung next to one of your camera's so we can get more shots of the "cougars" :D Now that would be "Just" punishment :D

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 6:13 pm
by Hikin_Jim
lilbitmo wrote:
cougarmagic wrote:Not cool, not at all. Towercam is looking right at it:

http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~obs/towercam.htm


Huh...what a coincidence that a fire was started right as a few days of hot dry weather sets in.

I realize it's almost impossible to prevent arson. But the ones they catch should be drawn and quartered, publicly.
And the meat should be hung next to one of your camera's so we can get more shots of the "cougars" :D Now that would be "Just" punishment :D
:lol:

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 6:53 pm
by Mike P
Very impressive header above my house in Glendora...

Keep us posted, Fred!

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 7:31 pm
by HikeUp

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 7:59 pm
by cougarmagic
Thanks for the updates!! I love our fire crews. Simply amazing.

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 8:54 pm
by AW~
Adios amigos is what I say...good luck fighting this bad boy. Once it gets to Pine Mtn all bets are off!
Image

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 9:26 pm
by Mike P
AW wrote:Adios amigos is what I say...good luck fighting this bad boy. Once it gets to Pine Mtn all bets are off!
Didn't some of this area burn in the Roberts Fire about 8-10 years ago and then again in the Curve Fire in 2002???

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 9:58 pm
by Mike P
The wind has shifted almost 180°. It is very smoky in Glendora.

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 5:05 am
by mattmaxon
Image

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 5:10 am
by mattmaxon
DamOTclese wrote:I'm not sure when the Red Box Canyon area and West of Morris might have burned last.
9/8/1957

I check again but that appears to be the most recent date

Matt

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 6:08 am
by mattmaxon
mattmaxon wrote:
DamOTclese wrote:I'm not sure when the Red Box Canyon area and West of Morris might have burned last.
9/8/1957

I check again but that appears to be the most recent date

Matt
Sorry try 8/24/1996 Reservoir fire 1,465 Ac, very similar to this fire
Image

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 8:23 am
by mattmaxon
DamOTclese wrote:The smoke in Azusa, Glendora, San Dimas on the ground almost looks like fog.
I guess the training for Badwater to Whitney is out for today :wink:

Ug!

You getting any ash?

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 8:30 am
by Mike P
The ashfall isn't too bad considering the poor visibility.

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 8:51 am
by mattmaxon

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 9:11 am
by outwhere
Outta curiosity - and ignorance - but why do they say the fire is only 10% contained at this point [9am Wednesday] - to the average Joe like myself, it looks much more in control than that [going by tv/mt wilson cam sightings]...

What am I not taking into account?

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 9:20 am
by mattmaxon
outwhere wrote:Outta curiosity - and ignorance - but why do they say the fire is only 10% contained at this point [9am Wednesday] - to the average Joe like myself, it looks much more in control than that [going by tv/mt wilson cam sightings]...

What am I not taking into account?
Those containment figures are a line on the ground around the fire

You see those handcrews and firefighting bulldozers must cut a line down to mineral soil around the perimeter of the fire to consider it 100% contained.

Contained does not mean extinguished

These things can smolder for months until a good rain finally extinguishes it completely.

It's kinda a meaningless figure to me...

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 9:30 am
by outwhere
Excellent info, Thanks for that MattMaxon!

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 10:05 am
by calicokid
The smoke is thick and choking us in Monrovia this morning. The ash is not bad but the air is nasty. Hope for some breeze to move the smoke out of the valley. However, wind could be bad for fire fighters.

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 10:25 am
by mattmaxon
Didn't really notice it on the way in the AM at 5:30 but there is lots-O-Smoke here in "Beautiful downtown Burbank" uck!

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 12:10 pm
by mattmaxon
This view shows the perimeter of the 8/24/1996 fire and the MODIS detections overlaid on GE with USGS 24K topo

Image

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 1:47 pm
by AW~
outwhere wrote:Outta curiosity - and ignorance - but why do they say the fire is only 10% contained at this point [9am Wednesday] - to the average Joe like myself, it looks much more in control than that [going by tv/mt wilson cam sightings]...

What am I not taking into account?
This fire is basically zero percent controlled. It hasnt gone past the old firebreak to the west but thats because its not burning in that direction. If it wants to it will. The deal is if this makes it up Pine Mtn(via Browns Gluch) then my bet will be it jumps Redbox-Rincon. Then it burns along the west fork area uncontrolled. It could easily nab the San Gabriel wilderness......also will likely come back across to the Front Range-Monrovia?Its way too early, with that horrible forecast predicted for winds and heat.

Right now, of course our thoughts are with the firefighters. I cant even imagine how hot or dangerous it is next to that fire...jeez...those flames look like they reach hundreds of feet...I do not envy their task one bit and I hope they prove me wrong...but yeah, if someone is a homeowner west of this fire they should be on nervous.

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 3:10 pm
by mattmaxon
Nice LA Times photo

Image

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 4:50 pm
by Mike P
~3:00 pm the fire roared up the western side of Glendora Peak (Garcia Canyon area?) and crept down the eastern side. Air support helped tamp it down before it headed down into Little Dalton Canyon. The front of the fire is burning into the Curve Fire area of seven years ago.

Would not want to see this thing go back into the Crystal Lake area.... Is it a possibility?

I think AW made an excellent point regarding the westward advancement of the Morris Fire. When was the last time the north slope of Wilson burned? There is a lot of important old growth stands there...

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 5:28 am
by hikehigh
makes a good sunrise:
Image

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 5:32 am
by mattmaxon
DamOTclese wrote: So now resources have to be diverted to go hoof it in and collect them.
Why?

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 9:16 am
by AlanK
DamOTclese wrote: :? The Nanny State saving us from ourselves.
So, then, isn't trying to put out forest fires a Nanny State activity? Let 'em burn, right?

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 11:11 am
by mattmaxon
I was a busy bee

I downloaded and georegistered the perimeter map on the inciweb page, traced the perimeter and uploaded it here, you can download and play to your hearts content

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=332165

Alternately this image shows it quite well




Image

Re: Fire burning in Angeles Forest above Azusa

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 2:01 pm
by Taco
Cool map, Matt.