Inciweb: Station Fire continues to grow — 5 percent contained

Basic Information

Incident Type Wildfire
Cause Under Investigation
Date of Origin Wednesday August 26th, 2009 approx 03:30 PM
Location Los Angeles River Ranger District / Angeles National Forest
Incident Commander Jim Hall

Current Situation

Total Personnel 751
Size 5,000 acres
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 Fier in the drainage bottoms. Fuels have not experienced any significant large fire activity in the past 40 years.

Fire Behavior

Friday behavior was very active to extreme, with rapid rates of spread and flame lenghts up to 80 feet. There is a potential for Saturday’s fire behavior to be similar to Friday. Around noon Saturday, after the inversion has lifted, expect actively spreading fire with upslope runs. Spotting may occur from 1/4 mile up to 1/2 mile.

Significant Events

3 Mandatory Evacuations as of early Saturday morning include Starlight Crest Drive north to Green Ridge Court, including Forest Green Drive, two, Big Briar Way at Haskel, and third, Donna Maria Lane, Indian Drive, Hacienda Drive, Alta Canada Rd., North of Linda Vista, La Canada Blvd. north of El Vago Street. Evacuation Center: La Canada High School, 4463 Oak Grove Drive, La Canada, CA. Angeles Crest Highway remains closed.

Outlook

Planned Actions

Prepare and protect structures when and where necessary. Construct handlines and dozer lines.

Growth Potential

Extreme

Terrain Difficulty

Extremely steep and inaccessible

Remarks

1800 homes threatened. 27 commercial properties and 52 other stuctures threatened.

Current Weather

Wind Conditions 5-8 mph E
Temperature 80 degrees
Humidity 30%

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Station Fire heads toward Altadena

ALTADENA – Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team members are heading for Altadena neighborhods in Millard Canyon, La Vina and The Meadows warning residents to be ready to leave if the Station Fire continues to spread east.

“You can’t help but be worried,” said Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Technician Ruby Kinkle. “We’re advising people they should be ready to evacuate.”

Meadows resident Lee Stapensky said it appeared to him that the fire was getting close to Gould Mesa, which he estimated is a mile from The Meadows, a semi-rural enclave in West Altadena reached by a single road.

“It looks as if it’s approximately at the ridge west of Gould Mesa,” said Stensky, who has been monitoring the fire since Friday morning.

Fire Service spokesman Bruce Quintelier said that, based on other hearsay reports, what Stepensky has seen “in a general fashion, may not be too far from being correct – spot on.”

The fire has been burning so rapidly throughout the day that it’s been difficult to keep up with mapping its perimeters, Quintelier said.

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A state of emergency

PROCLAMATION

by the

Governor of the State of California

            WHEREAS on August 26, 2009, fires started in Los Angeles County and continue to burn; and 

            WHEREAS on August 27, 2009, fires stared in Monterey County and continue to burn; and 

            WHEREAS the fires have burned approximately 13,000 acres, and have threatened structures, destroyed homes, and have forced hundreds of people to be evacuated and sent to emergency shelters; and

            WHEREAS the circumstances of these fires, by reason of their magnitude, are or are likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment and facilities of any single county, city and county, or city and require the combined forces of a mutual aid region or regions to combat; and

            WHEREAS under the provisions of section 8558(b) of the California Government Code, I find that conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property exist due to the fires in Los Angeles and Monterey Counties.

            NOW, THEREFORE, I, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor of the State of California, in accordance with the authority vested in me by the state Constitution and statutes, including the California Emergency Services Act, and in particular, section 8625 of the California Government Code, HEREBY PROCLAIM A STATE OF EMERGENCY to exist within Los Angeles and Monterey Counties.

            IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that all agencies of the state government utilize and employ state personnel, equipment and facilities for the performance of any and all activities consistent with the direction of the California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA) and the State Emergency Plan, and that CalEMA provide local government assistance under the authority of the California Disaster Assistance Act. 

            I FURTHER DIRECT that as soon as hereafter possible, this proclamation be filed in the Office of the Secretary of State and that widespread publicity and notice be given of this proclamation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 28th Day of August 2009.

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Station Fire grows exponentially nears JPL

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE – Residents are being evacuated in the northern part of La Canada Flintridge as the Station Fire now rages out of control.

At about 8 p.m. last night, the Station Fire was 10-percent contained and had burned 500 acres. Overnight, firefighters lost whatever containment they had and the fire has now scorched 1500 acres, spokesman with the U.S. Forest Service Gabriel Alvarez said.

“The wind shifts, the weather conditions, a lot of different factors,” contributed to the increased intensity in the fire, Alvarez said.

Residents north of Vista Del Valle Road, east of La Canada Boulevard and north of Starlight Crest Drive are under mandatory evacuations, Alvarez said. About 873 homes are under those evacuations, Alvarez said. An evacuation center has been set up at La Canada High School.

There are now 750 fire personnel fighting the Station Fire, one air tanker, four helicopters and as many as sixteen engines, Alvarez said.

Highway 2, Angeles Crest Highway, is closed all the way across to Big Pines, Alvarez said.


Inciweb update from earlier this a.m.:


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