Southern Californians Besieged With Station Fire

(LOS ANGELES) - As firefighters around the nation battle at least 175 wildfires, Southern California is losing lives and homes to the most nightmarish blaze in years. The Station Fire has already scorched 140,150 acres and is only 22% contained.

Fire officials with Cal Fire, say the Mount Wilson TV and radio communication towers are directly threatened as well as the historic observatory, located in the foothills northeast of Los Angeles.

Fire behavior was moderated by a weather change, officials report low to moderate fire intensity with some isolated high intensity areas. 4,128 firefighters are on scene.

Crews report that firing operations and line construction continue to be successful and will continue as conditions allow.

Travelers need to be aware that the Angeles Crest Highway remains closed and is the primary access route for more than 18 camp/residences and numerous private homes.

A number of evacuation centers have been established in the area to aid the evacuees. The spike camp at Central Park in Santa Clarita is operational.

Evacuation Centers
* Verdugo High School, 10625 Plain View Ave. Tujunga, CA
* La Canada High School, 4463 Oak Grove Ave. La Canada, CA
* Golden Valley High School, 27051 Robert C. Lee Pkwy, Santa Clarita, CA
* Marie Kerr Park (Moved from Highland High School), 39700 30th St. West, Palmdale, CA.

Closed Evacuation Center
* Crescenta Valley High School, 2900 Community Ave. La Cresenta, CA.

Critical needs are required to complete line preparation and firing operations on southeast corner of the fire. The plan of attack for firefighters is to triage, prepare, and protect structures when and where necessary. The crews are constructing handlines and dozer lines as they endeavor to protect the critical communication sites.

Fire Fighter Specialist Arnaldo
“Arnie” Quinones, was killed in
the Station Fire Sunday.

LA County Fire Capt. Tedmund
Hall died Sunday while battling a
fire in the Angeles National Forest.

Captain Tedmund Hall and Specialist Arnaldo "Arnie" Quinones, 35, of Palmdale died while performing critical work at the Station Fire Sunday.

They were working with a crew of mostly prison inmates when their campsite was overrun by fast moving flames.

The two LA County firefighters successfully moved 55 inmates as well as a number of corrections and fire personnel into a dining hall made of cinderblock, to protect them from the fire.

The two firefighters waited for an opportunity and they started a fire truck and set out in an attempt to locate an escape route that would lead them Mount Gleason.

It is reported that the engine operated by Ted Hall and Arnie Quinones was overcome by thick black smoke and the crew lost control, plunging down an 800 foot mountain and landing on their roof.

Ted Hall joined the Los Angeles County Fire Department on April 22, 1981, as a student worker. He graduated as a member of the 65th Recruit Class on September 10, 1983.

He served as an engineer for 12 years in a number of locations, and in January 2001 he was promoted to Fire Captain, and served at a number of fire stations.

His last assignment was Camp 16 in the Palmdale, where he was assigned in May 2001. Fire Captain Hall is survived by his wife, Katherine, sons Randall, 21, and Steven, 20, and parents, Roland Ray and Donna Marie Hall.

"Arnie" Quinones joined the Los Angeles County Fire Department on August 6, 1998, as a member of the Department’s call firefighter program.

He was assigned to Fire Station 84 in Battalion 11, where he remained until November 2000, when he was accepted into the Department’s Fire Academy as a member of the 104th Recruit Class.

Upon graduation in February 2001, he became a Firefighter and was assigned to serve the public from Fire Station 24 in the City of Palmdale. After serving at various locations, he was promoted to the rank of Fire Fighter Specialist in December 2005, and joined the crew at Camp 16, which was his last assignment.

Another fire burning in Southern California is the Oak Glen Fire which has burned 1,012 acres, and is 75% contained. Thunderstorms are expected to produce variable winds and lightning with only light rain if any.

Evacuation orders in the area have been changed from mandatory to advised. Note that only residents are being allowed back into the fire areas. There are 1,744 firefighters assigned to the Oak Glen Fire.

It is also reported that evacuation orders are being evaluated, in coordination with the San Bernardino County Sheriff, for a possible lifting of those orders.

Remarks: Injuries: One firefighter suffered first and second degree burns to the wrist and hand. Another firefighter had a severe reaction to poison oak. Pendleton Fire is being supported by aircraft from the Oak Glen Fire due to close proximity of both fires and air space safety.

Observed Fire Behavior: There was minimal daytime spread of the fire. Concerns continue for rollout, snags and wind. Planned Actions: Continued line construction with air operations in support of containment.

This 860 acre fire is 70% contained according to reports. Expected thunderstorms should produce variable winds and lightning with only light rain if any.

Evacuation orders in the area have been changed from mandatory to advised. Residents only are being allowed back into the fire areas. There are 860 firefighters assigned to the Pendleton Fire.

In this fire, there was one reported injury, when a firefighter suffered heat exhaustion. The Pendleton Fire is being supported by aircraft from the Oak Glen Fire due to close proximity of both fires and air space safety.

On Wednesday morning, the fire made a mid morning run of 120 acres that was stopped by heavy effort by firefighting aircraft. There are continued concerns about rollout, snags and wind. The plan of action for firefighters is to continue line construction with air operations in support of containment.

This is another significant Southern California fire, with a reported 5,933 acres burned and 55% containment.

Fire officials say an Evacuation order remains in effect for the community of Foresta. The evacuation order for El Portal was lifted at 12:00 p.m. Tuesday.

Road access to Yosemite National Park has been impacted with closures including Big Oak Flat Road. Tioga Road is also closed or restricted at this time due to the fire. Thunderstorms on the Sierra crest are predicted and air stability will begin to change from previous operational periods.

An injury Wednesday in block 21 was a bruised rib. Officials on scene report that, "The fire was active Wednesday, with spotting in timber litter with heavy dead and down along Tamarack and Tioga Road."

The plan of action is to contain the spots across Tamarack and Tioga Roads. They say they will continue to evaluate firing when conditions are favorable and hold existing line from firing operations.

In this AP video from September 2nd, California officials are worried about the threat to a historic observatory and TV, radio and other antennas on Mount Wilson northeast of Los Angeles. The outlook is good as firefighters hold back flames and keep them from doing major damage.

Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor.
Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 covering the war in Afghanistan, and he was in Iraq over the summer of 2008, reporting from the war while embedded with both the U.S. Army and the Marines. Tim holds numerous awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing, including the Oregon AP Award for Spot News Photographer of the Year (2004), the first place Electronic Media Award in Spot News, Las Vegas, (1998), Oregon AP Cooperation Award (1991); and several other awards including the 2005 Red Cross Good Neighborhood Award for reporting. Serving the community in very real terms, Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website, affiliated with Google News and several other major search engines and news aggregators.
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