watershed news

busy baldy

2011-01-09T19:55:00.000-08:00

Sunday climbers take direct route up San Antonio

By Guy McCarthy

MOUNT BALDY - Valleys and foothills of east Los Angeles County were socked in under a cold blanket of cloud much of Sunday, but above Baldy Village it was clear and warm.

Snows high on sun-drenched Mount Baldy drew scores of backcountry skiers and snowboarders, and squads of hikers equipped with ice axes and crampons climbed the steep, direct route to L.A. County's highest point.

Cloud cover viewed from above Baldy Village Sunday morning

Thousands more visitors drove up to San Antonio Canyon by the afternoon, packing parking areas above 5,000 feet elevation and briefly blocking emergency responders when a woman suffered a head injury in a possible sledding accident, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

By 2 p.m. two people had been treated for snow-related injuries and an estimated 4,000 people and their vehicles were between Baldy Village and the Mt. Baldy ski lift, Forest Ranger Mike Testa told Watershed News.

Testa said it was "a beautiful day" and he advised people to "be careful in the rocks and snow."

Search-and-rescue volunteers responded and fire engine drivers sounded their horns to get through traffic on upper Mount Baldy Road to reach one of the injured.

Rescuers on Mount Baldy Road while a woman is bandaged Sunday

It was so crowded by 2:30 p.m. authorities were stopping traffic near the Baldy Trout Pools, and a line of eager motorists a mile long stretched downhill through Baldy Village.

Traffic outside Mt. Baldy Lodge restaurant Sunday afternoon

Photos by Guy McCarthy

mountain search

2010-12-05T18:29:00.000-08:00

Sunday afternoon view of Baldy Bowl

MOUNT BALDY - A search was under way this evening after dark on Mount Baldy for an Asian woman in her 50s, an experienced hiker who was reported overdue on Saturday, a technical flight officer with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Aviation Unit said.

"We have an update from some hikers that they heard a woman screaming, maybe near the ski lifts," said Deputy Carlos Quezada, who was on a search flight this afternoon on the east side of Mount Baldy in a sheriff's helicopter known as 40 King.

"She may have got stuck coming down," Quezada said Sunday in a telephone interview at 5:30 p.m. "She's an experienced hiker, but she's overdue since yesterday. Her vehicle was still in the parking lot. She's an Asian female in her 50s, with a blue backpack."

Just before 3 p.m. today, a Forest Ranger and a sheriff's deputy met people coming off Mount Baldy on a restricted access road above Manker Flat, near the trailhead for the Ski Hut-Baldy Bowl trail, to ask whether they'd seen the woman.

Sunday afternoon view of San Antonio Ski Hut

The ranger said the woman may have spent the weekend at the ski hut, and he hoped to reach a caretaker at the hut this evening. The ranger also said 40 King was coming out, and the airship appeared a few moments later over a ridge to the north.

"Up at that elevation, it was a little windy and choppy, and it started to snow on us," Quezada said. "It was about 20 miles per hour steady and 35 gusting."

Quezada said search-and-rescue volunteers were being summoned tonight to help locate the woman on the ground.

Before noon on the ice-patched summit of Baldy, also known as Mount San Antonio, gusts and wind-chill with near-freezing conditions did not deter scores of hikers from going for the top of the mountain. Baldy's high point is 10,064 feet above sea level. It is the tallest mountain in the San Gabriel range, and it is the high point in Los Angeles County.

Sunday morning below summit of San Antonio

-30-

Ski Hut web site is here

Photos by Guy McCarthy

fish canyon

2010-11-21T15:07:00.002-08:00

DUARTE - The mouth of the canyon is owned by Vulcan Materials. Their public relations people bill the company as "the nation's largest producer of construction aggregates" - which they define as "primarily crushed stone, sand and gravel."

Vulcan Materials is the latest owner of the mining operation at the mouth of Fish Canyon. It's been there since the 1920s or 30s. Vulcan Materials allows access through their property from time to time, with a van shuttle to a trailhead. The access calendar current as of today is here.

The last time Vulcan Materials allowed access was Saturday Nov. 13. A few miles in is Fish Canyon Falls, described by author and historian John W. Robinson as "one of the top natural attractions of the San Gabriel Mountains." The tarantula was at the base of the falls eight days ago.

The falls plunge "some eighty feet in stairway fashion," Robinson says in his popular guide "Trails of the Angeles." The view above is before the sun crept into the canyon.

The Fish Creek watershed is regulated by the dam keeper at Cogswell Reservoir on the West Fork of the San Gabriel River, so it's unclear how much natural runoff contributes to the falls.

The canyon is shaded in places by sprawling oak and other chaparral species.

There is an alternate trail up and over the ridge pictured to reach the canyon trail and the falls. Some locals say it is steep. Robinson says "the hike into the canyon and on to the falls is no longer the easy walk it once was."

The Vulcan Materials calendar for the "Azusa Rock Project" does not list a date for the next time access is allowed through the quarry property.

-30-

Photos by Guy McCarthy

baden-powell

2010-11-21T10:05:00.000-08:00

ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST - Three weeks ago there was a little snow on the walk from Vincent Gap up to Mount Baden-Powell, a few miles west of Wrightwood.

Most of the trail switchbacks upward through tall evergreens to a high ridge, where the so-called "elfin forest" begins. Here the Limber Pines are more exposed to the wind and other elements.

Snow and ice underfoot combined with alpine glare to make the traverse interesting. This view is just below the 9,400-foot summit.

There is a tree up there estimated 1,500 years old.

Today this ridge is likely blanketed with a bit more snow.

Photos by Guy McCarthy

gale-force baldy

2010-11-14T17:17:00.000-08:00

Sunrise tints a ridge on San Antonio aka Old Baldy

MOUNT BALDY - Gale-force winds rake the high east end of the San Gabriel range from time to time, and they did again today.

Before sunrise at Manker Flats, gusting winds out of the northeast roared down canyons aligned with the blasts, but the bulk of Mount Harwood sheltered most of the Ski Hut-Baldy Bowl trail.

By 9 a.m. about 3,000 feet higher up the winds had more room to maneuver, and people walking steeper sections of the trail skirting the Bowl paid attention.

At 10 a.m. on the 10,064-foot summit, the high point in Los Angeles County, walking and standing were challenging tasks. Wind-speed estimates among those on the mountain top ranged from 50 miles per hour sustained to 70 mph gusting.

National Weather Service meteorologist Todd Hall, based in Oxnard, defined gale-force winds this evening as 39 to 46 mph.

"Forty-seven to 54 miles per hour is what we call a 'strong gale,' " Hall said in a telephone interview.

Further west in the San Gabriels earlier today, instruments at Chilao measured 30 mph sustained winds with 42 mph gusts, which also qualified as gale-force, Hall said.

Conversation below full-on shouting on Baldy's summit today was difficult, but descriptions of conditions up there later included the words "scary," "intense," and "freezing."

Most who summited around 10 a.m. took refuge behind several knee-high rock barriers cobbled together long ago for shelter from the winds.

A bit later in the morning, others headed to the top bundled in scarves, headbands and gloves.

Aside from the winds it was a crisp, clear sun-drenched day, and a few decided to dress light.

These folks were heading down and glad to be warmer below the Ski Hut.

-30-

Photos by Guy McCarthy

watts fire

2010-04-03T10:07:00.000-07:00

By Guy McCarthy

WATTS - Fire gutted a building containing an auto body shop this morning in Watts.

No injuries were reported. Firefighters at the scene called for extra backup twice as they fought the three-alarm blaze for more than one hour.

The fire in the 2500 block of East 114th Street was reported at 4:15 a.m., county fire dispatchers said.

A knockdown on the fire was declared at 5:38 a.m., but crews continued mop-up well past 7 a.m. An investigation was under way to determine the cause.

Photos by Guy McCarthy

cañada flintridge

2010-02-07T10:26:00.000-08:00

On Manistee Drive just before 8 a.m. Saturday Feb. 6 2010.

On Manistee Drive just before 8 a.m. Saturday Feb. 6 2010.

Ocean View Boulevard just before 8 a.m. Saturday Feb. 6 2010.

Ocean View Boulevard just before 8 a.m. Saturday Feb. 6 2010.

Ocean View Boulevard just after 8 a.m. Saturday Feb. 6 2010.

Ocean View Boulevard just after 8 a.m. Saturday Feb. 6 2010.

Ocean View Boulevard just after 8 a.m. Saturday Feb. 6 2010.

Photos by Guy McCarthy

-30-

skulls

2010-01-27T17:11:00.001-08:00

Investigators above Big Tujunga the day after Christmas

By Guy McCarthy

Two weeks ago homicide detectives released photos of three rings and a gold necklace found near two skulls discovered Dec. 24 and Dec. 26 in a burned-out mountain gulch of the Angeles National Forest.

Plucked from ashes of the Station Fire but believed to pre-date the massive blaze, the skulls and the jewelry remain an unsolved mystery, said Los Angeles County sheriff's Homicide Lt. Mike Rosson.

"There has been no identification, by DNA or other means," Rosson said today in a telephone interview.

The rings - with red, green, and black stones - appear to fit together but that hasn't shed any light on the investigation, according to Rosson.

The skulls belonged to a man and woman, according to the coroner. The jewelry may have belonged to one or both of them.

The first skull was found Christmas Eve by hikers in a burned-out draw below the Angeles Forest (N3) Highway, near mile marker 19.36, homicide detectives said. The skull had an apparent bullet hole in it.

Deputies from the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Station responded to the site that day and secured the area. The draw is part of the Lucas Creek drainage, which feeds Big Tujunga Canyon.

On Dec. 26, about a dozen forensic specialists, coroner's investigators and homicide detectives returned to dig and sift through dirt, rocks and debris in the gully.

Using soft-bristle brushes to excavate, wood-framed screens to sift through material, and a dog trained at sniffing out human remains, they found the second skull close to where the first was located.

The second skull had signs of trauma, said Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Department.

The gender of each set of remains was determined by examination of other bones collected in the steep, fire-denuded gulch, Coroner's Investigator Jerry McKibben said.

The skull with the apparent bullet hole belonged to a man and the second skull belonged to a woman, McKibben said.

At least one of the skulls was partly burned but they appeared to pre-date the Station Fire, which burned 250 square miles of the Angeles National Forest in September and August.

Detectives have not said when the rings and necklace were discovered, only that they were found where the skulls and other remains were located.

Rosson urged anyone with information to call Detective Philip Guzman or Detective John Duncan at (323) 890-5500.

-30-

Ring photo from Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Dec. 26 photo by Guy McCarthy.

mountain access

2010-01-25T12:47:00.000-08:00

Cucamonga and east San Gabriels from below Forest Falls

By Guy McCarthy

Updated at 7 p.m.

MILL CREEK CANYON - All San Bernardino Mountain roads were re-opened this evening to visitors trying to reach Bear Valley and some of the Southland's most popular ski resorts.

The lifting of the closure was possible in part because the City of Big Bear organized truck convoys to deliver food, supplies and fuel to the Big Bear area, said Caltrans spokeswoman Terri Kasinga.

Caltrans, the California Highway Patrol and the Sheriff's Department helped lead the convoys up state Route 38 "to help the mountain communities following last week's heavy snowstorm," Kasinga said in a statement.

The roads had been closed to visitors since Sunday due to poor road conditions, short fuel and limited food supplies in the resort towns, said Third District Supervisor Neil Derry.

"The temporary closures are lifted as of 6 p.m.," Derry said in a telephone interview. "The roads are open to both residents and visitors."

Chain restrictions apply on the re-opened roads until further notice.

The open roads to Bear Valley included state Routes 18 and 38, though the 38 from Mentone was the only route open to buses and trucks, according to Kasinga.

"The Arctic Circle on the 18 was clear and the roads looked good," Derry said this evening after a helicopter flight with the Sheriff's Department to assess the situation. "We have another storm on the way tomorrow with 6 inches to 8 inches of more snow possible. So it's an ongoing maintenance concern, as it is whenever it snows."

Some residents were snowed in during the storms last week and some visitors were stranded without gas to get back down the mountain, Derry said.

"We did have times when the roads weren't safe," Derry said. "We did escort some supply trucks in today, primarily food and fuel."

"We did have some slides, and we had 30 to 40 vehicles stuck on the Arctic Circle at one point last week," Derry said. "The drivers had to be rescued with snowcats. We had people snowed in under five feet. They couldn't get out of their homes."

Earlier today, a pair of big rig trucks hauling tankers and other large supply trucks were lined up at a CHP road block at Bryant Street waiting for clearance to head up to Bear Valley via state Route 38.

-30-

MILL CREEK CANYON - Access to Bear Valley and some of the Southland's most popular ski resorts remained temporarily closed to visitors this afternoon due to poor road conditions, short fuel and limited food supplies in the resort towns.

The situation was likely to be updated later today, as local and state officials held conference call discussions on the closure, which was announced Sunday.

Last week's snows have been plowed off most primary roads but more snow may be coming Tuesday and Tuesday night, according to the National Weather Service.

Visitors were being allowed up to the Running Springs, Crestline and Lake Arrowhead communities in the west San Bernardino Mountains, California Highway Patrol dispatchers in Running Springs said this afternoon in phone interviews.

Further east at the resorts above Big Bear Lake, the roads were closed to visitors, the Running Springs dispatchers said.

A pair of big rig trucks hauling tankers and other large supply trucks were lined up this morning at a CHP road block at Bryant Street waiting for clearance to head up to Bear Valley via state Route 38.

County and sheriff's officials were planning helicopter flights this afternoon to assess the situation, Lt. Dale Gregory said in an interview at the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Aviation Bureau at Rialto Airport.

The concern is for residents as well as visitors stranded without fuel, Gregory said.

"They've been doing rescues at some homes with snowmobiles is my understanding," Gregory said, speaking in the lobby at the aviation bureau. Other flight crews were involved in rescues at lower elevations this morning, and a pilot checked in with Gregory before departing to the scene of crash involving a motor officer.

"It's been a busy week," Gregory said. "It's Southern California. Sometimes we get rain and snow and people freak out."

Meanwhile, the heavy precipitation last week has turned brown parts of the Inland Empire an emerald green more typically seen in Ireland. Pictured here is Mentone with San Bernardino Peak in the distance. Even parts of Moreno Valley - which translates literally to "brown" valley - and the Badlands between San Timoteo Canyon and the San Gorgonio Pass were sporting a lush green cover.

-30-

veteran voices

2010-01-21T11:38:00.001-08:00

Slopes above La Cañada and La Crescenta this morning

By Guy McCarthy

A fire captain and a coroner's investigator who responded to two deadly post-fire erosion disasters on Christmas Day 2003 have words of advice for residents of more than 750 foothill homes under evacuation orders today.

"Listen to the officials," San Bernardino Fire Department Capt. Vinson Gates said in a recent telephone interview.

"It's mud, rocks, boulders, trees and debris," Gates said. "Me myself, I've seen a lot of people die behind that. I would leave, me and my family, that's what I would do. I've seen it destroy two campgrounds, so I can imagine what it would do to homes."

Sixteen people -- including nine children -- died on Dec. 25 2003 in two different boulder-laden flash floods in canyons above San Bernardino.

Gabriel Morales, a supervising deputy coroner's investigator for San Bernardino County, also advised Los Angeles-area foothill residents to obey evacuation orders.

"I was out there Christmas Day, we had five members of a coroner's recovery team," Morales said in a telephone interview. "Both the KOA and Camp Sophia. It was a tragic event.

"These events are deadly," Morales said. "If law enforcement are advising get out, absolutely do so because it will save your life."

It took days to find most of the victims, and the last was recovered four months later miles downstream, Morales said.

"It was terrible, to see small children killed like that," Morales said. "I know a lot of rescue workers had problems with it."

Some victims were entombed and suffocated in the debris flows, according to coroner's reports.

"Because of the pressure forces involved, some died of blunt force injuries," Morales said. "It was awful."

The events occurred about 10 miles apart below mountain watersheds denuded by the October 2003 Old Fire, which destroyed a thousand homes and contributed to six deaths.

Christmas 2003 was the Southland's most recent reminder that post-fire erosion events can be deadlier than the firestorms that precede them.

In February 1978, a post-fire debris flow killed 13 people in the community of Hidden Springs, above Big Tujunga Canyon in the Angeles National Forest.

-30-

fourth storm

2010-01-21T11:38:00.000-08:00

Arroyo Seco from Devil's Gate Dam this morning

By Guy McCarthy

With more rain expected today on saturated, fire-denuded mountainsides, the U.S. Geological Survey and other officials warned evacuated residents to stay out of foothill homes below the Station Fire footprint.

"Based on all the rain we've had this week, if we get showers of any intensity there's still a chance of debris flows from the Station burn areas," Oxnard-based National Weather Service meteorologist Curt Kaplan said this morning.

"We do have potential for 2 to 4 more inches of rain in the mountains today," Kaplan said. "With a fast-moving thunderstorm, it may not take much to get things mobilized."

Evacuation orders issued to residents of more than 750 homes in the foothills remained in effect today, County Fire Inspector Matt Levesque and LAPD Officer Bruce Butterfield said in telephone interviews.

The evacuated areas of Little Tujunga, La Crescenta, La Canada and Glendale are in county and city jurisdictions.

Earlier this week, debris flows 8 feet to 12 feet high destroyed USGS monitoring equipment in Dunsmore Canyon and an unnamed tributary of Big Tujunga Canyon, USGS scientists in Pasadena said in a warning statement.

In the statement, titled "Southern California residents urged to heed evacuation orders as rain continues," USGS debris flow specialist Susan Cannon evoked two of the deadliest storms in recent Southern California history.

"The forecast rainfall for the next 48 hours is comparable to that which occurred during a 1969 storm that triggered landslides, debris flows and floods throughout Southern California, resulting in the deaths of 34 people," Cannon said.

"Because the hills above Glendora had been burned the previous fall, that area was particularly hard hit during the 1969 storm," Cannon said.

The storm forecast through today is also similar to the Christmas Day storm of 2003, which triggered debris flows from nearly every watershed burned by the Old and Grand Prix fires in the San Bernardino mountains, resulting in widespread destruction and the deaths of 16 people, the USGS stated.

The warnings might seem like overkill to evacuation-weary foothill residents.

But an aging flood-control system of debris basins and channels offers only partial protection below the burned areas, according to the county Department of Public Works.

Slope failures and debris flows are possible in some cases up to 72 hours after rains on burned areas, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

"In Southern California, debris flows and floods have over history killed a comparable number of people as earthquakes," said USGS seismologist Lucy Jones. "These past deadly debris flows highlight that residents should not be complacent, and those with evacuation orders need to leave."

When Cannon evoked the post-fire storms' impact on Glendora 40 years ago, she was referring in part to two separate fires that denuded slopes above the community in July and August 1968, according to U.S. Forest Service records.

"The rainy season of 1968-69 provided a severe test to the disaster prevention facilities protecting Glendora," USFS researcher J.M. Rice wrote. The 1968 fires "denuded the slopes along 5 kilometers of the northern boundary of the city."

Subsequent debris flows during heavy rains in January 1969 destroyed six houses and damaged an additional 200 homes, according to Rice.

Glendora's vulnerability to post-fire and normal erosion stemmed from the fact that "immigrants to the San Gabriel Valley, where Glendora is located, failed to recognize the potential debris flow hazard to settlements on the debris cone," Rice said.

"They had little experience with mountains as precipitous as the San Gabriels north of Glendora. And they were probably unaware of the effects of intermittent brushfires that denuded the mountains of vegetation. Damages that resulted from the settlers' lack of foresight were modest until 1969."

-30-

storm basins

2010-01-19T12:19:00.000-08:00

Devil's Gate on Monday around 1 p.m.

By Guy McCarthy

Devil's Gate Dam on the Arroyo Seco is in no danger of overflowing, officials say, in part because it has adequate means of letting water out as the wetland behind it fills with black soup and debris from the Station Fire.

That is not the case with some of the smaller debris basins across the foothills below recent burned areas.

The 29 debris basins intended to protect residents from erosion disasters are facing a severe test this week, and at least one of them is of particular concern as more storms bear down today on the Southland.

Mullally Basin at the end of Manistee Drive just east of Ocean View Boulevard in La Canada Flintridge is considered undersized for the current post-fire conditions, according to Los Angeles County and U.S. Forest Service records, and it has overflowed at least twice since the massive Station Fire denuded 250 square miles of mountain watersheds.

The basin overflowed early Nov. 13 during a sudden deluge from an "uncharted" storm cell, sending mud and debris flowing down parts of Ocean View Boulevard. It overflowed again Monday, contributing to the need for temporary evacuation of more than 60 homes in the Paradise Valley area.

Enlargement of Mullally Basin has been in the planning stages for several years, according to the county Department of Public Works.

Several alternatives for enlarging Mullally Basin were discussed during an October 2008 community meeting, according to county records.

About a year later, while the Station Fire was still smoldering, a Sept. 22 Burned Area Emergency Response report from the U.S. Forest Service stated, "Mullally Canyon Debris Basin was identified as being significantly undersized by L.A. County Public Works.

"If a large debris flow or flooding event occurs, the release is onto Ocean View Blvd., which runs to Foothill Boulevard," a main thoroughfare, the Forest Service stated. "Downstream residences need to heed triggers and warnings established by the National Weather Service."

In September, the Forest Service listed Mullally's capacity at 9,400 cubic yards and estimated the post-fire annual yield at 19,896 cubic yards. The post-fire estimate may already have been exceeded since Nov. 13.

In addition to Mullally Basin, six other basins are considered undersized and are slated for expansion to increase their storage capacities, but implementing those plans is not scheduled to begin until April, according to a public works report delivered to county supervisors in December.

The $5 million project to expand Big Briar, Mullally, Snover, Pickens, Starfall, Pinelawn and Rowley basins was detailed in a Station Fire disaster recovery report delivered to the county board of supervisors by Director of Public Works Gail Farber.

-30-

human skulls

2010-01-09T08:20:00.000-08:00

Investigators comb burned gulch the day after Christmas

By Guy McCarthy

Two skulls discovered Dec. 24 and Dec. 26 in a mountain gully scorched by the Station Fire belonged to a man and a woman, respectively, a coroner's investigator said today.

The first skull, found Christmas Eve by hikers in a draw below the Angeles Forest (N3) Highway, had an apparent bullet hole in it, a sheriff's homicide lieutenant said.

The skull with the hole in it is now considered evidence in the death of John Doe #225, said Coroner's Investigator Jerry McKibben.

The second skull, discovered two days later by a team of investigators searching the same area, had signs of trauma, said Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The second skull is now considered evidence in the death of Jane Doe #87, McKibben said.

The gender of each set of remains was determined by examination of other bones collected in the steep, fire-denuded gulch two weeks ago, McKibben said.

This is the first disclosure of gender identification in a mystery the Los Angeles Times described recently as a "jigsaw puzzle."

Both cases appeared to be homicides but no conclusions had been reached, Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter told The Times last week.

Early today, the cause of death in both cases was listed as "deferred," McKibben said.

"We're still working it," McKibben said. "I'm sure homicide is still investigating."

The gully where the skulls were found is near mile marker 19.36 of the Angeles Forest Highway, above the Big Tujunga Dam. The draw feeds into the Lucas Creek drainage, which in turn feeds Big Tujunga Canyon above the dam.

The remains were found about 100 feet below the Angeles Forest Highway.

Before the Station Fire burned 250 square miles of the San Gabriel Mountains in August and September, Lucas Creek and Big Tujunga Canyon were popular with hikers.

Though the backcountry burned areas are now termed off-limits by the Forest Service, some people still go.

On Christmas Eve, deputies from the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Station responded to the site when hikers found the skull with the apparent bullet hole, said Lt. Paul Becker of the Homicide Bureau.

On Dec. 26 -- two weeks ago today -- about a dozen forensic specialists, coroner's investigators and homicide detectives returned to dig and sift through dirt, rocks and debris in the gully.

Using soft-bristle, wood-handled brushes to excavate, and metal, wood-framed screens to sift through material, as well as one dog trained at sniffing out human remains, they found the second skull close to where the first was located.

"We don't know if this is a murder, a suicide or accidental," Becker said that day. "Obviously that is the focus of this investigation."

At least one of the skulls appeared to pre-date the fire, McKibben said.

"Apparently it's part of the burn area, but it sounds like the bones are pre-fire," McKibben said. "Just from the condition of the skull, it sounds like it was skeletonized before the fire."

The John Doe and Jane Doe numbers assigned to the two sets of remains indicate the first skull was the 225th unidentified male case worked by the Los Angeles County coroner in 2009, and the second skull was the county's 87th unidentified female case of the year, McKibben said.

-30-

Photo copyright by Guy McCarthy. All rights reserved.
For re-use contact guymccar@gmail.com

slope stability

2009-12-19T11:27:00.000-08:00

HOLLYWOOD - A chunk of hillside gave way this morning in a neighborhood near the Hollywood Bowl, triggered by a broken pipe, a sprinkler system, or saturation from recent rains, according to Los Angeles Fire Department officials.

The slide dumped 10 to 15 cubic yards of mud and dirt onto Los Tilos Road and moved a parked sport utility vehicle a short distance but it damaged no homes.

Whatever triggered the slide, water ran freely from a ruptured pipe on the slope for at least two hours after the slide was reported.

The slide in the 7000 block of Los Tilos Road occurred about 5:30 a.m., Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said.

Linda Chapman, 63, of Roseville, was staying in her father's former home on Los Tilos Road. She said a crashing sound awoke her and she thought it was a car wreck. When she looked outside, she saw a mound of soil and vegetation piled up against a red Jeep Grand Cherokee, which was pushed onto a sidewalk.

"I woke up my husband," she said. "I thought it was a car crash."

Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Robert Rosario said the slide appeared to have been triggered by a broken water line or a sprinkler system that might have been inadvertently left on all night.

Humphrey said it appeared a 1-inch PVC pipe, possibly a private irrigation line, ruptured. But he also raised the possibility the line may have broken as a result of the slide, rather than being the cause of it.

Rosario estimated the slide at 10 to 15 cubic yards of material. By about 6:30 a.m., firefighters thought they had stopped the flow of water, but that apparently was not the case.

The slide affected access to about two dozen homes, Humphrey said. That section of the road was closed. Stranded residents were taking taxis from the clear section of the road, Humphrey said.

A Building and Safety inspector at the scene said he was considering "yellow-tagging" a downslope home.

-30-

On scene reporting and photos by Guy McCarthy. More images here.

san gabriel storm

2009-12-13T10:19:00.000-08:00

Cucamonga and neighbors 8:25 a.m. Sunday

Runoff from Arroyo Seco emerges from Devil's Gate 7:02 a.m. Sunday

Devil's Gate dam keeper's tower 6:58 a.m. Sunday

Arroyo Seco with JPL and burned slopes in distance 6:55 a.m. Sunday

Dawn from Angeles Crest Highway below closure 6:23 a.m. Sunday

Ducks on Arroyo Seco north of Devil's Gate 8:14 a.m. Saturday

Debris flow on Angeles Crest Highway 7:21 a.m. Saturday

More images here.

-30-

snow burn

2009-12-10T12:53:00.000-08:00

ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST - Snow on higher elevations in the Station Fire burned areas this winter will be a concern only when it melts - whether by direct sun or warm rains.

"It's all a concern when it turns to water," said Forest spokesman Stanton Florea. "This is a typical snowfall for this time of year. Our biggest three months for precipitation in order are January, February and March. This is just the beginning."

In the meantime the sight of white snow on denuded brown and black mountainsides this morning was striking, and traffic on the Angeles Crest Highway was minimal. There was ice on many of the shaded curves but the road was open beyond Newcomb's Ranch.

More images are here.

arroyo negro

2009-12-07T16:30:00.000-08:00

DEVIL'S GATE - The Arroyo Seco was running black today.

From the top of Devil's Gate Dam, dark mud and water ran south out of the San Gabriel Mountains and the Station Fire burned areas, through the dam works to eventually meet the Los Angeles River.

Barbara Ellis, 60, was walking her Australian shepherd Abby, and she described what she saw after a downpour today as a tragedy. From the crest of Devil's Gate she looked down at the blackness moving towards the dam.

"I was watching the little cliffs of mud and ash collapsing with a splash, and thinking of the movie '2012,' " Ellis said. "It's a film about the end of the world. I'm afraid this looks a little like the end of the world, in miniature."

Ellis said she could smell an "acrid, smokey smell, straight from the fire" coming off the water and mud running through the Devil's Gate works to emerge in a jet stream headed south.

"The Arroyo Seco's been my favorite place to walk since I came here 10 years ago," Ellis said. "This Station Fire is a major tragedy. It's destroyed habitat that will take 70 years to recover in some cases.

"Now we see the mud and ash coming down and choking off the existing life down here," she said. "It's backed up Flintridge Creek, the drainage that comes off the Verdugo Hills."

Los Angeles County public works officials spent several days in November cleaning out floating debris that washed into the reservoir, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Layers of black ash and mud were still visible today, possibly from the unexpected storm in mid-November that unleashed debris flows above Ocean View Boulevard in La Cañada-Flintridge, Ellis said.

"All this blackness didn't come down here today," Ellis said. "You can see layers of it collapsing into the runoff now. It's like oil in a way. Such a shame."

A video of the runoff emerging from Devil's Gate is posted here. More photos are posted here.

-30-

cucamonga

2009-11-30T17:42:00.000-08:00

The editor of LA Observed was kind enough to post this image late Sunday. When I initially shared the image I neglected to point out I was in south Riverside when I took it. Click on the image to see it larger.

The photo is named for Cucamonga Peak, the highest in the image. From LA it has a distinctive profile that sets it apart from others on the range front.

According to "Trails of the Angeles" author John W. Robinson the word "cucamonga" is derived from Shoshone for "sandy place" or "place of many springs." There is also a story about a chief sending his wayward daughter to the summit to serve penance for what he perceived to be passionate misdeeds. I'm not sure where that one comes from.

Cucamonga Peak and the Cucamonga Wilderness, designated wilderness by Congress in 1964, are part of the San Gabriel Mountains. But due to federal mapping of the local mountain forests, the east San Gabriels are considered part of the San Bernardino National Forest. The border between the Angeles and SBdo forests is at the LA-San Bdo county line, and one of the trailheads for Cucamonga Peak is just outside Baldy Village above Claremont.

Robinson in his wisdom makes the range whole again by including the east San Gabriels in "Trails of the Angeles."

Watershed News has been mentioned on LA Observed before. Here's a list from the site's search engine. It's about time I said a proper thank you.

According to the site, "LA Observed is an award-winning website devoted to independent reporting, informed commentary and selective linkage on the Los Angeles region and the news media. The site went live in May 2003 and is read daily by an elite audience of journalists, executives, government officials, politicians, authors, bloggers and others interested in the public life of Los Angeles."

The LA Observed post for this image is here.

Watershed News is now pleased to offer prints of any image you find on this site, aside from the few courtesy photos shared by others. If you are looking for affordable Christmas gifts this year, consider giving an image taken by an award-winning journalist. See my profile for a brief mention of awards. If you don't find an image here on this site that suits you, there are others on my flickr stream.

Even if you find the images to be average at best, you can always justify the affordable cost by knowing you are helping finance a site that up to now has been strictly non-profit. Did I say "affordable" enough times? Good. Contact me at guymccar@gmail.com if you are interested.

-30-

Here's another image from this afternoon:

From San Timoteo Canyon near the junction with Live Oak Canyon, east Redlands, San Bernardino Peak, Yucaipa Ridge, and San Gorgonio high country were visible this afternoon. The high mountains were shrouded in storm clouds all day Sunday.

wet forecast

2009-10-11T16:45:00.000-07:00

Station Fire burned area courtesy NASA/JPL/Caltech

By Guy McCarthy

A Pacific storm is expected to bring the first widespread rains to southwest California since the Station Fire burned 250 square miles in the San Gabriel Mountains above Los Angeles in August and September, according to the National Weather Service.

A strong storm system - especially for October - will begin moving into northern and central California late Monday, and "considerable remnant moisture from former western Pacific Typhoon Melor is expected to be pulled into this system," according to a special weather statement issued this afternoon by Oxnard-based forecasters.

Lower Big Tujunga Canyon on Oct. 1

As of Sunday afternoon, the storm appeared to be bringing significant rainfall to southwest California, along with the possibility of mud and debris flows across recent burn areas, the Weather Service stated.

The heaviest rainfalls over Ventura and Los Angeles counties can be expected Tuesday night and Wednesday, with preliminary estimates of 2 to 4 inches in the foothills and mountains. Locally higher amounts are possible in mountain areas, according to the Weather Service.

Along with heavy rainfall, strong southeast to south winds Tuesday and Wednesday may bring gusts up to 55 mph in some mountain areas.

Detail map of burn areas including portion of Station Fire,
courtesy Los Angeles County Department of Public Works

"With the expected heavy rainfall across Southern California, there will be a threat of flash flooding and debris flows near recent burn areas," the Weather Service stated. "Flash flood watches for the burn areas may be issued within the next 24 hours."

Residents of southwest California, especially those with property in and around recently burned areas, should stay tuned to weather forecasts and statements as this Pacific draws closer to the region, the Weather Service advised.

Rainstorms this year in the area burned by the Station Fire have the potential to trigger debris flows that may impact neighborhoods at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, as well as areas in Big Tujunga Canyon, Pacoima Canyon, Arroyo Seco, West Fork of the San Gabriel River, and Devils Canyon, according to an assessment released five days ago by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Triggered by storm rainfall, debris flows can travel faster than a grown person can run, creating a dangerous situation that may occur with little to no notice, according to USGS Research Geologist Susan Cannon. The powerful force of rushing water, soil, and rocks can destroy culverts, bridges, roadways, and structures and can cause injury or death.

The USGS assessment found that some watersheds in the Station Fire burn area could generate debris flows containing up to 100,000 cubic yards of material — large enough to cover an American football field 60 feet deep with mud and rock.

The deadly debris flows that occurred following the 2003 Old and Grand Prix fires in San Bernardino County are an example of what could happen this year in or below Station Fire burned areas, according to the USGS.

"People may remember that 16 people were killed by debris flows during the Christmas Day storm in 2003, but few realize that those were only two debris flows out of the hundreds that were triggered from the burned area," Cannon said.

"Nearly every burned watershed produced destructive debris flows or floods in response to that storm," Cannon said. "Some of the areas burned by the Station Fire show the highest likelihood for big debris flows that I’ve ever seen."

The full USGS report on Station Fire debris flow hazards is here.

The USGS report "Emergency Assessment of Debris-Flow Hazards from Basins Burned by the Grand Prix and Old Fires of 2003, Southern California" is available here.

Survivors' accounts from the Christmas 2003 tragedies are here.

-30-

san gabriels

2009-10-04T17:20:00.000-07:00

Looking south from Angeles Crest Highway Oct. 1.

By Guy McCarthy

The wind-driven Sheep Fire on the east end of the San Gabriel Mountains forced officials to call for mandatory evacuations earlier today in Wrightwood in San Bernardino County.

Further west in the same mountain range, the 250-square-mile burned areas of the still-smoldering Station Fire remain a primary concern for many Los Angeles city and county residents.

Above Big Tujunga Dam Oct. 1.

A report by the U.S. Geological Survey detailing probability, volume and location of possible post-fire erosion events in and below the Station Fire burned areas is expected to be released to the public this week, according to Sue Cannon, a USGS project manager based in Golden, Colo.

"We hope to have it available online for the public at the same time we make an announcement," Cannon said in a recent phone interview.

Cannon helped lead a team six years ago that prepared a similar report within weeks of the October 2003 Old and Grand Prix fires, which denuded a 40-mile mountain front from Upland, below the east San Gabriels, to Highland, below the San Bernardino Mountains.

Lower Big Tujunga Canyon Oct. 1.

The need for timely and accurate assessment of post-fire dangers was underscored on Christmas Day 2003, when torrential rains on burned watersheds unleashed flash floods and debris flows that killed 16 people -- including nine children -- in Waterman and Cable canyons just outside the city of San Bernardino.

"The urbanized areas below the Station Fire are of course a focus of the report," Cannon said. "But as we learned in 2003, the interior canyons are especially vulnerable."

-30-

burn area

2009-09-10T18:04:00.001-07:00

Image from NASA Earth Observatory

By Guy McCarthy

While an army of firefighters battles the 250-square-mile Station Fire, scientists and technicians are trying to map and quantify how much ash, mud and rock could pour out of the burned-out San Gabriel Mountains the next time heavy rains fall.

A U.S. Geological Survey Landslide Hazards team is using NASA satellite images to prepare a burn-severity map that will show probability, volume, and locations of likely debris flows and mudslides, said Sue Cannon, a USGS project manager in Golden, Colo.

"The San Gabriels have a significant history of debris flow activity after fires," Cannon said in a telephone interview. "There are so many humans at the base of the mountains who could be impacted. We want to do this quickly."

Hazard technicians plan today to start field-checking images they received from the earth-observing LANDSAT satellite on Tuesday, and they hope to have a final report and map ready for public safety agencies by next week, Cannon said.

Six years ago Cannon helped lead a team that prepared a similar report within weeks of the October 2003 Old and Grand Prix fires, which denuded a 40-mile mountain front from Upland, below the east San Gabriels, to Highland, below the San Bernardino Mountains.

The need for timely and accurate assessment of potential post-fire dangers was underscored on Christmas Day 2003, when torrential rains on burned watersheds unleashed flash floods and debris flows that killed 16 people -- including nine children -- in Waterman and Cable canyons.

Other mapping specialists working on the Station Fire and post-fire hazard studies include support technicians from Redlands-based ESRI, a producer of geographic information systems software used by the Defense Department in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as by public safety and fire agencies in the United States.

"We have provided tech support for many of the cooperating agencies on the Station Fire," Russ Johnson, ESRI's director for public safety and homeland security programs, told City News Service. "We have provided them with USGS topographic base data for areas considered at risk.

"We will be providing the same kind of support for rehabilitation teams and burned area emergency response teams," Johnson said. "They will be able to extract from GIS (geographic information systems) imagery areas that have the most risk of debris flows and mudslides."

While the Station Fire continues burning east in wilderness areas of the Angeles National Forest, county flood control engineers are assessing the potential for post-fire mud flows from burned areas above densely populated hillside communities in La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta and Tujunga, said Kerjon Lee, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.

Thousands of homes below the Station Fire burned areas are protected by flood control channels and basins, according to Public Works maps and records.

But many other homes built in the past 40 years may be at risk, said Doug Hamilton, an Irvine-based engineer and former consultant to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which designed and built many of the flood control structures intended to protect Los Angeles from erosion disasters.

"My concern is the proximity of the fire along the edge of development that's built in the 70s, 80s and 90s," Hamilton said. "They've never seen a post-fire erosion event.

"I see these houses cut into the side of the mountain," Hamilton said. "They're built according to building code, but it's frightening to look at. If there's heavy rains, a lot of these houses are going to be difficult to protect."

The likelihood of heavy rains this fall and winter remains unclear, but local, state and federal agencies must plan for worst-case scenarios regardless of forecasts.

The El Nino pattern that sometimes serves as an accurate predictor for Southern California's winter rain season appears "weak to moderate" right now, which makes the forecast difficult to call, said Bill Patzert, a climatologist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab in La Canada-Flintridge.

"But all you need is a couple storms and it's a big mess," Patzert said. "Whatever we get in the way of rain, it's going to be a mess. The areas that burned, some of them hadn't burned in 40 to 60 years. One part hadn't burned in a hundred years."

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., Tuesday encouraged U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to ensure the U.S. Forest Service focuses on erosion mitigation efforts in denuded watersheds before the advent of winter rains.

"Erosion from steep hillsides will threaten water quality and often cause mudslides that damage property downstream and can seriously exacerbate flooding, as debris, mud and rocks clog flood basins," Boxer wrote in a letter to Vilsack, whose department oversees the Forest Service.

-30-

USFS Station Fire statement this afternoon:

Post Fire Watershed Rehabilitation Activities

Incident: Station Fire Wildfire
Released: 31 min. ago

What is ahead for the Angeles National Forest

The Station Fire is the largest in Los Angeles Countys recorded history and the largest in the history of the Angeles National Forest, which was established in 1892 as the Timber Land Reserve and later changed to Angeles National Forest.

As the Station Fire subsides, the ongoing concern for the forest lands north of Los Angeles heightens. Winter rain within the burned area can pose an ongoing threat to natural resources, life and property. In order to address those concerns ahead of time, the Angeles National Forest has assembled a Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Team to assess the damage to the watersheds, soil and natural and cultural resources. The team is comprised of specialists that are highly experienced in conducting rapid watershed assessments and analyses and include soil scientists, hydrologists, geologists, biologists, geographic information specialists, archeologists, botanists, silviculturists, and civil engineers.

The intense heat from wildfires can cause the soil to "seal" itself and water will not easily penetrate it. The water runs rapidly down streams and canyons which could cause potential flooding, mudslides, and debris flows. The BAER Team will assess the post-fire watershed conditions for any potential emergencies and recommend immediate treatments for the National Forest System lands.

The Angeles National Forest provides the Los Angeles Basin with 35% of its water supply. Four watersheds have their origins on the Angeles NF and those watersheds have all experienced different degrees of burn activity within the Station Fire. An assessment of these burned watersheds will need to be undertaken by the BAER Team to determine what methods of treatment will be effective.

Methods used after a fire to help slow the flow of water and mud slides could include erosion control protection measures, road drainage treatments, and cultural heritage resource sites protection.

Another area of concern for the Angeles National Forest is the wildlife that has been displaced. These animals have fled to the communities surrounding the forest. People can expect to see an increase in raccoons, skunks and other animals in their neighborhoods. As the forest cools down, the animals will begin to return to their normal habitat.

The Angeles National Forest will establish a cooperating group that will be able to provide a forum for local cities, towns, county, cooperating agencies; such as Natural Resources Conservation Service, LA Department of Water and Power, and Los Angeles County Flood Control to provide input into the assessment process.

-30-

NASA text with satellite image:

Two weeks after an arsonist ignited the drought-dry forest north of Los Angeles, the Station fire had become the ninth largest fire in California since 1933. On the morning of September 8, 2009, the fire had burned more than 250 square miles (about 650 square kilometers) of land, according to the Station Fire Incident Report from September 8. This image, captured by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA’s Terra satellite on September 6, shows the extent of the burned area. The newly charred land is black in this false-color image, which was made with near infrared light. Plants are dark red, and man-made surfaces, particularly the dense urban centers of Pasadena and Burbank, are blue and white.

The burned area covers much of the San Gabriel Mountains, edging down into residential areas northwest of Pasadena. Smoke rolls off the eastern edge of the burned land. The fire was still burning, just over 50 percent contained when the image was taken. According to the incident report from September 8, the fire was pushing east into forest with no recorded fire history. The fire had previously burned through tall, thick forest that had not seen fire in the past 40 years.

The image also illustrates why fighting the Station fire has been so difficult. The fire burned over steep mountains riddled with canyons. The rugged landscape looks wrinkled, particularly in the burned area where plants no longer soften the ridgelines and canyons. The steep terrain and the fire’s extreme, unpredictable behavior led to the death of two firefighters. Nine other firefighters have been injured fighting the fire, reported the Los Angeles Times.

South and east of the fire, the Mount Wilson Communication Facility and Observatory was still surrounded by unburned forest. The historic, 105-year-old observatory hosts two large telescopes, once the world’s largest, and other instruments to study the Sun and the Universe beyond. Mount Wilson also contains communications towers that serve much of the Los Angeles region. The image shows that the fire approached the facility on two sides, but left the forest around the observatory intact.

-30-

NASA Earth Observatory page here

USFS statement on InciWeb here

station fire

2009-09-02T12:20:00.001-07:00

Across Cook Canyon from Boston Avenue backfire and live fire near homes at 6:48 p.m. Tuesday Sept. 1 in Glendale - no homes were damaged or destroyed in this neighborhood authorities said

Cook Canyon next to Boston Avenue at 6:32 p.m. Tuesday Sept. 1

On Boston Avenue in Glendale at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday Sept. 1

On Boston Avenue in Glendale at 6:10 p.m. Tuesday Sept. 1

On Boston Avenue in Glendale at 6:10 p.m. Tuesday Sept. 1

Backfire activity in north Glendale at 6:04 p.m. Tuesday Sept. 1

Los Angeles County Battalion Chief Tom Ewald, left, confers with L.A. County Assistant Chief David Richardson and others during shift change at 8:35 p.m. Monday Aug. 31 on Starfall Drive off Pine Cone Road in La Crescenta

Looking west towards Station Fire at 7:19 p.m. Sunday Aug. 30 from Oak Glen

All photos by Guy McCarthy

-30-

oak glen

2009-09-02T11:48:00.001-07:00

Converted DC-10 over Pisgah Peak
6:50 p.m. Sunday Aug. 30 2009

By Guy McCarthy

Story reported, written and published Sunday Aug. 30 2009

OAK GLEN -- More than 100 Riverside County firefighters rushed today to a fast-moving wildfire just across the border in San Bernardino County that grew to 200 acres in dense chaparral and other brush, fire officials said.

The latest Southland wildfire forced the immediate mandatory evacuation of 300 residents and hundreds of tourists in the apple orchard mountain enclave of Oak Glen.

"They just evacuated us and I'm just heading out the door," said Kent Colby, 66, as he locked up at Law's Coffee Shop in the center of Oak Glen. "It really did take off fast. The whole parking lot is full of deputies. They used the loudspeakers and they went door to door."

The fire grew quickly to more than 200 acres after it was first reported at 1:45 p.m. near Potato Canyon Road and Oak Glen Road, according to Cal Fire public information officer Jason Meyer. The blaze was a few miles north of the Riverside County line.

"The most important thing is that everyone cooperate with law enforcement and public safety," Meyer said, speaking from a communications center in San Bernardino. "Everyone needs to make sure they get out of there so we can do what we have to do."

The evacuation extended to the entire town of Oak Glen, and it was mandatory, said San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Arden Wiltshire.

Potato Canyon Road is below most of the town's homes, rustic farm buildings and orchards, as well as some of the densest, oldest chaparral surrounding the town. Above Oak Glen stands densely forested Yucaipa Ridge, an area bordering the San Bernardino National Forest that has not burned in decades.

A half-dozen tanker planes were dropping retardant on the blaze while more than 25 engine crews were assigned to the attack. Many units were staging at Oak Glen Road and Bryant Street in Yucaipa, west of the fire.

"We've got decent flying conditions between here and the fire," said Ward Monroe, an air attack supervisor at the Forest Service Tanker Base at Norton Field in San Bernardino. "It's a bit hazy, but good visibility. Takes five or six minutes to fly from here."

Tanker turnaround times for landing and reloading retardant was 30 to 40 minutes, Monroe said.

The Martin Mars flying boat that has been stationed at Lake Elsinore was pulled off the Cottonwood Fire between Hemet and Idyllwild to make drops on the new fire in Oak Glen, said Forest Service information officer Robin Prince. An order had also been placed for the DC-10 tanker that made drops on the Station Fire above La Canada Flintridge and Altadena, Prince said.

Cal Fire-Riverside County units sent to the fire included six hand crews totaling about 80 firefighters, five engine crews with four firefighters to each engine and four chief officers, said Cal Fire-Riverside County Capt. Jenn Ricci.

-30-

fire water

2009-09-02T11:11:00.000-07:00

Observers in San Gabriel Canyon
7:44 a.m. Wednesday Aug. 26 2009

By Guy McCarthy

Story reported, written and published Thursday Aug. 27 2009

SAN GABRIEL CANYON -- While more than 1,000 firefighters toiled in heat wave conditions to gain the upper hand on two mountain fires above Azusa and Altadena, a Los Angeles County deputy director of Water Resources said today the Morris Fire could adversely impact the drinking water supply for more than one million people.

Post-fire erosion and accelerated sedimentation -- not pollution -- are the primary concerns to water officials. Vast mountainsides are scorched above the man-made reservoirs in San Gabriel Canyon, and Morris Fire perimeter maps today also showed burned areas bordering both bodies of water.

With vegetation burned off an estimated 1,800 acres or more, erosion rates and volume will increase on the steepest slopes with or without rains, according to geologists and geomorphologists.

Increased erosion in burned watersheds that empty into the San Gabriel and Morris reservoirs could mean those dammed bodies of water will have to be drained and cleared of sediment far ahead of the normal schedule, said Christopher Stone, assistant deputy director for Water Resources, Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.

The same thing happened after the 2002 Curve and Williams fires, when it took three years and cost $35 million to remove 5 million cubic yards of debris from the reservoirs, Stone said.

Draining the reservoirs over long periods of time can deprive local water vendors of up to 250,000 acre-feet that could be available in normal years, Stone said.

"In an average year we drain 250,000 acre-feet out of the reservoirs to spreading grounds," Stone told City News Service. "There it percolates underground, then it's pumped out and treated for drinking water supply. An acre-foot can supply two families of four for one year."

The typical annual yield from the San Gabriel and Morris reservoirs supplies "well over a million people," Stone said.

"That's a huge impact," Stone said. "It's a situation we'll have to monitor. A trigger point for draining the reservoirs will be whether we can operate valves and gates on the dams. It will depend on the rain seasons and when we get heavy rains."

Morris Dam was built in 1934, and according to California Institute of Technology archives, Morris Reservoir was used for testing rockets and torpedoes during World War II. The Metropolitan Water District had jurisdiction for several decades, but the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works has been responsible for both dams and reservoirs since 1995.

The San Gabriel Mountains that comprise all the high ground in the Angeles National Forest are ``highly erosive" and tons of sediment come down every year in normal conditions, Stone said. The two reservoirs in San Gabriel Canyon have to be drained and cleared of sediment every 10 to 15 years in normal circumstances -- without fires, Stone said.

At the Morris Fire incident command post in Irwindale, Angeles National Forest Technician Jim Garner explained some basic geology about the eroding San Gabriels.

"These are the fastest-growing mountains in the world, I believe, and they are also the fastest disintegrating, because of the geologic uplifting, the earthquakes and the faults," Garner said, standing next to a fire perimeter map that showed parts of the Morris and the San Gabriel reservoirs. ``Even without the fires, you have a tremendous amount of sediment and material coming out of the North, West and East forks of the San Gabriel River. These are huge drainages.

"That's just in normal conditions. Now you take a fire and wipe out all that vegetation and there's nothing to hold the topsoil and sediment back," Garner said. "So when it rains it accelerates movement of debris and volume of material going into the water in those reservoirs. There will be more turbidity and silt in the water."

Los Angeles County is the custodian of the dams and reservoirs, and flood control is the primary use of the dams, Garner said.

"About every 10 to 15 years they have to drain the reservoirs and remove the silt, in normal conditions without fires," Garner said. "I do believe they get drinking water out of them."

Congressman David Dreier, R-San Dimas, who represents the 26th Congressional District that includes the areas still burning in the Morris and Station fires, visited an incident command post in Irwindale today for a briefing on the fires.

"My main concern is with 100-degree temperatures, we have two fires going and there is the threat of more fires starting in these conditions," Dreier told CNS. "There is no silver lining to these fires. The only benefit that comes is learning how to combat the next fire.

"What I'm saying should be done today is that people take precautions to protect their families, pets and property," Dreier said. "And they need to listen to law enforcement in the event evacuations become necessary."

-30-

young micah

2009-06-11T17:33:00.000-07:00

Freshman year at Quartz Hill High

By Guy McCarthy

A popular and respected American alpinist who grew up in Lancaster remains missing at the base of a steep mountain wall in remote southwest China, where an avalanche apparently killed his two comrades.

People who grew up with Micah Dash in Southern California more than 10 years ago remember a humorous, sensitive young man who did things his own way.

"It's hard to put emotions into words," Tami Gallaway Valentine, who attended Quartz Hill High with Dash, said today in a phone interview. "He was always humble and sincere. Full of life. He was always real."

The search for Dash, 32, has been stalled by severe weather but may continue if conditions improve, according to rescue coordinators in China and Colorado.

The bodies of his teammates have already been recovered from avalanche debris below a steep face in the the Minya Konka massif in Sichuan Province, according to the American Alpine Club.

The remains of Jonathan "Jonny" Copp, 35, who grew up in Fullerton and learned to climb at Tahquitz and Joshua Tree, and Wade Johnson, 24, of Arden Hills, Minn., have been transported to the Chinese mountain village of Moxi, according to friends and colleagues in Colorado.

Sophomore year

"I know he still has not been found and I pray to God they find him and find him alive," said Bobbie Johnson Hanrahan, 32, who graduated with Dash in 1995 and now lives in Temecula.

Copp, Dash and Johnson were last heard from May 20 at their base camp below Mount Edgar, a 6600-meter peak near Gongga Shan, according to the AAC. Their objective was to forge a new route up Edgar's steep south face to the summit, more than 21,000 feet above sea level.

Hanrahan said she remembers Dash as a creative cut-up, ready with a smile and quick wit.

"He was small, everybody got along with him," Hanrahan said in a phone interview today. "He always made someone laugh. He always had a smile on his face."

Valentine, who now lives in Fort Worth, Texas, said Dash was not an imposing sort in high school, but he made a lasting impression.

"He was always strong, sincere and true from his heart," she said. "Berkenstocks and baggy pants and a beanie. He never put on a persona. All kindness."

As a junior, Dash helped put out Quartz Hill's literary magazine, which included poetry, short fiction, art and photography, Hanrahan said.

"All through high school he didn't seem athletic," Hanrahan said. "People liked him for who he was."

Junior year

Dash had a little of the devil in him at times, but he always stuck up for his friends, Valentine said.

"We got caught cheating in English one time, and he wanted to take all the blame for it," she said. "He was totally going to take the rap for us."

Recent images of Dash remind Valentine of the young man she knew years ago.

"I remember sometimes looking in his eyes in high school," Valentine said. "Now I see his pictures when he's on the mountain tops. It's clear, he's still taking it all in."

After high school Dash moved to Leadville to learn technical climbing and guiding skills at Colorado Mountain College’s Outdoor Leadership Program. He went on to work for Outward Bound in the Sierras, earned a coveted slot on the search-and-rescue team in Yosemite, and continued refining the art of climbing light and fast, according to friends and colleagues in Colorado and California.

Dash also worked recently with amputee and partially paralyzed ice climbers, including an Army veteran who took a rocket-propelled grenade to the chest in Iraq, according to the Denver Post.

Copp, Dash and Johnson were all based in Boulder, where Robb Shurr and others are soliciting donations and coordinating search-and-rescue efforts with Chinese authorities.

"We are deeply grateful to the Chinese climbers and rescue workers who have been doing everything possible on the ground to carry out the search," Shurr said in a recent statement.

Johnson's body was discovered Monday. He was an avid climber, as well as a photographer, film editor and producer with Sender Films, a maker of climbing and adventure videos based in Boulder.

Copp's body was discovered Saturday. In recent years Copp filed expedition reports from Pakistan, Argentina and the Alps that appeared in the American Alpine Journal, Climbing, Rock and Ice, and Alpinist magazines, among others. He also founded the Adventure Film Festival in Boulder, sharing his endeavors with a wider audience in theaters and on the Web. Some of Copp's work is archived here.

Sender Films states on its Web site that "Copp and Dash are highly experienced alpinists and professional climbers" who went to Mount Edgar after receiving a Mugs Stump Award grant for their current expedition from the American Alpine Club.

Copp and Dash had teamed on prior expeditions, including the first ascent of the Shafat Fortress in Kashmir, India in 2007.

Recent news of Copp, Dash and Johnson "has deeply shaken the climbing community, their families and their friends, affecting all who knew these talented young men and all whom they inspired," Erik Lambert of Alpinist wrote Wednesday.

Tributes to Copp, Dash and Johnson have been posted here and here.

All yearbook photos courtesy of Bobbie Johnson Hanrahan.

-30-

guymccar@gmail.com

search continues

2009-06-08T12:01:00.000-07:00

Micah Dash in 2007. Photo by Jonny Copp/Mountain Hardware

The body of a second American climber has been recovered in avalanche debris on a remote peak in southwest China, while the search continued today for Lancaster native Micah Dash, according to a spokesman in Colorado.

Chinese rescuers earlier today found the body of Wade Johnson, 24, a Minnesota native based in Boulder, who was photographer and film maker for the expedition.

"This is a very sad day. Wade had a big life in front of him," said Robb Shurr, a spokesman for the search effort. "His family and friends have been very strong during this difficult process of waiting and hoping. Our deepest sympathies go out to the Johnson family and all of the many people that had the opportunity to know and love Wade."

The body of Jonathan "Jonny" Copp, 35, was found Saturday and positively identified Sunday. Copp grew up in Fullerton and learned to climb at Tahquitz Rock above Idyllwild and in Joshua Tree National Park.

The search for Dash, 32, continued today on Mount Edgar, a subsidiary peak of Gongga in Sichuan Province. Dash is a 1995 graduate of Quartz Hill High School, his father told the Antelope Valley Press.

Copp, Dash and Johnson were all based in Boulder, where Shurr and others were soliciting donations and coordinating search efforts with Chinese authorities.

"We are deeply grateful to the Chinese climbers and rescue workers who have been doing everything possible on the ground to carry out the search," Shurr said.

Other American climbers have flown to China to join the search.

Copp, Dash and Johnson were last heard from May 20. They had been scheduled to fly out of Chengdu, Sichuan's capital, but did not show up for the flight.

Johnson was a photographer, film editor and producer with Sender Films, a maker of climbing and adventure films based in Boulder.

Sender Films states on its Web site that "Copp and Dash are highly experienced alpinists and professional climbers" who went to Mount Edgar after receiving a Mugs Stump Award grant for their current expedition from the American Alpine Club.

Copp and Dash had teamed on prior expeditions, including the first ascent of the Shafat Fortress in Kashmir, India. Copp's photo of Dash is on the summit ridge in August 2007.

Tributes to Copp, Dash and Johnson have been posted here.

-30-

missing climbers

2009-06-08T01:13:00.000-07:00

A renowned alpinist who grew up in Fullerton and learned to climb at Tahquitz, Suicide and Joshua Tree has died in an avalanche on a remote peak in southwest China, according to a search-and-rescue spokesman in Colorado.

A search for two other American climbers who were with him continued today on Mount Edgar in Sichuan Province.

The body of 35-year-old Jonathan "Jonny" Copp was found in avalanche debris and positively identified Sunday, a friend and colleague of Copp said in Boulder, Colo.

"Our deepest condolences and love go to all of Jonny’s family and friends -- and that list of people is so long," Robb Shurr said in a statement. "He will be sorely missed, but we celebrate his inspiring and amazing life."

The climbers who remained missing are Micah Dash, 32, a native of Lancaster in Los Angeles County, and Wade Johnson, 24, of Arden Hills, Minn.

Copp, Dash and Johnson were all based in Boulder, where Shurr and others were soliciting donations and coordinating search-and-rescue efforts with Chinese authorities.

"We are deeply grateful to the Chinese climbers and rescue workers who have been doing everything possible on the ground to carry out the search," Shurr said.

Other American climbers have flown to China to join the search.

Copp, Dash and Johnson were last heard from May 20 at the base of Mount Edgar. They had been scheduled to fly out of Chengdu, Sichuan's capital, but did not show up for the flight.

Johnson is a photographer, film editor and producer with Sender Films, a maker of climbing and adventure videos based in Boulder.

Sender Films states on its Web site that "Copp and Dash are highly experienced alpinists and professional climbers" who went to Mount Edgar after receiving a Mugs Stump Award grant for their current expedition from the American Alpine Club.

Copp and Dash had teamed on prior expeditions, including the first ascent of the Shafat Fortress in Kashmir, India.

Tributes to Copp, Dash and Johnson have been posted here.

-30-

lightning strikes

2009-06-03T23:58:00.000-07:00

USFS firefighters monitor blazes above Thurman Flat

By Guy McCarthy

MILL CREEK CANYON - Slow-moving thunderstorms unleashed scores of lightning strikes across the Inland Empire and the mountains today, killing a woman outside her home in Fontana and injuring a woman in Cabazon, authorities said.

In Big Bear Lake, winds or lightning snapped a large pine tree 30 feet above the ground, crushing a Chevrolet Suburban and killing the 31-year-old woman inside it, according to a fire prevention officer.

Lightning strikes also ignited more than 20 fires in the San Bernardino Mountains and wilderness areas, Forest Service firefighters said.

Forecasters said more thunder and lightning remain possible through Saturday.

"This is not the monsoon," said National Weather Service meteorologist Ted MacKechnie. "It's upper level low pressure that trapped a subtropical air mass over the ocean, and brought it over Southern California.

"The low will continue to move slowly inland," MacKechnie said. "Through Saturday or Saturday night."

Photo courtesy Big Bear Lake Fire Protection District

In Fontana about 4:45 p.m., a woman was under a tree in front of a house when she was struck and killed by lightning, Fontana police Sgt. Jeff Decker said in a phone interview.

Earlier in Cabazon, a woman in a parking lot was injured by a lightning strike close by. She was not struck by lightning, Cal Fire-Riverside County officials said.

By sundown, firefighters had dealt with more than 20 lightning-related fires in the San Bernardino National Forest today, including at least five in the San Gorgonio Wilderness, according to the Forest Service.

The largest was the McKinley Fire on Harrison Mountain, which burned about 150 acres above Highland before rains helped douse it, according to the Forest Service.

The Peak Fire, below San Bernardino Peak, had burned about 10 acres by sundown. Other small fires were reported out or contained near Oak Glen, Mountain Home Village, Lake Arrowhead, and Cranston in the San Jacinto Mountains.

Some fire crews were preparing to keep watch overnight on the most persistent of the blazes, and hoped to extinguish them before hotter, drier weather returns.

Unusual weather system west of Mill Creek Canyon

persistence pays off

2009-05-21T13:54:00.000-07:00

Climbers near Camp II in April
Images provided by Nicholas Rice

By Guy McCarthy

Blasting winds, heavy snow and grinding ice destroyed three of his tents on the world's eighth-highest mountain.

At times he endured temperatures 40 below zero Fahrenheit and colder, in a realm so devoid of oxygen those who go there call it the Death Zone. He assisted in two rescues and the elements contributed to at least one fatality.

But he refused to give up his goal of reaching the top. Persistence paid off.

On Day 57 of his expedition in the Nepalese Himalaya, Nicholas Rice of Hermosa Beach finally stood on the 8156-meter summit of Manaslu, a Sanskrit name that translates roughly to "Mountain of the Spirit."

"I summited at 11:30 a.m. on the 19th of May!" Rice said today in an e-mail today from his base camp. "All the best!"

On 8156-meter summit of Manaslu in Nepal

The 24-year-old climber's elation comes at the end of an ordeal that required multiple forays up the mountain and weeks of waiting. He had stocked high camps without porters and without supplemental oxygen, and he'd descended numerous times when the weather turned bad.

"Definitely recovered in base camp now, but it isn't looking good for a weather window," Rice said in an e-mail on May 12. "We've had 2 meters of snow here in base camp already with more to come and no sufficient weather window in sight before the monsoon brings the close of the season. Many expeditions are heading home . . . "

The next day Rice said he and other climbers who remained might still have a chance.

"It looks like there may be a weather window for the summit centering around the 18th of May. It will be difficult thanks to the deep snow and low number of climbers left in base camp, but Mario Panzeri and I will try starting up on the 16th. Wish us luck!!!!"

Ascending serac below Camp IV on Monday

According to dispatches on his Web site, Rice and Panzeri woke at 4 a.m. Saturday to begin their summit push from base camp. In camps I and II Rice found both his tents buried and crushed. Winds were approaching 100 mph and he was worried about frostbite.

On Monday at Camp III, an estimated 7000 meters above sea level, Rice found his third tent demolished and pushed on to Camp IV.

"I passed the corpse close to Camp IV and then spotted a number of destroyed tents on the crystal ice," Rice said. "I headed down to the rocky ridge and spotted Mario with the tent already set up . . .

"We settled in, made water, and quickly got to sleep, knowing that in a few hours, we would be heading up for the summit, two months of work boiling down to the next 24 hours."

They woke at midnight and started for the summit in freezing darkness. Ice on the route was steep and hardened, and at least one climber turned back. Rice tired in the thin air and found himself dozing off. He stopped to rest.

More than 11 hours later, he made it over the last of several high points and stood on the highest.

"I reached the summit in nearly perfect weather, with only a slight breeze and mild temperatures," Rice said. "The view was spectacular.

" . . . I knew that the weather was forecast to change and didn’t fancy looking for Camp IV in a whiteout. The slope before reaching Camp IV is icy and dangerous. As I headed down, exhausted, the clouds began to roll in."

Stuffed animal near summit on Tuesday

Rice made it back to Camp IV about 5 p.m., where he was grateful to share a tent with someone who could watch him for signs of dizziness and distraction. He was thrashed.

They descended all the way to base camp the next day, and celebrated with cheese, meat and wine. Porters are expected to arrive tomorrow for the trek back to Kathmandu.

Experience has taught Rice when to back off, and when to go for it.

Nine months ago, Rice was high on K2 in northeast Pakistan's Karakoram Range when 11 climbers died in one of the deadliest episodes in recent mountaineering history.

Rice opted to retreat on the world's second-highest mountain due to a delayed start on summit day, avalanche dangers, and crowding on the treacherous route to the top. News of the missing climbers, rescue efforts and deaths unfolded over several days and made global headlines.

The Nepalese Himalaya is roughly halfway around the world from Los Angeles and Rice's hometown. When it's sundown here, the sun is rising where he is.

Rice during trek to Manaslu base camp in March

For more on Rice's Nepal expedition, visit his Web site here.

For previous reports on Rice's experience on K2, click here.

-30-

angeles crest

2009-05-19T16:12:00.000-07:00

New bridge on Highway 2, slides still threaten road

By Guy McCarthy

VINCENT GAP - Rock slides and snow avalanches tore up a stretch of the Angeles Crest Highway so bad in 2004, 2005 and 2006, a section of the region's most sinuous road has been closed for several years.

Thanks to $10.5 million in repairs, including a centerpiece bridge west of Vincent Gap, Caltrans plans to re-open about nine miles of the Angeles Crest tomorrow at noon - restoring a legendary motorcycle route that connects La Cañada Flintridge with Wrightwood and the Cajon Pass.

The new bridge is slickly designed, to allow future slides to pass under the roadway. But it's only 208 feet long, according to Caltrans, so most of the road remains vulnerable to erosion.

Caltrans photo March 2006

Regardless, bikers and other mountain curve enthusiasts are psyched the Angeles Crest is about to re-open.

Caltrans workers like Barry Morrison did the dirty work to make it possible.

"We had to clear five-and-a-half years of debris in seven weeks," said Morrison, a Caltrans equipment operator based near Mormon Rocks in the Cajon Pass. "In places there was snow 16 feet deep, 200 to 300 foot across.

"We had rocks weighing up to 14 tons," said Morrison. "Took two loaders to move that one. We started earlier this year than ever before, in March, because the road was closed so long."

Caltrans photo January 2005

The Angeles Crest remains vulnerable for obvious reasons. Formed by tectonic lurching and grinding where two continental plates meet, the San Gabriel Mountains are rising and falling at an impressive pace, according to geologists.

"The San Gabriels, in their state of tectonic youth, are rising as rapidly as any range on earth," author John McPhee wrote in "Los Angeles Against the Mountains," a section of his 1989 book "The Control of Nature."

"Shedding, spalling, self-destructing, they are disintegrating at a rate that is also among the fastest in the world," wrote McPhee, who spent much of 20 years with geologists to complete his Pulitzer Prize-winning "Annals of the Former World."

Reporters above Vincent Gap March 2007

For the time-being, firefighters in Wrightwood are pleased residents have another way out of the mountain town in the event of an emergency.

"It's never been a main route out of town during wintertime because it's always closed due to snow," said San Bernardino County Fire Capt. Darrayl Felgar, based at Station 101 in Wrightwood. "But it's always good to have another avenue, another option.

"For sure we'll see an increase in over-the-side accidents and rescues," Felgar said. "Definitely an increase in motorcycle accidents. But we're trained for low-angle rescue. L.A. County has high-angle rescue coming out of Station 79 over by Palmdale.

"As far as fire aspects, with that road open we have better access if there's fires over there," Felgar said. "And anytime we have an additional road it gives us another avenue to get our people to safety if we have a fire here. It's good to have another way out too because of the mudflows on Sheep Creek. We get those nearly every year."

Sarah Barras outside the Racoon Saloon

Some business owners in Wrightwood are looking forward to more travellers coming from the Los Angeles side of the Angeles Crest. A bartender at the Yodeler on Park Drive said he expects to see more bikers on the outdoor deck on weekends. Across the street at the Racoon Saloon, employee Sarah Barras said she hopes to see more visitors too.

"It should be good for business," said Barras, who grew up in Wrightwood. "The people from the other side used to come up here a lot. They'll be up here again. We can use the extra traffic."

Rattler at Vincent Gap

Visitors to the San Gabriel Mountains and the Angeles Crest Highway right now should keep an eye and ear out for rattlesnakes. The one pictured was resting under a bush next to the locked gate at Vincent Gap today, then coiled to strike and made a lot of noise with its tail when an intruder approached.

Islip Saddle March 2007

For a thorough "Throttle Jockey" perspective and more history, see Susan Carpenter's Column One in today's Los Angeles Times. She took an escorted ride on the closed section recently and the video is worth watching.

-30-

Caltrans images provided by Armand Silva.

All others by Guy McCarthy.

Slide show here.

high-altitude rescues

2009-05-03T17:50:00.000-07:00

Team members help Marco Ruscarri descend.
All photos credit Nicholas Rice.

By Guy McCarthy

Helicopters can't fly to the roof of the world. People who try to go there know this.

When climbers in the Himalayas get into trouble they have to get themselves down.

A 24-year-old climber from Hermosa Beach who is trying to climb the eighth-highest mountain in the world - Manaslu in the Nepalese Himalaya - assisted on two high-altitude rescues in the past few days.

One of the climbers recovered from severe dehydration and survived. The other died of a pulmonary complication - edema or embolism.

Climbers use poles to assist Giuseppe Antonelli.

"Giuseppe died in Camp II," Nicholas Rice said in a satellite phone interview early today. "Marco was suffering from low potassium. We got him down to base camp."

Rice is trying to climb Manaslu unassisted by porters and without supplemental oxygen. He made it to Camp III last week, but the winds picked up and heavy weather moved in, including an electrical storm that forced most climbers to descend.

"Conditions were bad up high," Rice said early today. "High winds, steep rock with thin ice on the summit ridge. Last night we had a huge lightning storm. It can be dangerous."

A helicopter made it to Manaslu base camp on Friday and collected the body of Giuseppe Antonelli, age 38. Marco Ruscarri, 29, apparently decided to stay.

Rice said he is still optimistic about making it to the summit of Manaslu, which rises to 8156 meters, more than 26750 feet above sea level. The so-called Death Zone - where climbers' bodies steadily deteriorate in the thin air - begins at 8000 meters.

"I'm still optimistic about the summit," Rice said. "The rescues put it in perspective. It's a place where you can die.

"But I drink a lot of water - four liters a day," Rice said. "The main thing is to stay hydrated. A doctor in base camp has checked me out and I'm doing okay."

Rice at Camp III, about 7000 meters.

Rice said he intends to rest in base camp and recharge at least until Tuesday before making another summit bid.

"The past few days," he said, "have been exhausting."

-30-

For more on Rice's current expedition, visit his Web site here.

For previous reports on Rice's ordeal last year on K2, click here.

nepal update

2009-04-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

Photos courtesy of Nicholas Rice

By Guy McCarthy

A 24-year-old climber from Hermosa Beach says he has battled winds approaching 100 mph and endured temperatures 40 below zero Fahrenheit and colder to stock high camps for his solo summit bid on the eighth-highest mountain in the world.

Nicholas Rice called Watershed News early today via satellite phone from his base camp on Manaslu in the Nepalese Himalaya to say he will begin his summit push before dawn Saturday.

Getting to the top may take five days or more. Even if the weather holds he may not make it.

"The biggest challenge right now is the depth of the snow - and the winds," Rice said. "It's waist-deep at times, making progress difficult. Winds at high camps knocked me down a few times. Some tents have been destroyed."

The summit of Manaslu rises to 8,156 meters - more than 26,750 feet above sea level - where jetstream-force gales have blown other climbers to their deaths, according to Himalayan climbing records.

More than 50 climbers have been killed on Manaslu in the past six decades. Record-keepers estimate Manaslu has a fatality rate of 22 percent - meaning for every five climbers who reach the summit, at least one has been killed during ascent or descent. A pair of Japanese climbers made the first ascent of Manaslu in 1956.

Rice is attempting his climb solo, but he is not alone on the mountain.

As many as 50 other climbers were attempting to climb Manaslu this week, Rice said. He arrived in Nepal a month ago today. The journey from Kathmandu to Manaslu included a nine-day trek through rugged backcountry and remote mountain villages.

Rice with Nepalese children on approach to Manaslu

Experience has taught Rice when to go for it, and when to back off.

Nine months ago, Rice was high on K2 in northeast Pakistan's Karakoram Range when 11 climbers died in one of the deadliest episodes in recent mountaineering history.

Rice opted to retreat on the world's second-highest mountain due to a delayed start on summit day, avalanche dangers, and crowding on the treacherous route to the top. News of the missing climbers, rescue efforts and deaths unfolded over several days and made global headlines.

The Nepalese Himalaya is roughly halfway around the world from Los Angeles and Rice's hometown. When it's sundown here, the sun is rising where he is.

For more on Rice's current expedition, visit his Web site here.

For previous reports on Rice's ordeal on K2, click here.

View from Camp 1 on Manaslu

-30-

pakistan concerns

2009-04-22T20:17:00.000-07:00

Fiza Shah, center, in Orange County

By Guy McCarthy

GARDEN GROVE - When Fizah Shah helped found an international program to educate disadvantaged children - especially girls - in her native Pakistan, she knew she was starting into something that could take a lifetime.

But she is deeply troubled by recent news from her homeland, where the Taliban have reportedly gained more influence in the Swat Valley area of northwest Pakistan.

Educators and human rights advocates in Pakistan and Afghanistan have reported for years that the Taliban's hard-core, fundamentalist interpretation of Islam leaves little to no room for the rights of girls and women.

"The political situation in Pakistan is only deteriorating, especially in the north," Shah, 49, said in a recent interview in Orange County. She is concerned, she said, "Particularly because we promote education for girls. God knows what the future is. But it's bleak right now.

"That is why we must continue educating the children," Shah said. "It has to be done with pens and books, not guns."

In Washington today, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Pakistan's government has "abdicated" to the Taliban by allowing the group's leaders to impose strict Islamic law in the Swat Valley region.

President Barack Obama is scheduled to meet with the presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan on May 6 and 7 in Washington.

In spite of recent reports from her homeland, Shah said she is encouraged by continuing support for her program, Developments in Literacy - in the United States and elsewhere in the world.

Developments in Literacy (DIL) was founded in 1997 by Pakistani ex-patriates here in Southern California and has since helped establish more than 200 schools in rural and urban areas of Pakistan, according to the group's Web site. In the United States, DIL has eleven chapters in cities including Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C.

Shah and her peers at Developments in Literacy are looking forward to a visit to the Southland next week by author, mountaineer and philanthropist Greg Mortenson - who climbed K2 in northeast Pakistan's Karakoram Range in 1993, and has since helped start more than 70 schools for girls and boys in rural regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In 2007, Mortenson published a book about his experiences, "Three Cups of Tea." Mortenson is scheduled to appear Friday May 1 at two schools and two bookstores in Malibu. On Saturday May 2 he and his family are hosting a fundraiser at the Hilton Pasadena on South Los Robles Avenue.

Shah said she is encouraged that in spite of heightened security concerns, some climbers and travelers still venture far into remote areas of Pakistan to visit one of the world's most dramatic mountain ranges.

Each year, trekking operators work with government officials to try to ensure air and land tourism continue in the Karakoram when weather permits.

"This is one of the positive things," Shah said. "It is good to know that some people still want to visit."

Click here for more information about Developments in Literacy.

For more information about Mortenson and his schedule next week, click here.

-30-

manaslu

2009-04-22T14:02:00.001-07:00

Manaslu
Originally uploaded by e s c h e r

By Guy McCarthy

A 24-year-old climber from Hermosa Beach is in the Nepalese Himalaya right now, attempting a solo ascent of the eighth-highest mountain in the world, according to his family and sponsors.

Nine months ago, Nicholas Rice was high on K2 in northeast Pakistan's Karakoram Range when 11 climbers died in one of the deadliest episodes in recent mountaineering history.

Rice prudently opted to retreat on the world's second-highest mountain due to circumstances that included a delayed start on summit day, avalanche dangers, and crowding on the treacherous route to the top. News of the deaths and dramatic rescue efforts unfolded over several days and made global headlines.

In the latest information available this week, Rice was 30 days into his current expedition and waiting for a suitable weather window to make his summit push on Manaslu, which rises to a wind-raked summit of 8,156 meters -- more than 26,750 feet above sea level.

Manaslu - a Sanskrit name meaning "Mountain of the Spirit" - stands high in the Nepalese Himalaya and northwest of Kathmandu.

For more on Rice's current expedition, visit his Web site here.

For previous reports on Rice's ordeal on K2, click here.

-30-

Image of Nick Rice in Camp 1 on Manaslu courtesy of Rebecca Rice.

September 2005 image of Manaslu courtesy of Richard Shilling.

blasting winds

2009-04-03T22:40:00.000-07:00

Between Tramway Road and Racquet Club Road

By Guy McCarthy

PALM SPRINGS - Winds blasting down from alpine high country pushed a heaving, leaping brush fire into desert neighborhoods this afternoon, forcing some residents to flee and others to do what they could with garden hoses.

Gusts approaching 70 mph below the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway and Chino Canyon bent firefighters' hose streams at times and hurled embers from block to block, igniting 40-foot palms, awnings, fences and at least one deck behind a home on Milo Drive.

"It was intense in here, all these palm trees burning," Cal Fire-Riverside County Engineer Richard Tovar said, raising his voice above howling winds at sundown. "It was like the whole street was on fire."

Palm Desert Fire Engineer Kevin McNally stood on Racquet Club Road below Vista, near several blackened palms that hung over the roof of a corner home. Darkness was falling, but still the winds roared at times, and firefighters worked from yard to yard with hoses.

"We made some good stops," McNally said. "We did okay."

No serious injuries were reported. Some homes may have been damaged but none burned to the ground, Palm Springs Fire Chief Blake Goetz said later this evening.

"This could have been much worse," Goetz said. "We could have lost a hundred homes."

Winds were clocked at 69 mph in Whitewater and at Palm Springs International Airport, according to the National Weather Service, while gusts of 90 mph were measured near the top of the tramway, said Palm Springs police Chief David Dominguez.

Dominguez said 125 people were temporarily stranded at the top of the tramway when operators shut it down before the fire broke out. Dominguez said he was not sure what time the stranded visitors descended, but once they reached the tram's lower station they were forced to stay there because of the fire danger.

They were finally allowed to drive down Tramway Road in a convoy about 8:30 p.m.

Several hours after sundown, evacuation orders were lifted for neighborhoods near Tramway Road and Racquet Club Road.

The fire was reported contained by 11 p.m. Goetz said he expected fire crews would remain on watch through the night.

An investigation to determine the cause of the fire was underway.

-30-

esperanza report delayed

2009-03-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

Crew retreats on Highway 243, Oct. 26 2006

By Guy McCarthy

CABAZON - Release of a federal investigation examining fire command decisions during the Esperanza Fire that killed five Forest Service firefighters has been delayed until at least mid-April, an inspector general's spokesman in the nation's capital said today.

Announcement of the delay comes about two and a half weeks after a top Agriculture official led congressional leaders to expect the report by the end of March.

In congressional testimony on March 11, Department of Agriculture Inspector General Phyllis K. Fong stated, "We expect to issue our investigative report to Congress by the end of this month."

Fong was not available for comment today.

"It will be another two to three weeks," Paul Feeney of the Agriculture Inspector General's Office of Counsel said today. "By the end of April, not March."

Feeney did not provide an explanation for the delay.

On March 6, five days before Fong said the report would be issued by the end of this month, a Riverside jury convicted Raymond Lee Oyler of five counts of first-degree murder for setting the Esperanza Fire on Oct. 26, 2006.

The ensuing firestorm overwhelmed the crew of U.S. Forest Service Engine 57, and fatally injured Capt. Mark Loutzenhiser, 43, Jason McKay, 27, Jess McLean, 27, Daniel Hoover-Najera, 20, and Pablo Cerda, 24.

On March 18, jurors recommended the death penalty for Oyler. His sentencing is scheduled June 5.

"The fire occured on non-federal land," Fong testified on March 11. The Forest Service "was assisting in the suppression effort as part of a cooperative agreement with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, an entity for which OIG (Office of Inspector General) has no oversight jurisdiction."

Ever since the Agriculture Inspector General's investigation began more than two years ago, firefighter union officials have stressed they hope findings will focus on preventing another tragedy rather than seek to place blame on individuals.

Esperanza Fire from Cabazon, about 7:30 a.m. Oct. 26 2006
Photos by Guy McCarthy

-30-

neighbor honored

2009-03-27T12:06:00.000-07:00

Bob Ashburn, 51, at Diamond Valley RV Park

By Guy McCarthy

SAN JACINTO - A man who went into a burning trailer and pulled his neighbor out alive but still in flames will be recognized as "Citizen of the Year" at an American Legion banquet tomorrow in San Jacinto.

"The award is for heroism and bravery above the call of duty," said American Legion spokesman Rod Parr, 51, who is also administrative supervisor for the Hemet Pass Division of American Medical Response.

The award is to be presented Saturday during the annual Law & Order Awards Banquet at American Legion Post 848, 312 E. Main St., Parr said.

The fire was two weeks ago today in San Jacinto.

Bob Ashburn, 51, said he's honored but he doesn't think of himself as a hero.

"I was just doing what had to be done," Ashburn said today. "It's humbling to receive the award. I'm speechless."

The man he rescued, Tom Edwin Hieber, 61, underwent more surgery today at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton and remained stabilized in critical condition, his daughter said.

"He had his third skin graft today," said Lori Linden, 43, of Hemet. "He's still on a ventilator."

Hieber suffered second- and third-degree burns over 40 percent of his body, including his back, upper torso, neck and head, Linden said. He also suffered badly burned lungs from inhaling hot fumes and smoke.

"He was able to blink today," Linden said. "He still can't speak. It's day fourteen, but he's hanging in there."

The fire was reported at 6:11 p.m. March 13 at Diamond Valley RV Park in the 300 block of North State Street, Cal Fire-Riverside County officials said.

"If it hadn't been for Bob, Tom would be dead," said Jerry Castorena, 55, maintenance manager at the RV park.

Ashburn, an unemployed iron and electrical worker with construction experience, is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. Ashburn said today he was returning from Camp Pendleton, where he filled out several job applications.

The awards banquet starts at 5 p.m. Saturday. Dinner seating is sold out but standing room will be available, American Legion officials said. The event is open to the public.

-30-

Tom Hieber and daughter Lori Linden, November 2005.

For previous reports click here and here.

public lands

2009-03-26T13:34:00.001-07:00

California Conservation Corps in South Fork area

By Guy McCarthy

RIVERSIDE - Portions of Bautista Creek and the South Fork San Jacinto River in Riverside County are included in a bill passed by Congress this week to provide wilderness protection for 2 million acres of public lands nationwide, officials said today.

The Omnibus Public Lands Act, which affects 190,000 acres in Riverside County and an estimated 700,000 acres in California, requires presidential approval to become law.

The measure has been billed by some advocates as the largest addition to the nation's wilderness system in 15 years.

"Biologists consider Bautista Creek one of the most ecologically important streams in the San Bernardino National Forest, because of the variety of animal and plant species it supports," said Jennifer May, an aide to Rep. Mary Bono Mack of Palm Springs.

Bono Mack was one of two California Republicans to vote for the bill.

The South Fork San Jacinto River area is already popular with visitors who hike in from state Route 74, May said. A California Conservation Corps crew worked on the South Fork trail last week.

Other Riverside County lands affected by the bill include parts of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, as well as areas in and near Joshua Tree National Park.

Elsewhere in California the bill provides wilderness protection for lands in the East Sierras and in the Sequoia-Kings Canyon area.

"Visitors to these areas now have the promise that these lands will be protected in the future," said Sam Goldman, California coordinator for the non-profit Wilderness Society.

Wilderness protection means preservation of lands for future generations, but it can also mean reduced access for those who enjoy the outdoors on mountain bikes, dirtbikes and other off-road vehicles. Wilderness designation can also lead to restrictions on how rock climbers are allowed to place protective bolts in some areas.

Officials in Joshua Tree, Sequoia-Kings Canyon and the East Sierras indicated in phone interviews today that specific land management changes in their respective areas will not be announced until the bill is signed into law.

-30-

burned man critical

2009-03-18T09:04:00.000-07:00

By Guy McCarthy

COLTON - A man engulfed in flames when a neighbor pulled him from a burning trailer last week in San Jacinto is scheduled to undergo surgery today in Colton.

Tom Edwin Hieber, 61, was in critical condition at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, his daughter said.

"Say a prayer for him," Lori Linden, 43, of Hemet, said of her father. "The second surgery is for his back, upper torso, neck and head. He has second- and third-degree burns over 40 percent of his body. His lungs are burned too."

Linden called Watershed News to express gratitude to all the people who have helped keep her father alive in the past few days.

"I got there right after the fire and hugged the man who went in to save him," Linden said. "The doctors at Arrowhead tell me they saved his life again at the hospital in Moreno Valley.

"They said they had to do advanced medical maneuvers," Linden said. "They intubated him, to get tubes into his lungs before they swelled too much. Then they induced coma and airlifted him to Arrowhead Regional. I've been with him the past four days.

"They're treating him like a president at the hospital in Colton," Linden said. "Even the firefighters were in love with him. They said he was cracking jokes, even though he had been on fire."

Neighbors had publicly identified Hieber only as "Tom" since the fire, which was reported at 6:11 p.m. Friday at the Diamond Valley RV Park in the 300 block of North State Street.

Hieber has worked in construction and security for about 10 years in the San Jacinto area and he was getting ready to retire, his daughter said.

"He didn't have insurance on the trailer," Linden said. "Somebody in the park has already donated another trailer. But he's to be in the hospital for a long time recovering. When he gets out I want him to come live with me."

Linden said she is especially grateful to Bob Ashburn, a 51-year-old resident of the RV park who went into the burning trailer Friday and came out with Hieber still in flames.

"He did it not even knowing for sure if anybody was in there," Linden said. "He is my angel, for saving my dad."

Jerry Castorena, 55, the maintenance manager for Diamond Valley RV Park, his wife Tanya, and Ashburn said this morning their thoughts are with Hieber.

"We're hoping the best for him and his family right now," Castorena said. "This has got to be difficult for them."

-30-

Tom Hieber and daughter Lori Linden in Beaumont, November 2005.
Photos courtesy of the Hieber family.

"shovel-ready"

2009-03-16T16:06:00.000-07:00

By Guy McCarthy

MOUNTAIN CENTER - Formerly jobless young adults from San Bernardino, Victorville and Los Angeles went to work today in two sections of the San Bernardino National Forest - on the Cucamonga Trail in Lytle Creek, and near the South Fork San Jacinto River west of Mountain Center.

Backs bent over shovels, picks and rakes, they labored on trail projects funded in part by the $787 billion national economic stimulus plan recently enacted by Congress, according to forestry and California Conservation Corps officials.

"I'm glad to have this job," said Melina Vasquez, 18, who rose before dawn today with her crew to tackle trail work off Highway 74 in the San Jacinto Mountains of Riverside County.

"It teaches you a lot about the world you haven't seen," said Vasquez, who grew up in Watts and recently moved to Victorville. "In my neighborhood back home it was getting rough. This is a good change."

Vasquez worked with a crew of about 15 men and women, ages 18 to 25, who are part of the California Conservation Corps.

"It's minimum wage and hard work," said Mitchell Norton, 20, of Victorville. "But it's a good job, working outdoors."

Further north in San Bernardino County, members of a crew with the newly-formed Urban Conservation Corps worked today on a section of the Cucamonga Trail in the Middle Fork of Lytle Creek, said forestry spokeswoman Valerie Baca.

The UCC crew got measured for boots and uniforms on Friday in San Bernardino, Baca said. The U.S. Forest Service also has a partnership with a third jobs program for young adults, the Los Angeles Conservation Corps, Baca said.

The Forest Service has received an initial allowance of $98 million from the federal stimulus package, and some of that money is going to trail reconstruction and maintenance in the San Bernardino National Forest, according to Baca.

Up to 1,500 jobs will be created nationally by the first round of stimulus-funded Forest Service projects, according to Baca and other forestry officials.

During a brief pause from her work near Mountain Center, Jessica Riley, 18, of San Bernardino, recounted months of job hunting that may sound familiar to thousands of recently unemployed Americans.

"In the past eight months I went to places like Wal-Mart, Target, Payless and Stater Brothers," Riley said. "They all said they weren't accepting applications.

"This is an ideal job right now," Riley said. "I can work, make money, and go to school at the same time."

Like some of her peers in the California Conservation Corps who have not completed high school, Riley is working towards her GED.

Current work projects for the forest's corps partners include trail maintenance, brush clearance and assisting with surveys.

Although destructive fires are a regular occurrence in and near the San Bernardino National Forest - particularly in the past five years - it remains unclear whether any federal stimulus funds will be used for putting crews to work on fuel reduction or fire breaks.

Several fuel reduction projects scheduled this year in the San Bernardino National Forest are already funded from other sources, Baca said.

-30-

inside a burning trailer

2009-03-16T14:02:00.000-07:00

USMC veteran Bob Ashburn today at Diamond Valley RV Park

By Guy McCarthy

SAN JACINTO - "It was massive smoke, fire and heat," Bob Ashburn, 51, said today, recalling the scene Friday night inside a burning trailer.

"At first I couldn't see anybody," Ashburn said. "I stepped out and took a bunch of deep breaths, went back inside - through the living room - to some steps by the bathroom.

"That's when I saw Tom, through the smoke. I could see the flames on him."

Flames were shooting through the roof and dense smoke poured from the vents and door of the trailer when Ashburn went in, and he came out with his neighbor on fire but still alive.

In one of his first public interviews since the rescue effort, Ashburn said today he remains concerned for Tom, who is reportedly still clinging to life in a local hospital.

Neighbors and officials at the Diamond Valley RV Park have so far identified their critically burned neighbor by his first name only. They said today Tom remains in an induced coma with a 50-50 chance of survival.

The fire was reported at 6:11 p.m. Friday at the Diamond Valley RV Park in the 300 block of North State Street, said Cal Fire-Riverside County Capt. Casey Hartman.

"I was barbecuing outside my unit when a neighbor said 'There's smoke,' " Ashburn said. "I ran over this way and hollered 'Fire in the park!' to let people know, like we practiced.

"The door was open and flames were coming out the top" of Tom's trailer, Ashburn said. "A lot of smoke was coming out the door."

Ashburn said his reactions to the situation inside the trailer were automatic.

"Flames were coming out one of the doors inside but I felt I could dash up there and have a look," Ashburn said. "When I saw Tom side-stepping out I don't think he realized he was on fire.

"He said, 'Bring a hose, the fire's in here.' I grabbed him by the chest and hands - the only part of him that wasn't burning - and tugged him. He wanted to go back and I said 'No!' He was still trying to go back even though he had flames on him."

Ashburn rushed Tom outside, where neighbors doused him with a hose and a fire extinguisher.

Tom remained semi-conscious outside, in spite of his severe burns.

"He said he wasn't covered by insurance, that this is all he had," Ashburn said.

The burned man suffered second-degree burns over 40 percent of his body as well as airway injuries, said Cal Fire-Riverside County spokeswoman Cheri Patterson.

"Most of the damage they are concerned about is to his lungs, from inhaling the hot smoke," said Jerry Castorena, maintenance manager at Diamond Valley RV Park.

Investigators were at the park Saturday and Sunday but had not told Castorena or anyone else in the community what they had learned about the cause of the fire, Castorena said.

The Diamond Valley RV Park is home to about 140 trailers, RVs and mobile homes, said Ethan Moser, an assistant to the RV park's manager.

The resident who was burned is a permanent resident of the park, Moser said.

The fire destroyed a "fifth-wheel travel trailer" - where the rescue occurred - but did not spread to any other homes or trailers.

"We were lucky there were no winds the other night," Castorena said. "It would have been an inferno."

A firefighter was hospitalized with a minor ankle injury, Patterson said.

Ashburn is an unemployed iron and electrical worker with construction experience. He served in the Marine Corps from 1977 to 1986.

"I'm just thankful that Tom's still hanging in there," Ashburn said. "Hopefully he'll be doing better."

-30-

north face

2009-03-03T13:54:00.000-08:00

Upper reaches of Falls Creek and Snow Creek on San Jacinto

By Guy McCarthy

SNOW CREEK VILLAGE - Alpine-trained volunteers and a helicopter crew today plucked two overdue climbers high off the north face of Mount San Jacinto, one of the steepest escarpments in the continental United States.

Andrew Hillery, 24, and Chris Cannizzaro, 23, both of Playa Del Rey, started early Saturday and ascended more than 7,000 vertical feet by early today, according to rescuers.

But the pair got bogged down in deep snow, ended up off route, and ran out of food Monday, they told reporters after they were safe at the base of the mountain.

"We want to thank everybody here," Hillery said, gesturing to members of the Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit and the Sheriff's Department. "We thought it was going to be a two-day climb. But we didn't know the trail. We didn't realize how steep the peak was."

Route-finding was perhaps the most difficult part of the ordeal, the climbers said.

"We were just trying to keep the summit in our eyes," Cannizzaro said. "We thought we knew where to go, and here we are four days later - starving."

Their primary error was leaving the Snow Creek drainage, Hillery said.

"We did it twice, to get around the steep rocks," Hillery said. "That was our mistake. You have to stay in the creek."

Winds in the San Gorgonio Pass blasted lower elevations this morning as rescuers and a helicopter crew worked to reach the climbers. But conditions at higher elevations were nearly ideal for flying and hoist rescues, crew members said.

"We were about 50 feet off the deck and the winds weren't bad," said sheriff's Deputy Andy Rasmussen, 39, the hoist officer on the rescue helicopter today.

"Coming up and down the mountain there was a lot of turbulence," Rasmussen said. "But the hoists were smooth. They had picked out a fairly level area."

The climbers initially waved off the helicopter when they realized someone had come to their aid, said RMRU volunteer William Carlson, 23. But they were relieved at the same time and gladly accepted the offer of help.

Carlson said he got lowered from the rescue airship twice, at about 7,000 feet and again at 9,300 feet, near a secondary summit unofficially known as Kristin Peak. That's where the climbers were hoisted to the helicopter.

"I think they were pretty overwhelmed by the time they got to where they were," Rasmussen said. "Out of food - that's difficult. No food means no energy."

Hillery and Cannizzaro were reported missing Monday afternoon by Hillery's girlfriend, Ashleigh Chandler, 26, of Playa Del Rey.

"I'm so grateful to everyone," said Chandler, who arrived at the base of the mountain as Hillery and Cannizzaro were being interviewed by broadcast news crews.

"I know they know what they're doing," Chandler said of the climbers. "But they were supposed to be done Sunday. After I didn't hear from them - I had no idea what happened to them."

Hillery has experience on Mount Rainier in Washington and Mount Elbrus in Russia, and Cannizzaro has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, they said. They are not the first experienced mountaineers to require help on San Jacinto's daunting north face.

The rugged drainages of Snow Creek and Falls Creek rise in five miles from about 1,400 feet at Snow Creek Village to San Jacinto's summit at just over 10,800 feet elevation. The north face direct route requires walking, scrambling and technical climbing over more than 9,000 vertical feet - including snow and ice in ideal conditions.

"It's a classic alpine route when the snow is right," said RMRU volunteer Pete Carlson, 59, of Lake Arrowhead, who has climbed the north face route a half-dozen times. "You can do it in 12 hours when the route is hard underfoot.

"These are not ideal conditions," Carlson said. "Right now the snow is soft and there have been numerous huge avalanches in the past 10 days. You'd be walking through boulders of snow - the size of basketballs to Volkswagens. When it's good, it's like a smooth ramp, at 35 to 40 degrees."

The size and steepness of San Jacinto's north face made it a popular challenge in the 1940s and '50s, according to RMRU veterans and mountain historians.

Last week at funeral services for RMRU founding member Jim Fairchild, photos were displayed of Fairchild and members of Boy Scout Troop 13 after they successfully climbed the north face route in November 1956.

But the Desert Water Agency based in Palm Springs - which owns the land at the base of Snow Creek and Falls Creek - has tried to limit access to the north face since the 1960s, Carlson said.

"It's understandable - they don't want the water polluted," Carlson said. "But how can they close the whole mountain like that? Dozens of parties still try it each year. All the climbing web sites say it's trespassing, so do it covert. Just do it."

Dave Luker, general manager for the Desert Water Agency, said today he was disappointed to hear climbers still cross closed lands to get to the north face drainages.

"Our property has been closed for a couple decades now," Luker said. "It's a rough canyon and that's probably why they (Hillery and Cannizzaro) had to be rescued.

"Those are two very valuable watersheds - Falls Creek and Snow Creek - for our drinking water supplies," Luker said. "We closed them because of surface water treatment concerns. Those are pristine waters there.

"We don't have bear or bighorn sheep or any other animals in there often, because it's so steep," Luker said. "The only mammals in there from time-to-time are humans. We don't close the whole mountain either. We just ask people to stay off the water agency land. They can do whatever they want as long as they stay off our property."

Although Hillery and Cannizzaro may have trespassed to get on the north face route, they were not cited or charged with anything today, said Herlinda Valenzuela of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

"We're just glad everybody got down safe," Valenzuela said. "That's a steep part of the mountain."

Hillery and Cannizzaro both recently moved to Southern California from New Orleans, they said. They indicated they plan to continue alpine training for other ascents.

-30-

Troop 13 with Jim Fairchild, seated at right, November 1956.
Original photo by Don Ricker, RMRU.
For more about Fairchild click here.

christmas tragedy

2008-12-25T17:59:00.000-08:00

By Guy McCarthy

WATERMAN CANYON - Five years ago, Christmas also fell on a Thursday.

In 2003 the rains came harder.

They pounded down on slopes that had burned two months before in the Old Fire.

The deluge unleashed tons of ash, trees and boulders in Waterman Canyon and neighboring watersheds.

As darkness fell that evening, no one knew exactly how many people were missing.

Frantic rescue efforts were underway. But no one had dealt with chaos like this before.

Some survivors crawled out of Waterman Canyon on their own. Others in Cable Canyon walked through a river of flowing mud and rock to escape.

Some people - including nine children - did not make it out alive.

One man was found pinned under a log, grieving for a daughter ripped from his arms by the raging flood. San Bernardino City Fire Capt. Vinson Gates tried to console him, but the man was beside himself.

It was pitch black that night, Dec. 25 2003, when Mark and Aileen Andrews sat shivering in the back of an ambulance and described the avalanche of debris that roared down Waterman. Still the rains came, pounding in the darkness, forcing rescuers to abandon their efforts until the next morning.

The Andrewses had watched in horror as a grinding, clashing mix of water, mud and boulders tore out bridges on both sides of them on Old Waterman Canyon Road.

They'd found themselves cut off that afternoon, but low-lying fog and dark clouds made it seem like dusk in the deep canyon above north San Bernardino.

A thundering torrent was still churning 15 feet above the creek bed, four to five feet wide on the roadway in places. In the eerie aftermath of one of the slides, Aileen Andrews said she could hear voices.

"There were people standing in their yards, worried their houses were going to come down," she said. "One of the houses by the river had four big trees that went completely through . . . Some people chose to stay, but we didn't want to. We left about 15 people down there."

Rescues were underway elsewhere, but the Andrewses and others caught between two washed-out bridges were trapped.

Mark Andrews, 45, and Aileen Andrews, 40, of Crestline decided to save themselves. They gathered their courage and climbed the steep, slick, flood-washed slopes for nearly an hour before they came to Highway 18.

"I was climbing literally on my knees," Aileen Andrews said. "We were slipping and sliding. We were about to turn back when the fog lifted and we could see the 18. We made a beeline to the highway and a fire truck picked us up.

"We're grateful to be alive, definitely," she said. "I wasn't on my own though. I give it all to God."

The Andrewses were still in soaked, muddy clothing that evening as they spoke to a group of fire commanders and search-and-rescue volunteers near the top of Waterman Canyon.

"There were people still in there," Mark Andrews told the officials, who pored over a map of the canyon as the pair spoke. "They were by the houses, between those two bridges."

Minutes later, they huddled in the back of the ambulance, parked outside a hastily set-up command center.

Paramedic Lisa Comnick wrapped them in thermal blankets, cranked the ambulance heat on high, and fed them candy canes and salted peanuts still in the shell.

Other ambulances nearby were stuck in mud and debris from continuing slides. Comnick said the Red Cross was going to bring dry clothes and more blankets.

It was unclear at that point whether the Andrewses would be evacuated.

"Our son, Joshua, hasn't even opened his Christmas presents yet," Mark Andrews said. The 11-year-old was staying with a neighbor in Crestline.

The Andrewses said they got trapped on Old Waterman Canyon Road after they tried to avoid slide debris on Highway 18.

"My wife works at San Bernardino Community Hospital and I came down the 18 to pick her up," Mark Andrews said. "The highway was a mess, so we came back up the side road."

"That was a big mistake," Aileen Andrews said. "We saw rocks and water on the road, then it was like a freight train. It was rocks, boulders, trees, whole trees getting knocked down. We couldn't get through."

"We tried to turn around, but the bridge was washing out," she said. "We got out of the car to get to higher ground."

They left their four-wheel-drive Toyota Rav 4 on the shoulder and tried to get their bearings.

"The one bridge was there one minute and we looked back and it was gone," Mark Andrews said. "Then the other was gone."

About 100 yards ahead, an empty car stood on the road, its lights on, engine still running. No one came back for it in the minutes that passed before the Andrewses started trying to climb up to the highway.

"If anyone was standing outside that car when the flood came through
. . . " Mark Andrews said. "They were swept away, gone. Nobody came back to that car."

Two hundred yards behind, another car stood battered and dented in the road, its windows smashed and the hood and trunk lids open. The Andrewses spoke briefly with residents standing in their yards before they left, including a man who lived in one of the flood-damaged homes.

"He was on a cell phone and said, 'I can't come for Christmas because I got a bunch of trees in my living room. And they aren't Christmas trees,' " Mark Andrews said.

The Andrewses' home in Crestline was less than a mile from homes that burned in the Old Fire. They said their escape from fire-induced avalanche and flood was more good fortune.

"I was scared, but I was confident we'd get out too," Aileen Andrews said. "We felt trapped. We had to do something."

-30-

Sixteen people lost their lives that day. It took rescuers many days to uncover and retrieve all the bodies. The last victim from Waterman Canyon was found four months later, 15 miles downstream. Another survivors' story from Christmas 2003 is here.

Note: This account is based on an article originally reported and written for Dec. 26 2003 editions of The Sun newspaper in San Bernardino.

All photos Dec. 26 2003 by Guy McCarthy.

hotshots

2008-12-15T17:34:00.000-08:00

By Guy McCarthy

DEL ROSA - Beneath a blanket of drifting fog and low-lying cloud at the base of the San Bernardino Mountains, three firefighters took advantage of stormy weather today to burn a pile of brush at their base in north Del Rosa.

"Nobody's noticed so far," said Jack Masters, a member of the U.S. Forest Service Del Rosa Hotshots. "It's a good day to do this."

To fuel the fire in damp and drizzly conditions, USFS Firefighter Eddie Apodaca had a gas-powered leaf blower strapped to his back and used throttle-controlled wind to stoke embers in the pile to flames.

The high-powered bellows worked as well as a blow-torch.

Masters and Augustin Flores, another member of the local Hotshots, used shovels to help keep the pile burning.

Flores, 22, grew up in Lincoln Heights, East Los Angeles. Masters, 28, grew up in Redlands, San Bernardino and Fontana. Apodaca, 31, grew up in Tustin.

Each of them has seen enough wildfire in recent years. Today was a decent day for a controlled burn.

-30-

Photos by Guy McCarthy

stay tuned

2008-11-26T17:02:00.000-08:00

By Guy McCarthy

Even if no more heavy rain falls on burned areas, no more wind blows, and nothing else burns for the next year, nature reminded a region who's in charge over the past two and a half weeks.

While many residents in Yorba Linda remain under voluntary evacuation status this evening in the event heavy rains return overnight, a quick recap may be in order before Thanksgiving arrives.

Just two weeks ago, the weather was switching rapidly - from a powerful cold front that contributed to at least eight deaths in San Bernardino County to severe fire weather that helped destroy or damage close to one thousand homes from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles and the Santa Ana River.

Now we have rain when we need it, but it still seems like a curse for those who live in and below the watersheds scorched by fires so far this season.

Whether Yorba Linda and Orange County officials over-compensated for the post-fire erosion threat in the past few days - after firestorms exposed shortcomings in land use planning, emergency response and communications - is irrelevant.

The fact remains that obvious, foreseeable elements like wind, fire and rain again showed how dominant nature can be, and how limited even the nation's best-coordinated local, state and federal agencies are when the real deal goes down.

No matter how many volunteers, firefighters, police officers, pilots and utility workers we organize against fires and floods - there is nothing anyone can do if the winds blow hard enough or if the rains keep coming - except get out of the way.

In the meantime, perhaps everyone needs a break. The weather forecasters, who have been fairly reliable over the past two and half weeks, say we're going to get one.

But keep at least one eye wary.

-30-

mandatory evacuations

2008-11-26T01:06:00.000-08:00

Mill Creek Canyon on Tuesday.

Fears of post-fire erosion resulted in mandatory evacuation orders just before 2 a.m. today in vulnerable Yorba Linda neighborhoods, as heavy rains continued pounding the Freeway Complex Fire burned areas.

From the city's web site:

MANDATORY EVACUATIONS ORDERED

"Mandatory evacuations are in effect for the Brush Canyon Area, the Box Canyon Area, and the North Fairmont/San Antonio area. During the mandatory evacuation, the Thomas Lasorda, Jr. Field House (4701 Casa Loma Avenue) will be available as a shelter location."

The Weather Service updated flash flood warnings at 12:40 a.m. and 12:52 a.m. today for the Freeway Complex Fire burned area, in effect until at least 3:45 a.m.

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
1240 AM PST WED NOV 26 2008

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR... EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY IN SOUTHEAST CALIFORNIA... NORTH CENTRAL ORANGE COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA... THIS INCLUDES THE CITY OF YORBA LINDA... EXTREME NORTHWESTERN RIVERSIDE COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA...

* UNTIL 330 AM PST

* AT 1230 AM PST...RADAR SHOWED NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WITH MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL MOVING ACROSS THE BURN AREAS. THIS IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH 2 AM.

INCLUDED IN THE FLASH FLOOD WARNING ARE AREAS THAT BURNED IN THE FREEWAY COMPLEX FIRE. AREAS THAT ARE PRONE TO DEBRIS FLOW INCLUDE OLINDA VILLAGE NEAR BREA...CARBON CANYON...BRUSH CANYON...BOX CANYON AND SAN ANTONIO NEAR YORBA LINDA AND NEAR THE CASCADE APARTMENTS IN ANAHEIM.

DEBRIS FLOWS...INCLUDING MUD AND ROCK SLIDES...ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM. MUD SLIDES AND ROCK SLIDES CAN POTENTIALLY TRAP AND KILL PEOPLE CAUGHT IN THEIR PATH.

RESIDENTS AND MOTORISTS IN AND BELOW RECENTLY BURNED AREAS SHOULD BE ALERT TO HEAVY MUD AND DEBRIS FLOWS WHICH MAY BLOCK ROADS AND CULVERTS. POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS FLOODING AND PROPERTY LOSS COULD RESULT IN AREAS WHERE RUNOFF IS RESTRICTED OR BLOCKED. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF ONE QUARTER TO ONE HALF INCH PER HOUR ARE POSSIBLE IN THE WARNED AREA.

-30-

flood warning

2008-11-25T23:24:00.000-08:00

Storm over east San Gabriel range Tuesday evening.

Updated warning at 11:57 p.m. for the burned areas in Los Angeles County:

FLASH FLOOD STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OXNARD CA
1157 PM PST TUE NOV 25 2008

...A FLASH FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1245 AM PST FOR THE SAYRE...MAREK AND SESNON BURN AREAS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY...

AT 1150 PM PST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED HEAVY RAIN FALLING OVER SAYRE...MAREK AND SESNON BURN AREAS. BRIEFLY INTENSE RAINFALL RATES OF OVER QUARTER OF AN INCH IN 15 MINUTES HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN GAUGES NEAR THE BURN AREA. HEAVY RAIN IS EXPECTED TO PERSIST THROUGH AT LEAST 1245 AM PST WEDNESDAY.

RAINFALL IS EXPECTED TO CAUSE FLASH FLOODS AND DEBRIS FLOWS IN AND AROUND THE SAYRE...MAREK AND SESNON BURN AREAS.

BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS DIFFICULT TO RECOGNIZE THE DANGERS OF FLASH FLOODING AND DEBRIS FLOWS. IF FLASH FLOODING OR DEBRIS FLOWS ARE OBSERVED...ACT QUICKLY.

LAT...LON 3437 11866 3441 11838 3429 11834 3422 11860
3432 11849

$$

As storm cells make their way inland tonight, a flash flood warning has been issued for the burned areas in Los Angeles County.

From the National Weather Service:

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OXNARD CA
1118 PM PST TUE NOV 25 2008

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN OXNARD HAS ISSUED A

* FLASH FLOOD WARNING FOR...
THE SAYRE...MAREK AND SESNON BURN AREAS IN
LOS ANGELES COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA...

* UNTIL 1245 AM PST

* AT 1105 PM PST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED VERY HEAVY RAIN APPROACHING THE BURN AREAS FROM THE SOUTH. RAINFALL RATES OVER ONE HALF INCH PER HOUR ARE EXPECTED THROUGH 1245 AM PST WEDNESDAY.

* LOCATIONS IN THE WARNING AREA INCLUDE LOCATIONS IN AND NEAR THE SAYRE...MAREK AND SESNON BURN AREAS.

RESIDENTS AND MOTORISTS IN AND BELOW RECENTLY BURNED AREAS SHOULD BE ALERT TO FLASH FLOODING AND DEBRIS FLOWS WHICH MAY BLOCK ROADS AND CULVERTS.

flood watch

2008-11-24T13:14:00.000-08:00

Cloud cover over east San Gabriels today.

By Guy McCarthy

A flash flood watch issued at 1 p.m. today for the coming storm has been expanded to include the recent burn areas in Santa Barbara County and the San Fernando Valley.

At 2:27 p.m., a statement from the National Weather Service in Oxnard emphasized the concern for areas scorched by fires:

ALTHOUGH A STORM OF THIS MAGNITUDE THIS TIME OF YEAR WOULD NOT BY ITSELF POSE A RISK FOR LIFE-THREATENING FLOODING...AREAS THAT HAVE BEEN DENUDED FROM RECENT BURNS ARE AT AN INCREASED RISK FOR FLASH FLOODS AND DEBRIS FLOWS...AND THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS FOR THESE AREAS ONLY.

The watch area highlighted by the National Weather Service includes the estimated 47 square miles that burned in the Freeway Complex Fire.

If hard rains come to inland areas, they are expected between Tuesday evening and Wednesday evening.

Residents in and below recently burned areas in Orange County have been warned of the potential danger for several days. Sandbagging and other mitigation efforts continue today in Yorba Linda.

Here's the 1 p.m. alert:

* FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR A PORTION OF SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA...INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING AREAS...COACHELLA VALLEY...ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS...RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS...SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS...SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE...SAN DIEGO COUNTY COASTAL AREAS...SAN DIEGO COUNTY DESERTS...SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS...SAN DIEGO COUNTY VALLEYS AND SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS.

* FROM TUESDAY EVENING THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING

* A STORM APPROACHING FROM THE WEST WILL BRING PERIODS OF MODERATE TO HEAVY RAIN TUESDAY EVENING INTO WEDNESDAY EVENING. THE SNOW LEVEL WILL START OUT QUITE HIGH AND THEN LOWER TO ABOUT 6500 FEET BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT...SO MOST OF THE PRECIPITATION WILL FALL AS RAIN. THIS WILL MAKE FLASH FLOODING POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY IN AND BELOW RECENTLY BURNED AREAS AND NEAR STEEP TERRAIN.

A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS MAY DEVELOP THAT LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING. FLASH FLOODING IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION.

-30-

erosion concerns

2008-11-21T17:55:00.000-08:00

Yorba Linda subdivision below Chino Hills State Park.

By Guy McCarthy

Yorba Linda city officials warned residents today of potential for devastating post-fire erosion if hard rains hit slopes scorched and denuded by the recent fires.

"Due to the Freeway Complex Fire on November 15-16, nearly all the vegetation on the hillsides along the northern interface between the City and Chino Hills State Park has burned away," Yorba Linda officials said in a statement titled "Post-Fire Rain Events."

"As a result, much of the remaining soil and debris could wash down into surrounding neighborhoods when it rains. These mudflows may result in additional property damage."

More information for Yorba Linda residents is posted here . City of Brea officials have also posted information on erosion control on their site.

Showers are possible in the region next week, according to The Weather Channel.

One reason local governments take the post-fire threat so seriously is the Christmas 2003 deaths of 16 people in canyons north of San Bernardino. Heavy rains on steep mountain slopes burned two months before by the Old Fire unleashed tons of ash, burned soil, boulders and logs. The dead included nine children.

The Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register have stories here and here.

-30-

post-fire

2008-11-20T14:16:00.001-08:00

Cal Fire investigator Monday in Riverside County.

By Guy McCarthy

A week ago today, nothing had burned.

Not in the past month anyway.

Now scientists are studying massive tracts of blackened earth from Santa Barbara and Sylmar to the Santa Ana River, to quantify how the region's most recent firestorms will impact water quality and slope stability.

Lead agencies include the Orange County Flood Control District and the Orange County Water District.

"The sheriff, the fire authority and the flood control district are working together to understand the impacts of the fire," Nadeem Majaj, assistant chief engineer for Orange County flood control said today in a phone interview.

"We're meeting next week to strategize our preparations for the winter," Majaj said. "We've already inspected dams, basins and channels, in particular the Carbon Canyon Dam. We'll be providing guidance to cities as to what they can expect."

The Freeway Complex Fire burned more than 47 square miles and destroyed or damaged 313 homes, according to Orange County Fire Authority estimates updated today.

Destroyed home Monday in Yorba Linda.

The Freeway Complex Fire started Saturday in Corona and burned into three other counties.

But Orange County will bear the brunt of impacts from the fire, said Jeff Beehler, environmental project manager for the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA).

In November 2003, the Riverside-based authority prepared a detailed report on how the Old, Grand Prix and Padua fires of October that year could impact the Santa Ana watershed, which is home to more than 5 million people.

The watershed also supplies most of the drinking water for people who live there, according to SAWPA.

A year ago, the authority issued a map showing six fires that impacted the Santa Ana watershed in October 2007, including the Santiago Fire in Orange County and the Slide and Grass Valley fires in the San Bernardino National Forest.

An updated report on fire impacts from SAWPA this year is unlikely, Beehler said Wednesday.

"This is going to impact Orange County," Beehler said.

Last year after the October 2007 fires, the U.S. Geological Survey prepared a report on how ash and burned soil could adversely affect water quality, human health, endangered species, and contribute to debris flow or flooding hazards.

To mitigate potential effects from the burned areas on drinking water supply, the Orange County Water District is diverting as little water as possible from the Santa Ana River into its deep recharge basins, according to Eleanor Torres, a spokeswoman for the district.

The district has more than 1,600 monitoring stations to ensure water quality, Torres said in a phone interview.

"What we're hoping is the first heavy rains will flush the river out," Torres said.

Local, state and federal agencies typically cooperate to form Burned Area Emergency Response teams after any major fire in Southern California. The most recent episode of catastrophic firestorms is no exception.

Destroyed home Monday in Yorba Linda.

Photos by Guy McCarthy

-30-

survivors

2008-11-17T21:46:00.001-08:00

Porcelain figures rescued from ashes Monday.

By Guy McCarthy

From Corona to Yorba Linda and Carbon Canyon, it was clear Monday why some forestry and fire specialists have started using the term "fireshed."

It was also obvious that post-fire erosion will be a concern the next time it rains hard on an estimated 45 square miles of blackened slopes and gullies, from the Santa Ana River to the Chino Hills.

But Monday was also a time for survivors of the weekend fires to reflect and count their blessings, while firefighters and utility crews worked into the night for a third day in a row.

Investigators were busy too. Near the point of origin for the so-called Freeway Complex in Corona, a team from Cal Fire worked in a charred field, using red and yellow flags to mark the fire's movement in its earliest stages.

"We're still in the process of conducting the investigation to determine the cause of the fire," said Cal Fire Capt. Marc DeRosier, who is based in San Bernardino. "That has not been determined yet."

DeRosier added that he and his team were assisting the Corona Fire Department with the investigation.

"The red flags designate forward advance of the fire," DeRosier said. "The yellow flags designate lateral progression of the fire."

A few hundred yards away in the first community where homes were damaged, Sandy Brown, 60, felt fortunate most of her house on Feather River Road was still standing.

"I'm not totally surprised by the fire, because the house backs up to wilderness," Brown said. "That's why we bought it, for the view.

"The firefighters were wonderful, of course," Brown said. "Channel 4 showed 10 of them on the roof, chopping away at the flames. The whole roof is a total loss, but the rest of the house is okay."

Brown's tenant, Kay Rains, said she was completely surprised by the fire.

"There was no warning whatsoever," Rains said. "No sirens, no fire engines at first. A lot of smoke, and then the neighbor's yard was on fire.

"People should just be prepared at any time," Rains said. "This can happen to you."

Several miles west and high above the riverbed on Alpine Lane in Yorba Linda, Ron Gibson, 53, made a similar point.

"When they say you have 30 seconds to get out, they mean 30 seconds," Gibson said. "A fireball came over that ridge, six stories high. We had to run for our lives."

Gibson said he and his family barely escaped, and everything else burned, including their vehicles.

"It was like a mushroom cloud that engulfed everything," Gibson said of the flames. "The house is gone. A huge mistake that we built. But the insurance company has told me they'll take care of everything."

Gibson's 19-year-old daughter, Summer, said the loss of her home and belongings rattled her. But she said she also sees a chance to turn over a new leaf.

"My parents told me to pack, but I wasn't listening," she said. "I'm just a spoiled girl with two closets of clothes, who always had everything. Now all that's gone.

"This is really a reality check. I feel sorry for my neighbors. But I still feel fortunate."

On San Antonio Road, 18-year-old Richard Fitkin sifted through ashes and found a group of tiny white porcelain figures.

"It's a nativity scene, from the day Christ was born," Fitkin said, after lining them up on a charred beam that used to be part of his home. "They're the only thing in the house that survived."

Fitkin said he woke up Saturday morning, the fire came out of the hills, and there were no warnings on his street.

"Apparently the house burned down in 30 minutes," Fitkin said.

According to Cal Fire and the Orange County Fire Authority, the fire that started in Corona and spread to three neighboring counties destroyed more than 150 homes and damaged more than 100.

At 7 p.m. Monday, containment of the fires was estimated at 60 percent. Fighting the fires up to that point had cost an estimated $10.7 million.

In Los Angeles County, evacuations for Diamond Bar residents were lifted Monday afternoon. But as the sun set on the other side of the hills in San Bernardino County, it was clear an evacuation order remained in effect on Carbon Canyon Road all the way to Sleepy Hollow.

In the meantime, a group of neighbors who refused to evacuate had the town to themselves. They were disappointed the local liquor store had closed for the fires, but they were making do Monday night with a bottle of sake and ice.

"We stayed because we knew the fire would come," said Bill Worthing, 37, sitting in his driveway with Robin Overholser, 56.

"The whole ridge was glowing red, embers were flying, we had flames 50 feet away," Worthing said, recalling the height of the threat early Sunday. "We worked with shovels and garden hoses."

Manny Ocampo, 33, joined his neighbors and declined sake for the time being.

"It was pretty scary, but we fed off each other," Ocampo said. "It was like hell at night, raining down embers."

Another neighbor named Ethan joined the driveway gathering.

"The laziest friends I have were out here fighting fire," Ethan said. "We were yelling at each other - 'You still over there?' 'I can feel it over here.'"

Firefighters and inmate crews were patrolling for hot spots in Sleepy Hollow well after dark Monday. Just beyond Sleepy Hollow, Edison crews worked under generator-powered lamps to repair downed power poles and sagging lines.

According to the City of Chino Hills, "Due to the nature of the communities in Carbon Canyon, fire officials cannot do their job and share the road with the number of vehicles that would be in the area if the order was lifted."

The evacuation order will be lifted at 10 a.m. Tuesday, according to Chino Hills officials.

-30-

more red

2008-11-14T14:45:00.000-08:00

Recent sunset over east Redlands.

By Guy McCarthy

REDLANDS - While a firestorm fed by sundowner winds has claimed a hundred or more homes up the coast in Montecito, the National Weather Service has expanded red flag warnings to include coastal slopes below 5,000 feet in the San Bernardino National Forest and other mountains of southwest San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

The updated warnings issued at 2:47 p.m. today reflect ongoing concerns for rising temperatures, low humidity and explosive fire potential similar to what unfolded yesterday evening in Santa Barbara County.

Red flag warnings also continue until 4 p.m. Saturday for Ventura and Los Angeles counties, excluding the Antelope Valley. Warnings updated at 3:02 p.m. today make specific mention of potential for gusting winds from the Hollywood Hills to Malibu.

More from the Weather Service:

"The red flag warning is being expanded this evening to include all of the Cleveland National Forest . . . the San Diego County mountains . . . and the San Diego County inland valleys."

The warnings continue in effect until Saturday afternoon for these areas, with potential for relative humidity below 15 percent and northeast winds 25 to 45 mph, gusting 55 to 65 mph, according to the Weather Service.

"Forecast models continue to project moderate Santa Ana winds through Saturday with the strongest offshore pressure gradients occurring this evening through Saturday morning," according to the Weather Service in San Diego.

In other words, it's hot, dry and breezy right now.

But the winds may pick up tonight.

-30-

mood swings

2008-11-13T11:38:00.000-08:00

Sheriff's helicopter after sunrise, Rialto, November 2007.
Cucamonga Peak and east San Gabriels in the distance.

By Guy McCarthy

CAJON PASS - Just a few days after a cold front contributed to at least eight deaths in San Bernardino County, the National Weather Service has issued red flag warnings in Southern California for increased fire danger due to near-record heat, low humidity, and a return of Santa Ana winds.

Fire crews are expected to be on heightened alert from tomorrow morning through at least Saturday afternoon. Officials in San Diego issued warnings for the Inland Empire and the Santa Ana Mountains and foothills at 12:55 p.m. today. Warnings for Los Angeles and Ventura counties were issued this morning.

From the San Gorgonio Pass to the San Fernando Valley, local, state and federal agencies are well aware of the potential for critical fire weather.

Forecasters can see the winds coming days in advance - but nobody knows for sure where they'll strike hardest.

"This might be the first serious Santa Ana event of the season," said Bill Patzert, an oceanographer and forecaster for NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in La Canada Flintridge. "The others so far have been puny.

"The high pressure system over the Great Basin is setting up in the classic position," Patzert said in a phone interview today. "I think we're going to see record or near-record temps up to 100 degrees in the inland valleys, for the next three days.

"These definitely qualify as devil winds," Patzert said. "We haven't seen the meteorology lined up like this in a while. The problem is you never know which canyon or pass is going to get it."

Weather Service forecasters in Oxnard issued red flag warnings before noon today. Their counterparts in San Diego had issued fire weather watches on Tuesday, said NWS meteorologist Steve Vanderburg.

"Typically the worst areas for the winds are in and below the Cajon Pass, and communities like Devore, Rialto, Ontario and Corona," said Vanderburg, who is based in San Diego.

From critical fire weather conditions to cold fronts and back again, the whipsaw mood swings of mother nature are routine this time of year, Vanderburg said.

"This happens in Southern California as fall transitions into winter," Vanderburg said. "We can get stuck in this pattern, with heat waves followed by cold storms. You can see radical temperature swings in the valleys, because you're close to the mountains.

"You have an 11,000-foot range there, and the valleys drop down as low as 500 feet elevation in places," Vanderburg said. "You see a bit of everything."

The cold front that moved across Southern California early Sunday brought high winds that hurled dust and sand across a vast region, from the Owens Valley to the lowlands of Riverside and San Diego counties. It also slammed some mountain areas with sleet, snow and blizzard conditions.

Four died in a plane crash Sunday in the storm-shrouded San Gorgonio Wilderness, just hours after whiteout conditions cut off two Los Angeles-based hikers on 11,500-foot San Gorgonio Mountain. Also Sunday morning, four people died in a multi-vehicle pileup on Interstate 40 east of Barstow that included at least three bigrigs.

"Pilots need to fly within their personal flight restrictions, and people driving need to know when to slow down or pull over," said San Bernardino sheriff's Lt. Dale Gregory, who helps oversee his department's aviation unit at the foot of the Cajon Pass.

Flight crews from the Rialto base responded to several incidents in the mountains in the past few days, including a rescue of the stranded hikers and recovery of those who died in the plane crash on 10,459-foot Dobbs Peak.

Today they're bracing for more heat, winds and fire potential, Gregory said in a phone interview.

"We're staffing a second fire ship, at the request of the state," Gregory said, referring to a military-surplus helicopter equipped with tanks for dropping retardant or water loads.

"This is part of the job," Gregory said. "We have to be ready for whatever nature brings."

-30-

Helicopters, one equipped for firefighting.
On standby in Rialto, November 2007.

Photos by Guy McCarthy.

serious weather

2008-11-10T16:54:00.000-08:00

A north-facing section of Yucaipa Ridge, Monday afternoon.

By Guy McCarthy

MILL CREEK CANYON - It's wet, cold and wintry in the mountains at the moment - and recent conditions may have been deadly.

Now brace yourselves for another change.

Dry winds and possible record-breaking heat expected later this week could mean more critical fire potential in the inland foothills and valleys, according to forecasters.

Meanwhile in the San Gorgonio Wilderness today, rapidly changing weather at elevations above 10,000 feet allowed a sheriff's helicopter crew to safely rescue two hikers from Los Angeles who had been stranded by blizzard conditions.

But shifting cloud cover in the high country prevented another helicopter crew from landing a deputy and volunteers to investigate what appeared to be wreckage from a recent plane crash on 10,459-foot Dobbs Peak, about a mile west of San Gorgonio Mountain, sheriff's and forest service officials said.

"There is a plane missing out of Hesperia, reported yesterday," sheriff's spokeswoman Jodi Miller said Monday afternoon. "But we do not have a tail number confirmation from the wreckage on Dobbs Peak. We do not know if that is the missing plane."

A sheriff's helicopter crew will attempt to land up to 10 investigators and volunteers at the reported plane crash site just after first light Tuesday morning, Miller said. Sunrise tomorrow is expected about 6:20 a.m.

"We were not able to insert anyone today because of the weather conditions," Miller said. "It was deemed not safe."

The plane reported missing out of Hesperia on Sunday afternoon had four people on board and they were returning from Baja, Miller said. She said the Sheriff's Department would not release any further information about the plane and those on board until investigators examine the reported wreckage on Dobbs Peak.

The rescued hikers, Cody Westhaimer, 29, and Josh Saxe, 27, both of Los Angeles, had intended to spend Saturday night on the 11,500-foot summit of San Gorgonio Mountain, Southern California's highest point. They were cut off from descent Sunday morning by blizzard conditions and eight to 10 inches of snow that fell overnight, according to Miller.

Westhaimer had a cell phone and sent a text message to his wife, who alerted authorities before 8 a.m. Sunday, Miller said. A helicopter crew landed a team of rescuers near the summit Sunday afternoon, and returned after dawn today. The hikers and rescuers were flown down to Mill Creek Ranger Station by 7:30 a.m.

Aside from snow, sleet and hail in the mountains, the cold front that moved across Southern California starting early Sunday also sent high winds hurling dust and sand across a vast region, from the Owens Valley to the deserts and lowlands of Riverside County.

The winds may have contributed to four deaths Sunday on Interstate 40 in San Bernardino County, though causes of the fatal, multi-vehicle pileup had not been released.

Gusting winds and sandstorms were present along I-40 before 9 a.m. Sunday, when more than a dozen vehicles crashed east of Barstow, according to the California Highway Patrol. Specific causes of the crash had not been publicly disclosed by the CHP as of Monday evening.

Four died in the pileup, including Faith V. Wilson, 66, of Fullerton, according to the San Bernardino County coroner. Wilson was a passenger in a Porsche Cayenne that got rear-ended in the multi-vehicle crash, according to the coroner.

The names of three other deceased victims had not been released, said Barstow-based CHP Officer Taj Johnson.

"There were approximately 13 vehicles involved, at least three of them were semis," Johnson said today. "Right now, even though it was windy with sandstorms out there, we don't know the exact cause. It could have been anything. Somebody not paying attention. Something other than the weather. It was mass confusion out there."

Tomorrow morning conditions may be ideal for a helicopter mission to the reported plane crash site on Dobbs Peak, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Don Atkin. The Weather Service routinely prepares a specific forecast for the San Bernardino Mountains and the San Gorgonio Wilderness.

"If there are any clouds, they should be high clouds," Atkin said Monday evening. Low-lying fog or cloud bands cloaking ridges above 10,000 feet should be unlikely just after sunrise Tuesday, Atkin said.

Later this week, with dry winds and potential highs in the 90s for inland foothills and valleys, fire weather warnings and watches may be necessary, Atkin said.

"It wants to be fall going into winter, but it just can't make it," said Bill Patzert, an oceanographer and forecaster for NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in La Canada Flintridge.

"Here in Southern California we're pretty behind the curve for rainfall so far," Patzert said today. "We're sticking with our forecast for a dry winter. It's good to see the mountain forests get some precip, but down here in the lowlands and chaparral we're dry as a bone.

"We're still in a race between the Santa Anas and the rain, and so far the Santa Anas have been winning."

-30-

more heat

2008-10-24T21:46:00.000-07:00

San Bernardino city firefighters at work Friday.

By Guy McCarthy

SAN BERNARDINO - The National Weather Service has extended red flag warnings for critical fire weather conditions through Sunday evening in the mountains and valleys of Southern California.

San Bernardino Firefighter Nick Munoz on the 210 Freeway.

It's already been a trying week for firefighters in several communities. Roadside vehicle fires were a problem on a number of freeways Friday. The one pictured happened about 2:35 p.m. on the eastbound 210 Freeway just west of Muscupiabe Drive.

Temperatures on slopes that burned Thursday above Upland rose to 94 with 6 percent relative humidity on Friday, according to U.S. Forest Service and CalFire personnel below Cucamonga Peak.

Later Friday a brush fire in Beaumont burned more than 35 acres, according to CalFire-Riverside County spokeswoman Cheri Patterson. The fire was contained at 5 p.m. Crews were expected to remain on fire lines through the night.

The cause of the fire was determined to be equipment use during a vehicle salvage, according to Patterson. Fire investigators would like to speak with someone who was driving a late model blue Chevy or GMC pickup truck in the area. Patterson encouraged anyone with information to call 1-800-633-2836.

CalFire-San Bernardino County Firefighter Phillip Marquez from Devore Engine 3577 packs out 50 pounds of hose Friday. Firefighters and inmates carried 3,000 to 5,000 linear feet of hose off slopes that burned Thursday above Upland.

Photos by Guy McCarthy.

-30-

inland heat

2008-10-24T16:25:00.001-07:00

Vehicle explodes about 2:35 p.m. today on the 210 Freeway
in San Bernardino. No one was injured.

By Guy McCarthy

SAN BERNARDINO - From Upland to Beaumont, it's difficult to say who was warmest this afternoon in the Inland Empire.

Firefighters and inmate crews in the burned areas above Upland dealt with 94-degree heat, 6 percent relative humidity, and black widow spiders while they packed out 3,000 to 5,000 linear feet of hose from blackened slopes below Ontario and Cucamonga peaks.

Several hours later, more crews rushed to a brush fire that broke out about 3:20 p.m. at Lambs Canyon Road and Beaumont Avenue, according to CalFire-Riverside County spokeswoman Massiel De Guevara. No structures were immediately threatened.

A number of roadside vehicle fires were reported on freeways across Southern California today, and the 210 in San Bernardino was no exception.

Unfortunate but still lucky to be alive, Manuel Gurrola, 77, of San Bernardino said he drove over a mattress that got caught under his vehicle and he could not pull over right away.

By the time he stopped on the eastbound shoulder of the 210 at about 2:35 p.m., just west of Muscupiabe Drive, sparks from the bed springs and heat from the undercarriage set the vehicle aflame.

"He got out but he didn't want to move away from the flames at first," said Christina Perez, 20, who pulled over with her father Joaquin to help if they could. "My father got him to back off some, and that's when it exploded. We're glad he's okay."

San Bernardino Medic Engine 223 arrived within minutes, and Firefighter Nick Munoz doused the vehicle and roadside brush ignited by the flames.

The latest report from Beaumont was the brush fire had burned 50 to 100 acres, with no containment estimate shortly before 5 p.m., De Guevara said in a phone interview.

Burned slopes today below Cucamonga Peak.

Slideshows are here and here. Photos by Guy McCarthy.

-30-

cucamonga canyon

2008-10-23T17:18:00.000-07:00

Looking west over Cucamonga Canyon, July 2005.

By Guy McCarthy

UPLAND - About 400 firefighters were assigned to a 200-acre blaze burning this afternoon on slopes scorched five years ago in the Grand Prix Fire, according to Cal Fire and San Bernardino County fire officials.

The fire was reported at 2:04 p.m. near the north end of Euclid Avenue in Upland, said Cal Fire spokeswoman Suzanne Penfold. Firefighters stopped the flames from reaching any homes and the fire moved north into the wash at the mouth of Cucamonga Canyon, Penfold said.

No structures were immediately threatened and no evacuations had been ordered.

As of 5:30 p.m., officials estimated the fire was 30 percent contained and burning in the San Bernardino National Forest, said Cal Fire spokesman Jesse Estrada. One firefighter had been hospitalized due to an unspecified allergic reaction, Estrada said.

The Grand Prix Fire burned more than 69,000 acres and destroyed 194 homes in October 2003, according to U.S. Forest Service fire and aviation records.

The vegetation that has grown back in the past five years is not nearly as dense as unburned chaparral typically found at elevations near the mouth of Cucamonga Canyon.

San Bernardino County Fire spokeswoman Megan Blaney described the fuels burning today near San Antonio Heights as "light and flashy."

-30-

shades of red

2008-10-23T15:38:00.001-07:00

Skycrane west of Porter Ranch last week.

By Guy McCarthy

SAN BERNARDINO - The National Weather Service has extended red flag warnings through Saturday night across much of Southern California due to expected low humidity and critical fire weather conditions.

Santa Ana winds have slacked off considerably, but the continued spell of dry heat should remain a concern to fire crews and residents, according to Weather Service updates this afternoon.

Areas noted by the Weather Service include the San Gabriel Valley, the Santa Monica Mountains, the Santa Clarita Valley, and the Angeles, Cleveland and San Bernardino national forests.

Red flag warnings from the Weather Service today mean "that critical fire weather conditions are occurring. A combination of low relative humidity . . . very warm temperatures . . . and critical fuels will create explosive fire growth potential."

The Weather Service warnings are not to be confused with a new system of colored flag warnings devised in the foothill city of Sierra Madre, where officials are also concerned about the potential for devastating post-fire debris flows.

In Sierra Madre, a red flag means go - leave immediately - according to a new warning system announced this week. The Sierra Madre system also includes green and yellow flags.

Red flags won't come out until heavy rains are expected on burned watersheds from the Santa Anita Fire in April and May 2008, said city spokeswoman Elisa Weaver.

But Sierra Madre officials aren't taking any chances with the post-fire situation, Weaver said.

"Our biggest challenge at this point is making sure people understand," Weaver said in a phone interview. "The fires were burning right in people's back yards. We're based right up against these hills."

In Southern California, a steady rain on recently burned slopes can unleash tons of ash and destabilized soil. Depending on rain intensity, the size of the watershed and grade of the slopes, a post-fire debris flow can ooze along at 5 mph or reach freeway speeds - and in either case they can be deadly.

Post-fire debris flows killed 16 people in canyons north of San Bernardino on Christmas 2003.

Some Sierra Madre officials remember a post-fire debris flow that killed two in Bailey Canyon, several months after the devastating Kinneloa Fire of October 1993.

"We don't want to scare people," Weaver said. "We just want them to be aware of the possibilities and to be ready to evacuate when necessary."

A public meeting is scheduled to address the new warning system in early November.

More information is available at the city of Sierra Madre's site.

-30-

'near miss'

2008-10-22T14:33:00.000-07:00

Between Hunter's Ridge and Sheridan Estates.

By Guy McCarthy

FONTANA - Somebody set off fireworks in gusting Santa Ana winds early Wednesday, igniting a 250-acre wildfire that burned from north Fontana into Rancho Cucamonga, forced some foothill homeowners to evacuate, and closed two schools, fire officials said.

Blasting winds also played a role in a second fire that broke out before noon and burned about two acres in a south Fontana industrial area off Mulberry Avenue.

A red flag warning for gusting winds and heightened fire danger remains in effect for the mountains and valleys of southwest California through Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

The point of origin for the first fire was near the high end of Foxborough Drive, above the San Sevaine flood control channel and north of Interstate 15. It was initially reported at 12:43 a.m., said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Chon Bribiescas.

"We woke up at 2:30 and it seemed like it was in our back yard," said Rancho Cucamonga resident Charlotte Martinson, raising her voice to make herself heard above the winds. "It was pitch black and we could see the flames. It was 2003 all over again."

Martinson referred to the Grand Prix Fire of October 2003, which burned more than 69,000 acres and destroyed 194 homes, according to U.S. Forest Service fire and aviation records.

"The firefighters did an unbelievable job to knock it down," Martinson said, struggling to remain upright in the gusting winds. "They really deserve credit."

The Grand Prix Fire was ignited by an ATV rider in the same area, five years ago Tuesday, said San Bernardino County Fire spokeswoman Tracey Martinez.

Inmate crew prepares for windy work in burned areas.

"It's a near miss, because the residents here have been lulled into thinking the brush that's grown back since the Grand Prix is not enough to fuel a wildfire," shouted Dennis Cisneros, of the Rancho Cucamonga Fire Safe Council.

"What they saw early today is how fast and hot a fire can spread," Cisneros said, holding onto his Fire Safe Council hat as another gust set him back on his heels. "It was low to the ground, but it spread to 100 acres right away."

Etiwanda Colony Elementary and Summit Intermediate were the two schools closed as a precaution, Cisneros said.

"The San Bernardino County board of supervisors needs to make sure their fire codes include brush clearance requirements in utility corridors," Cisneros said. "See where these high tension power lines run on the front of these hillsides?

"This is what they call the wildland urban interface," Cisneros said. "This is exactly the path of the Grand Prix Fire. The vegetation is growing back and clearly these areas can be ignited year-round - not just in these seasonal Santana winds."

San Bernardino County Fire Capt. Dan Trapp said he and his engine crew arrived about 1 a.m. and tried to keep the fire from burning into a steep draw. The winds were too strong.

"We couldn't keep it from crossing the ravine, but we were lucky it didn't climb further up the mountain and come back down on us," Trapp said.

"The lesson is you have to always be prepared in Southern California," Trapp said. "Brush clearance and evacuation plans. Even though this area has a history, people get complacent."

No one had been taken into custody or charged in the Foxborough Fire, Martinez said. Both fires remained under investigation.

Burned slopes Wednesday above Fontana and Rancho Cucamonga.

-30-

red flag

2008-10-21T12:43:00.000-07:00

Skycrane passes over a burned structure next to
the Ronald Reagan (118) Freeway, Oct. 13 2008.

By Guy McCarthy

SAN BERNARDINO - The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for critical fire weather conditions and explosive fire growth potential tonight through Friday in the mountains and valleys of southwest California.

Officials with the San Bernardino National Forest have characterized the forecast Santa Ana wind event as "weak to moderate."

Nonetheless, authorities have beefed up fire response readiness with additional firefighters, aircraft, and extended patrols, according to forest spokesman John Miller.

There are a total of 30 engines assigned to the San Bernardino National Forest this week, as well as four hotshot crews, three tanker planes, three Skycrane helitankers, two other helicopters, and an air attack lead plane ready to respond to fires as they are reported, according to Miller.

"We take the forecasted weather very seriously and add additional resources as needed," Forest Fire and Aviation Chief Michael Dietrich said in a prepared statement. "Even with more patrols we need the public to join in fire prevention, both being careful and reporting suspicious activities immediately."

Last week's winds stoked fires in the San Fernando Valley and in the city of San Bernardino. The Sesnon and Marek fires burned more than 19,000 acres, destroyed more than 50 homes and contributed to two deaths. Fires in San Bernardino gutted several businesses, forced closures of Interstate 215, and threatened neighborhoods at the base of Little Mountain.

Near Porter Ranch, Oct. 13 2008.

Timed to coincide with the heightened state of awareness, the San Bernardino County Mountain Area Safety Taskforce has scheduled a press conference at 11 a.m. Wednesday in upper Waterman Canyon at Highway 18. Officials intend to address fire preparedness, fire history, new building codes, evacuation procedures, fire resource availability and arson awareness.

Those expected to speak include San Bernardino County Fire Chief Pat Dennen, sheriff's Lt. Rick Ells, and Forest Supervisor Jeanne Wade Evans, said sheriff's spokeswoman Jodi Miller.

The press conference will be staged at the site of a commercial structure that was destroyed during the 2003 Old Fire. Sheriff's officials noted this week marks the anniversaries of the Old and Grand Prix fires in 2003, and of the Slide and Grass Valley fires in 2007.

The fires are among the most devastating in county history, leaving more than 1,400 homes in ashes.

Sunday is the anniversary of the 2006 Esperanza Fire, when five U.S. Forest Service firefighters died trying to protect a vacant home near Twin Pines, in the San Jacinto Mountains section of the San Bernardino National Forest.

Early Oct. 23 2007 in Running Springs.
Photos by Guy McCarthy.

-30-

winds dictate

2008-10-13T22:34:00.001-07:00

Dusk falls near Mayan Drive

By Guy McCarthy

PORTER RANCH - From San Bernardino to the San Fernando Valley, gusting winds held the upper hand Monday, severely limiting what firefighters and pilots could do as out-of-control fires burned an estimated 10,000 acres, destroyed more than a dozen homes, and contributed to at least one death.

"It was hell, hell in the mountains," said Abdessamad Elyamani, a doctor who feared for the lives of his wife and children as Santa Ana winds hurled a storm of flames and embers into their hillside community.

"I saw it coming so fast," said Elyamani, who lives near the high end of Topanga Canyon Boulevard. "Two or three minutes, that is all. It was huge fumes of smoke and flames, and we could not breathe. It was jumping all over. Embers were flying and starting fires everywhere."

Los Angeles County fire Capt. Tim Bauer and a strike team of five engine crews from East Los Angeles arrived about 11 a.m. and did what they could.

"Winds were reported 75 mph here. It was a firestorm," Bauer said. "Embers were flying sideways into the houses. As soon as we got here, the fire was right upon us."

Bauer and his crews took a chance trying to defend a ridgetop neighborhood with narrow, winding roads and limited water. Several homes burned, but they managed to save more than the flames destroyed.

"We took risks taking the high ground, yes," Bauer said. "But it's risk versus gain. We were sheltered somewhat behind the houses. . . . No, it's not a safe place for a firefight. Narrow streets, hilltop, and only a few hydrants."

Elyamani's home did not burn, but several of his neighbors' homes further uphill on Mayan Drive were gutted.

"We will try to spend the night," Elyamani said, walking down from Mayan as a smoky, orange dusk turned slowly to darkness. "But you see these embers on the hill? If they cross the street we are gone."

He pointed at the slope across the road from his home as wind fanned tiny, glowing hot spots into flames. He turned towards his home with his wife and boys, ages 4 and 8.

"We hope we are going to be okay."

Earlier Monday, about 80 miles east at the Forest Service Tanker Base in San Bernardino, aviation officer Tom Inocencio said blasting winds and turbulence in the morning prevented he and his pilot from making it to the fires burning in the San Fernando Valley.

"They sent us to the fire at Little Tujunga, the one they call Marek," Inocencio said. "We made it to west of Cucamonga Peak, above Rancho and Ontario, but we had updrafts and downdrafts coming off the mountains.

"We were losing and gaining 2,000 feet elevation per minute," Inocencio said. "It was like being weightless for a second, then getting jammed down in your seat. Wilder than a rollercoaster."

Inocencio and private contract pilot Ryan Litten were in a twin-engine Aero Commander, a lead plane for tankers that drop retardant and water. The blasting winds kept many aircraft grounded at the same time the fires blew up, according to accounts at the tanker base and in the Porter Ranch area.

"It's a decision we have to make sometimes," Litten said. "Every aircraft has limitations and if conditions exceed those limitations we have to set it down. It wasn't fun this morning. Everything in the cabin was flying around."

Inocencio said he learned the winds had grounded all fixed-wing tankers flying out of Lancaster. Watching television coverage of the fires in the San Bernardino tanker base kitchen, Inocencio drew a few conclusions.

"These aren't the kinds of fires where aircraft are effective," Inocencio said. "The winds just take the water or retardant and spread it out. Drops just drift away, off target. When it blows this hard, the real work gets done on the ground."

It was about 1:30 p.m. By that time, Inocencio said he'd had to turn down two additional dispatches because of the winds.

"We're getting 30 knot cross-winds here right across the deck," Inocencio said. "We had sustained readings at Santiago Peak in Orange County of 70 mph. Top speed gust reading was 117 mph at Santiago."

Some helicopter pilots in Los Angeles County managed to fly, and by late afternoon tanker planes made at least a few drops on the fires in the San Fernando Valley. Earlier in the day, Inocencio said some of the aerial attacks were just for show.

"It looks good because people want to see their tax dollars at work," Inocencio said. "But it's risk versus gain. Is it worth the risk to put on a show like that, when it doesn't do much on the fire?

"It's been a rough day so far. Maybe tomorrow will be better. But the latest models show the winds will keep going into Wednesday."

-30-

Photos by Guy McCarthy

extra crews

2008-10-09T16:36:00.000-07:00

Skycrane detail, November 2007.
Photo by Guy McCarthy.

Thursday, Oct. 9 2008 - More fire crews are shifting to Southern California today as Santa Ana winds are expected to return this weekend. Additional aircraft are already on standby.

The Forest Service issued this press release today:

###

VALLEJO, Calif. – In preparation for forecasted Santa Ana winds this weekend the Forest Service is bolstering its fire response readiness with additional firefighters, aircraft, and extended patrols.

This Sunday and Monday, weather forecasts are calling for the first Santa Ana wind event of the year. In response, local forests are staffing firefighters for 24 hour shifts and 20 additional engines, 12 heavy air tankers, and six Sky Crane helitankers have been moved into the area to assist with initial attack. Additionally, the Forest Service has requested the Air National Guard provide two Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS) equipped C-130 aircraft to assist with potential firefighting needs.

“We have already had a long and difficult fire season in Northern California this year,” said Pacific Southwest Regional Forester Randy Moore, “but as the fire season transitions into Southern California we will remain alert and proactively shift firefighters ahead of Santa Ana winds to improve our ability to stop wildfires before they can grow out of control.”

Locally, on the San Bernardino National Forest, an additional five engines will supplement the usual 25 local Forest Service engines, totaling 30 engines on extended staffing, as well as four hotshot crews, three airtankers, two helitankers, two helicopters, an air attack plane, and addition initial attack support. An additional four single engine airtankers can be available within four hours.

“San Bernardino National Forest firefighters continue doing a tremendous job taking immediate and aggressive action suppressing wildland fires on the forest,” said Forest Supervisor Jeanne Wade Evans. “Now as we potentially face our first Santa Ana winds of the season, we’re ramping up our fire fighting resources and law enforcement patrols.”

Each fall in Southern California, Santa Ana winds have the potential to rapidly spread wildfires which makes rapid response to fires extremely important. Although the Forest Service and partnering firefighting agencies in Southern California are doing their part to prepare for potential wildfires this fall, it is equally important for local citizens to do their part.

Citizens can help firefighters by ensuring that their homes have defensible space and by being especially careful with open flames, sparks, and other heat sources.

Additionally, citizens living near the wildland-urban interface should keep an eye out for arson and report arson activity immediately by dialing 911.

###

On standby, November 2007. Photo by Guy McCarthy.

Meanwhile, a study released today shows wildfires cause ozone pollution levels that can exceed health standards.

The study, conducted by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, focused on California wildfires in October and September 2007.

NCAR scientists Gabriele Pfister and Christine Wiedinmyer found the fires repeatedly caused ground-level ozone to spike to unhealthy levels across a broad area, including much of rural California as well as neighboring Nevada.

The study is copyrighted by the American Geophysical Union.

-30-

teamwork

2008-09-30T21:41:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesy of Capt. Tim Bingham, CalFire-Riverside County.

IDYLLWILD - It was one month ago today - on Saturday Aug. 30 - when two Orange County climbers were severely injured after a 100-foot leader fall at Suicide Rock.

Both are expected to fully recover, thanks to the teamwork of other climbers already at Suicide and firefighter-paramedics from Idyllwild and Pine Cove.

In the photo above, a climber works with firefighters to stabilize one of the injured on a trail at the base of Suicide Rock.

Reports on the accident and rescues are here and here.

-30-

canyon perspective

2008-09-26T16:25:00.000-07:00

Mill Creek Canyon and Forest Falls from Galena Peak, Aug. 26 2008.

By Guy McCarthy

FOREST FALLS - If anyone in this mountain town had heard of a federal study showing many residents in the San Bernardino National Forest experience stress from living in such a fire-prone region, they weren't letting on to it Friday.

At Forest Falls Fire Station 128, two county firefighters politely referred questions to Capt. Tom McIntosh.

In his office at Gillmore Real Estate, McIntosh said he hadn't heard of the study, and he was too busy with other work to consider it at the moment.

Across the street at the Elkhorn General Store, co-owner Gail Forgues said she hadn't heard of the study either. During busy weekends and the occasional town emergency, her store often serves as information central.

Forgues expressed confidence in federal management of the San Bernardino National Forest, but admitted she was not sure what to expect from the next presidential administration as far as forest maintenance.

She said she wasn't expecting many people to watch the Obama-McCain debate tonight on the store's flat-screen television.

"I'm not sure what I'd ask them about," Forgues said, given an opportunity to form a question for the two candidates. "I'd have to think about it."

The semi-rustic Elkhorn General Store stands at roughly 6,000 feet elevation, next to the popular El Mexicano eatery in the center of Forest Falls. The town is about 80 miles east of Los Angeles in Mill Creek Canyon, which lies below the San Gorgonio Wilderness.

Bulletin board at Elkhorn General Store.

In recent years, federal grants helped pay for expensive helicopter removal of hundreds of dead trees on slopes above Forest Falls. Helicopter logging is dangerous and can cost up to $100 per tree.

McIntosh and others in the community are experienced in firefighting, alpine rescue, swift-water rescue, house-to-house search-and-rescue, and debris removal. Long-time Forest Falls residents reflect their rugged surroundings, and many are self-reliant and competent in emergencies.

In the past century, Forest Falls residents have experienced earthquakes, floods, rock avalanches and debris flows - but no serious fires. Other parts of the forest have burned repeatedly in the past 100 years. But not upper Mill Creek Canyon.

New residents are aware of the history, though they don't dwell on it.

"We know about what they say," said Roger Derda, a former community development and planning director in Banning who moved to Forest Falls recently. He was painting the side of his home Friday afternoon, further up-stream from the Elkhorn, El Mexicano and Gillmore.

"They say it's a box canyon and all that," Derda said. "We're not concerned."

Yucaipa Ridge and Mill Creek Canyon from Galena Peak, Aug 26 2008.

The San Bernardino National Forest covers more than 1,000 square miles in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

-30-

fire-prone stress

2008-09-26T16:22:00.000-07:00

Running Springs, early Oct. 23 2007. Photo by Guy McCarthy.

RIVERSIDE - A federal study released Wednesday evening shows that many residents in fire-prone communities surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest - one of the most flammable in the United States - have stress and anxiety related to living in high-hazard areas.

Focus groups for the study were held in Angelus Oaks, Forest Falls, Lake Arrowhead, Crestline, Big Bear, Wrightwood and Idyllwild in March and April 2007 - before the destructive fires of October 2007.

Psychological impacts can linger for years after a fire, according to "The Experience of Community Residents in a Fire-Prone Ecosystem: A Case Study on the San Bernardino National Forest."

The study was completed this summer by Patricia Winter, a U.S. Forest Service research social scientist at the Forest Fire Laboratory in Riverside, and George Cvetkovich, a psychology professor at the Western Washington University Center for Cross-Cultural Research.

Winter and Cvetkovich conducted the study in the San Bernardino National Forest because it is one of the most fire-prone in the country, according to the Forest Service.

It is also the nation's most urbanized mountain forest, with more than 100,000 residents from Wrightwood to Idyllwild.

Recent destructive fires in the San Bernardino National Forest include the Old Fire of October 2003, the Esperanza Fire of October 2006, and the Slide and Grass Valley fires of October 2007. Hundreds of homes have been lost in the past five years, and the death toll includes the five-man crew of U.S. Forest Service Engine 57, who died Oct. 26 2006 as they tried to protect a vacant home in the San Jacinto Mountains.

Howling Santa Ana winds - an annual feature of Southern California weather - helped create firestorm conditions at times during each of these incidents.

"The communities included in this study are adjacent to the national forest and other federal lands and have been listed by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection as Hazard Level Code 3, indicating the highest fire threat level," Winter and Cvetkovich wrote in their introduction.

Most residents in fire-prone communities surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest have taken steps to protect their homes from wildland fires, according to Winter and Cvetkovich.

About 94 percent of homeowners who participated in surveys and focus group discussions in 2007 had taken defensible-space steps, according to the study. About 75 percent reduced flammable vegetation because it was required.

But inadequate financial resources, physical limitations, and a desire to leave the landscape unchanged were commonly cited as reasons for not taking action to protect homes from wildland fires, according to Winter and Cvetkovich.

The study can be found at this address:
http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_rp257/

Early Oct. 23 2007 in Running Springs. Photo by Guy McCarthy.

For a report from Running Springs during the Slide Fire, click here.

-30-

coastal watershed

2008-09-23T00:14:00.001-07:00

By Guy McCarthy

DEL MAR - A federal hearing on a controversial proposal to extend a toll road into a state park that provides access to a world-class surf break drew more than 1,000 people to a beachtown fairgrounds auditorium on Monday.

As the first speakers addressed Jane Luxton, general counsel for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the crowd appeared evenly divided.

Supporters of the toll road cited jobs, economic benefits and public safety as reasons to move forward with the project. Opponents warned of irreparable harm to a dwindling natural resource, and countered the private road plans are strictly for profit - not security.

As the day wore on, many supporters of the toll road left - including scores of union workers in orange T-shirts. By late afternoon, opponents of the proposed California 241 extension outnumbered supporters by at least two-to-one.

More than 650 people had requested to speak at the hearing, but NOAA estimated there would be time for less than a fourth of them to have their say. The lions' share of speaking opportunities were given to elected officials and organization representatives.

The first speaker was Tustin Mayor Jerry Amante, pictured here on the right, shortly after his remarks. Amante is also chairman of the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency (TCA) that wants to build the toll road extension.

Amante cited historic population growth in Southern California among the reasons to go forward with the toll road.

"The uncontestable fact is that since the Great Depression, the population of Southern California has consistently increased - through good economic times and bad," Amante said.

"There are 24 million people in Southern California today. The state projects the population will increase another 11.3 million by 2050 . . . We cannot bury our heads in the sand and wish the problem away."

The fifth speaker was Bobby Shriver, a Santa Monica councilman and brother-in-law to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger dropped Shriver and actor-director Clint Eastwood from the state parks commission in March after their vocal opposition to the toll road.

"The people oppose this," Shriver said after he addressed Luxton and the audience. "The people who live around here oppose this. Anyone who says otherwise is making things up."

The California Coastal Commission had voted 8-2 against the toll road extension a month before Schwarzenegger dropped Shriver and Eastwood.

"We opposed the road and won," Shriver said. "That's the irritating thing."

Rules were posted outside the cavernous auditorium where the hearing took place. There was still cheering, hissing and booing at times.

Outside, some attendees spoke with broadcast reporters, including union representative Armando Esparza of the AFL-CIO. Esparza and his followers support the toll road extension.

"This is a unique and special coastal watershed," said Jayme Timberlake, of Solana Beach. "The last in Southern California that has not been impacted."

Disaster preparedness was a recurring theme among several who spoke in support of the toll toad extension. In February, Orange County Fire Authority Chief Chip Prather appeared in uniform to recount how vital access roads were during the October 2007 wildfires.

Shriver dismissed claims that the 241 extension was a calculated answer to public safety and national security concerns.

"The fires are a problem, but fire chiefs always want a bigger road," Shriver said. "Osama bin Laden's not going to be landing on the beach, you know what I mean?"

Nothing was decided at Monday's hearing. NOAA officials said they were there strictly to hear testimony. NOAA is a branch of the federal Department of Commerce, which could overturn the state coastal commission's ruling.

-30-

Union workers

Thumbs up

Thumbs down

Formal dress

Empty seats

Costumes

Body art

Taking turns

All ages

brush fire

2008-09-15T13:52:00.000-07:00

By Guy McCarthy

Redlands firefighters responded to a brush fire today that scorched a field of long, dry grass on San Bernardino Avenue next to Highway 30. Initial estimates had five to 10 acres burned.

No structures were threatened. Emergency dispatchers began receiving calls about the burning field at 12:24 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

Firefighters set grass ablaze themselves to consume fuel before the active fire reached San Bernardino Avenue. Winds were light but flames leaped 10 to 15 feet at times and generated plenty of radiant heat.

The National Weather Service had issued a red flag warning for critical fire weather conditions in inland valleys and the San Bernardino National Forest earlier today. Temperatures hovered just over 100 degrees in the Redlands area while the fire burned.

Authorities later said the land owner had hired a contractor to do brush abatement. A disc-bladed cutter apparently struck a rock and ignited the blaze in dry conditions.

-30-

cowboys on k2

2008-09-04T23:21:00.000-07:00

K2 in August 1978

By Guy McCarthy

The weekend of Sept. 6-7 2008 marks the 30th anniversary of the first American ascent of K2, the world's second-highest mountain and widely considered its most dangerous.

Underscoring that reputation, just five weeks before in early August, 11 climbers were killed high on K2 in one of the deadliest episodes in mountaineering history. Nicholas Rice, 23, of Hermosa Beach, survived the ordeal and intends to return to the Karakoram Range in northern Pakistan, perhaps as soon as next year.

In a recent interview, another Southern California climber with K2 survival experience reflected on the past but steered clear of passing judgment on the present.

Rick Ridgeway of Ojai, now 59, was a member of that first successful American K2 expedition. He summited the Savage Mountain without oxygen 30 years ago this Sunday.

"Back in '78 we knew the climbing was going to be hard," Ridgeway said, speaking by phone from his home in Ventura County. "But none of us knew it would come to be known as the hardest mountain in the world.

"Standing at the bottom, we didn't know if we'd be coming back," Ridgeway said. "It had only been climbed twice at that point."

Led by Everest veteran Jim Whittaker, the 1978 team included Lou Reichardt, Jim Wickwire, John Roskelley and Ridgeway.

Before them, the only ascents of K2 had been achieved by an Italian team in 1954, and by a siege-style Japanese expedition with 1,500 porters and more than 50 climbers in 1977 - both via the same route, the Abruzzi Spur.

The Americans in 1978 intended to try to finish a new route to the summit, the long Northeast Ridge, which features a half-mile traverse of knife-edged, corniced pinnacles.

Whether they wanted to or not, the Americans carried a bit of history with them. Previous American attempts on K2 in 1938, 1939 and 1953 were already legendary in mountaineering lore for epic accounts of rescue attempts, deaths, and survival - but not success. Just three years before, Whittaker had led an attempt with Wickwire on the Northwest Ridge that also met with failure.

The only other attempt on K2 in 1978 had already ended in tragedy. A British expedition led by Chris Bonington abandoned their attempt on a new route on the West Face when a windslab avalanche killed team member Nick Estcourt and nearly killed Doug Scott.

"At that time, the Pakistani government was concerned about having too many people on the mountain," Ridgeway said.

A Polish team had nearly completed the Northeast Ridge in 1976, but the upper reaches were unknown territory for the Americans. It had taken a strong team of Poles 10 days to climb the knife-edge traverse.

In spite of team bickering and technical difficulties, in late July and early August 1978 the Americans climbed and fixed ropes for the whole traverse in just four days, Ridgeway wrote in his 1980 account of the expedition, The Last Step.

But storms and other difficulties slowed their fast start. It was early September before they had any real chance at the summit. Then the weather cleared.

"We tried to finish direct," Ridgeway said recently. "But it was too dangerous below the summit. The snow was deep and loose. You had to wade through it.

"So we traversed over to the Abruzzi finish," Ridgeway said. "Below the Bottleneck. It wasn't named at that point, of course. Nobody called it the Bottleneck then."

The steep, narrow gully Ridgeway referred to passes under a towering wall of unstable ice and snow at roughly 27,000 feet elevation. It was the stage for tragedy last month, when parts of the serac calved off, killed several climbers and swept away fixed lines. Others were stranded above and perished in the cold or fell to their deaths trying to descend.

The wall of ice and snow is a wind-sculpted feature that was just as intimidating in 1978, Ridgeway said.

"It was an active serac, a few hundred vertical feet high," Ridgeway said. "It was active. A serac is like a mini-glacier. It breaks off from time to time. It was very steep where the serac had recently broken."

Reichardt and Wickwire had summited the day before, Sept. 6. Ridgeway and Roskelley, who had taken an extra day trying the direct finish, were approaching the Bottleneck in darkness about 4:30 a.m. Sept. 7.

"It was black and moonless," Ridgeway wrote in The Last Step, "but in the rarified atmosphere starlight was sufficient to see above us the major features of the upper mountain: the enormous ice cliffs like ramparts guarding the summit fortress, and below the cliffs, the constricting couloir through the rock band."

Ridgeway and Roskelley didn't have fixed lines or any other rope to rely on, Ridgeway said recently.

"We'd abandoned our ropes before the traverse," Ridgeway said. "We were exhausted and we didn't want to carry them. But I remember it clearly, what they call the Bottleneck now. It was steep . . .

"I just remember focusing intently on each move, with the serac above," Ridgeway said. "In a situation like that, it's like you throw yourself on a roulette wheel and hope your number doesn't come up."

Their luck held that day, and so did the serac. Just above the couloir about 7:30 a.m., they encountered Wickwire, who had spent a frozen night in the "death zone" just below the summit. He was stiff and spent, with ice in his beard, but still moving adequately on his own. Ridgeway and Roskelley continued to the summit.

"Even more difficult was the traverse above the Bottleneck," Ridgeway said recently. "You could look down and see all the way to the glacier at the base of the mountain, 12,000 feet below."

Eight hours later at 28,250 feet elevation, Roskelley balked at approaching the very highest point of K2, fearing a cornice would give way. Ridgeway thought to himself, it may be corniced, but we've come too far not to go to the very top.

"I volunteered to belly-crawl up to the highest point," Ridgeway wrote in The Last Step. "John stood back holding my ankles. I eased up to the edge and peered over.

"There was solid snow under me, and the south face dropped down so steeply . . . I had a euphoric sense of flying. John crawled up behind me, and together we sat on top, holding each other, too exhausted to speak."

Ridgeway told himself to try to remember everything about the moment, but he found he could not appreciate it.

"I was only thankful at the moment to rest, to breathe and lessen the dizziness, and if I felt anything akin to elation, it was from the realization I no longer had to go up," Ridgeway wrote. "This was it; there was no higher place to climb."

Ten years ago, Ridgeway and other members of his team attended a 20th anniversary gathering hosted by a mountaineering club in Portland, Oregon. Charles Houston and Bob Bates of the American 1938 and 1953 attempts on K2 attended.

But there is no gathering planned this year to celebrate the 30th anniversary of American success on K2, Ridgeway said.

"We decided that was that,"Ridgeway said. "No plans this time."

Addressing the recent deaths on K2, Ridgeway steered away from passing judgment on decisions or tactics that may have contributed to the 11 fatalities last month.

"I don't feel like I'm in position to offer any wisdom," Ridgeway said. "It would be presumptuous of me to be critical in any way. Each person makes their own decisions about risk."

The title of this post - "Cowboys on K2" - is the nickname Charles Houston gave his account of the 1938 American expedition, Five Miles High. Houston is reportedly still alive and well at age 95, living in Burlington, Vermont.

Seventy years after his first attempt on K2, and 55 years after his second, it would be interesting to hear what he thinks about recent events on the Savage Mountain.

-30-

The 1978 photo of K2 was taken by a trekker and the view is looking north from Concordia, at the junction of the Baltoro and Godwin-Austen glaciers. Courtesy of SonomaPicMan.

On Monday Sept. 8, this piece was published by Climbing.com, the online platform for Climbing Magazine, a leader in climbing journalism since 1970.

suicide rescues

2008-09-04T16:05:00.000-07:00

The Orange County Register and the Los Angeles Times sites have stories today about last weekend's drama at Suicide Rock.

The Register got hold of Claire McKay's father, and the Times got photos of the rescue from Riverside County Fire Capt. Tim Bingham.

Perhaps the most interesting account published today comes from the Idyllwild Town Crier. News editor J.P. Crumrine spoke with veteran climbing guide Clark Jacobs, the first to reach Trevor Mathews at the base of the cliffs.

From the Crier:

Jacobs, a 55-year-old climbing instructor and guide, has lived in Idyllwild for 25 years and has been climbing for nearly 40 years. He has also narrowly escaped death recently. But Jacobs’ dark encounter was not on local granite.

In 2005, he was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer, kidney failure and type 2 diabetes. He spent 43 days in Eisenhower Medical Center at the end of the year. Two years later, as 2007 was ending, his doctor told him the cancer appeared to be in remission.

Regaining his strength has taken time. Saturday he planned to rest. A sudden urge for a short solo climb sent him to Suicide Rock. He does not encourage anyone else to duplicate his feats. After completing the climb, he hiked back to the base for his pack and phone.

While talking to other hikers, they heard a rockslide. Looking up, Jacobs realized that a person was sliding down Suicide. Trevor landed in the “Buttress of Cracks” area. Jacobs sprinted to the body.

He found a man on his head, helmet smashed, neck bent and turning blue. His first priority was to ensure the individual could breathe. He got him on his back, which opened his airways almost immediately.

Other climbers began to come and offer assistance. “We did what we could,” Jacobs said. “Climbers stand together.”

Jacobs also called the sudden storm that lashed rescuers and injured alike the worst he'd seen in 25 years.

Go here for the rest of the Crier's story.

-30-

suicide 100-footer

2008-09-03T15:23:00.000-07:00

By Guy McCarthy

IDYLLWILD - Two Orange County climbers who survived a horrific fall on Suicide Rock when the leader crashed into his female partner and plunged more than 100 feet down the cliffs are both expected to fully recover, a friend of the injured pair said today.

Trevor Mathews, 21, of Irvine, suffered critical head injuries and a broken neck but has emerged from a coma, while Claire McKay, 22, of Costa Mesa, has fractures to her face, arm and wrist, said Donny Goetz, 24, also of Irvine.

Mathews is not paralyzed, but he has been fitted with a head-and-shoulders halo brace he will have to wear for three months, Goetz said.

Goetz has kept abreast of his friends' conditions since the accident, which was reported about 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

Meanwhile, Goetz said today he and the families of Mathews and McKay are especially grateful to rescuers who braved pounding rain, marble-sized hail and flash flooding to save the pair when they were both stranded unconscious on the cliffs.

"Obviously, their families and I are so thankful there were several people there and willing to help," Goetz said, referring to other climbers already on the cliffs at Suicide and firefighters who arrived later.

Goetz has spoken with McKay and learned details that add to accounts from rescuers, including Firefighter Henry Negrete of the Idyllwild Fire Department, who has been doing cliff rescues in the area for 20 years.

Mathews and McKay had both already climbed about 85 feet on a route called "Captain Hook'' before Mathews fell, Goetz said. Mathews continued about 30 feet up the route when he lost his grip and plunged, crashing into McKay and knocking her out, Goetz said.

Mathews then bounced off McKay and fell 85 more feet, nearly all the way to the base of the cliffs, Goetz said. The pair were roped together, but since McKay was knocked out and prone on a ledge, she was unable to brake or stop Mathews' fall, Goetz said. The rope slid unencumbered through McKay's safety gear.

That may have been just as well, because the force of trying to stop such a horrendous leader fall likely would have pulled McKay off the ledge where she lay unconscious, Goetz said.

The force of the impact when Mathews hit McKay had already pulled her backup gear out of a crack in the cliff.

The first climber to reach Mathews found him wedged upside down between the cliff and a tree, Negrete said.

"He was already blue in the face, wasn't breathing,'' Negrete said earlier. "The other climber thought he broke his neck and he was dead."

The other climber "moved him a little, and he spontaneously started breathing,'' Negrete said.

Goetz said today he'd learned the first climber to reach Mathews was a local guide and cliff-rescue veteran named Clark Jacobs.

Climbers also had to go back up the route to help McKay. Threatening clouds had loomed earlier. The weather turned nasty as climbers worked to get the injured pair down from the steeps.

Meanwhile, a dozen Idyllwild and CalFire firefighters walked in from Humber Park. In addition, a CalFire helicopter lowered a crew member and gear but backed off when the suddenly violent storm began pounding the injured and the rescuers, Negrete said.

"It was a tremendous storm with marble-sized hail,'' Negrete said. "It was a flash flood, basically, with rocks and logs, water one to two feet deep at the base of the cliff. No lightning strikes, though. We eventually carried both patients out."

Mathews was combative at times and appeared to be having seizures due to his injuries, but he never regained full consciousness, Negrete said. McKay did regain consciousness.

The two climbers were taken to a landing zone at a camp closer to central Idyllwild, and flown to hospitals, Negrete said. Due to the cliffs and heavy weather, it took rescuers several long hours to get both Mathews and McKay airborne, Negrete said.

With his friends recovering today from what initially appeared to be life-threatening injuries, Goetz expressed a measure of relief. Other local and visiting climbers with experience at Suicide have expressed a mix of gratitude and elation in online forums such as summitpost.org.

The general consensus among climbers is that any time a leader survives a 100-foot fall it is something of a miracle.

"It was extremely lucky the first guy to reach Trevor was a local . . . Clark Jacobs," Goetz said. Jacobs, in his 50s, is a climbing guide and former search-and-rescue volunteer at Joshua Tree National Park, Goetz and others said.

"They expedited the rescue and if they hadn't got to him, Trevor likely would have died," Goetz said. "Trevor wasn't breathing."

Mathews was wearing a helmet, which likely contributed to saving his life, Goetz said.

Earlier accounts that Mathews had climbed without protection were not true, Goetz said. Mathews and McKay had placed an anchor when they reached a perch about 85 feet up on "Captain Hook," Goetz said.

In addition, Mathews had placed another protective device into a crack in the cliff before he fell, Goetz said. But that device failed, and McKay's anchor failed as well when Mathews crashed into her, Goetz said.

Mathews has been climbing about nine months, and he had led two climbs rated more difficult than "Captain Hook" at Suicide Rock before Saturday, Goetz said.

McKay has been climbing many years, though not usually as a leader, Goetz said. Goetz said he has climbed with Mathews at Suicide, and with Mathews and McKay at a local climbing gym, Rockreation Sport Climbing Center in Costa Mesa.

Mathews remains hospitalized while McKay is recovering at home, Goetz said. Mathews may be released this weekend or next week, another minor miracle considering his injuries, Goetz said.

"Yesterday they put him a halo brace," Goetz said, describing a neck-mobilization frame that often involves tightening screws into the outer skull. "He was in a lot of pain, and they had to sedate him."

Mathews may also be experiencing problems with his vocal chords because rescuers had to ventilate his throat to ensure his breathing on Saturday, Goetz said.

McKay faces possible reconstructive surgery to repair fractured cheek bones, Goetz said.

"She's definitely beat up, but she's doing okay considering," Goetz said. "She has cheek bone fractures in two places and a fractured left arm and left wrist."

Rick Agnelli, a manager at the Rockreation gym in Costa Mesa, said he's glad to hear Mathews and McKay are expected to recover.

"They're definitely lucky in a way, but unlucky in another," Agnelli said. "We wish them well."

Mathews, originally, from Glendora, is a senior at Concordia University in Irvine, Goetz said.

"Captain Hook" at Suicide is rated 5.7 on a subjective scale, meaning beginners would likely find it difficult and experienced climbers may find it easy and fun, according to the Web site rockclimbing.com. At least one guide book rates "Captain Hook" slightly harder at 5.8.

Suicide Rock is renowned among many climbers for its quality routes. The cliffs are named for a legendary Indian princess who jumped off the rock with her lover rather than being separated as the tribal chief had ordered, according to the Web site Idyllwild.com.

-30-

Note: In the photo above, "Captain Hook" is a two-pitch climb that begins in the Buttress of Cracks, visible at the right-center base of the cliffs. The view is looking west from below Tahquitz Rock and the Humber Park trailheads. Click on the image for detail.

Click here for a photo of Tahquitz.

driftwood

2008-08-20T21:35:00.000-07:00

By Guy McCarthy

It's been a while since a really hard rain in or above Mill Creek Canyon.

But you can always find evidence of previous floods here.

The rock-filled canyon is a cleft between two steep mountain ridges in southwest San Bernardino County, about 80 miles east of Los Angeles. Elevation at the location pictured is roughly 6,080 feet above sea level.

Looking east toward Galena Peak, elevation 9,324 feet, the San Gorgonio Wilderness rises on the left to the highest mountain spine in Southern California. The flat-back summit of San Gorgonio Mountain stands at 11,499 feet, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Galena Peak is named in Spanish for the mineral lead. Miners years ago gave this utilitarian name to several mountains across the Western states. This particular Galena Peak is the easternmost high point of Yucaipa Ridge on the right, which forms the south wall of Mill Creek Canyon.

Geologists who specialize in tectonics, plate movement, and active faults say Yucaipa Ridge is one of the fastest-rising ridges in Southern California, squeezed by the San Andreas on one side and by the Mill Creek Fault beneath the boulder-strewn alley seen here.

With steep walls composed of tectonically shattered rock and vast watersheds rising up to 5,000 vertical feet above this point, Mill Creek Canyon is prone to periodic events of radical erosion. When it rains hard on the slopes above, this canyon literally spews mud and boulders. The tree trunks in the foreground are weathered and smooth, in part from transport to this spot.

The photo was taken today, just east of Vivian Creek trailhead.

-30-

killer mountains

2008-08-13T15:54:00.000-07:00

Photo by Aitor Las Hayas

By Guy McCarthy

In a rare moment captured forever in time, a group of climbers stood on top of K2 breathing heavily in thin air, muttering in wonder.

Karl Unterkircher's team video taken in July 2004 is a surreal glimpse of a region where only a few hundred mortals have been.

On that day, Unterkircher, an accomplished high-altitude alpinist from Italy, helped commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first recorded ascent of K2 - by his countrymen Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni. Unterkircher also reportedly became the first ever to climb K2 and Mount Everest, the world's highest two mountains, without oxygen in the same season. He'd climbed Everest just 63 days before.

But less than a month ago, Unterkircher was killed when he fell into a crevasse high on Nanga Parbat, another of the world's deadliest mountains. More than 30 people reportedly died trying to climb 26,810-foot Nanga Parbat before Hermann Buhl made the first ascent in 1953.

The world's ninth-highest summit, Nanga Parbat is known among some climbers as the "Killer Mountain."

Unterkircher was 37. His death on July 15 barely made a ripple in world news compared to the most recent high-altitude disasters on K2.

But his team's video from July 26 2004 sheds light on what some of the 11 killed starting Aug. 1 on K2 may have experienced before they met their deaths.

Meanwhile, Hermosa Beach-based climber Nicholas Rice is still making his way from K2 and the Karakoram Range in northern Pakistan to Islamabad, according to a close friend of Rice in Sherman Oaks.

Rice, 23, who survived one of the deadliest episodes in mountaineering history less than two weeks ago, was struggling Monday during the trek with a team of porters to Skardu due to a possibly torn foot muscle, said Simon Weaver, who spoke to Rice that day. Rice may have to take a bus to Islamabad, leaving limited time for an expedition debriefing with the Pakistani military, Weaver said.

Rice's inquisitors in Islamabad are sure to ask many of the same basic questions people in high-altitude climbing circles are asking around the world. What happened? And why?

The K2 accidents of August 2008 are off most news consumers' radar by now.

But in the homelands of 11 dead climbers - Serbia, South Korea, Norway, France, Ireland, Nepal and Pakistan - and in Holland, home of one of the ill-fated expeditions' primary sponsors - some people can't get enough news about K2's recent tragedies.

Norit, a water purification corporation based in Zenderen, the Netherlands, last issued a public statement about the Norit K2 Expedition 2008 on Aug. 5, confirming the death of team member Gerard McDonnell, 37, the first Irishman to summit K2.

Norit's statement also mentioned the rescue of Norit climbers Wilco van Rooijen and Cas van de Gevel, who were flown by helicopter to Skardu with severe frostbite.

Rolf Bae, 33, of Norway, was among the reported fatalities. This week a Norwegian on-line news site, Dagbladet.no, published a photo Rice provided to Watershed News that shows a tiny line of climbers ascending the Bottleneck couloir below K2's summit on Aug. 1.

Another site, Team Geared Up, which tries to reach outdoor enthusiasts in Ireland, Wales, Scotland, England, Italy, France, Switzerland and the United States, published the same photo on Saturday Aug. 9.

Rice told me in an e-mail last week the photo was taken just after Serbian climber Dren Mandic fell. A Pakistani climber and high-altitude porter named Jehan Baig was reportedly ordered to help recover Mandic's body, but Baig also fell to his death.

Whatever the Bottleneck photo ends up meaning, for now it shows some of the climbers who reportedly made it to K2's summit, only to die later on their descent. Part of a massive serac - known to some as the "balcony" and clearly visible in many K2 photos over the years - broke off, swept a number of climbers to their deaths, and cut fixed ropes that left others stranded in the so-called death zone above 8,000 meters.

Van Rooijen and Van de Gevel managed to make it down the post-avalanche Bottleneck, as did at least two others. But McDonnell and Rice's expedition leader, Hugues d'Aubarede of France, were reportedly among those unable to descend.

Unterkircher's team video starts just below the Bottleneck and ends on the summit. With limited evidence in the public realm so far of the recent tragedies, this video at least shows what many of the 11 killed this month had a fleeting glimpse of before they perished.

-30-

NOTE:

Climber, film-maker and Karakoram historian Jim Curran, who documented a 1986 expedition on K2's northwest ridge, said this week in a phone interview he remains concerned about the latest tragedies. The 1986 season on K2 was the deadliest to date, with 13 climbers killed in a series of incidents.

Curran, author of "K2: Triumph and Tragedy" and "K2: Story of the Savage Mountain," said Monday he has been swamped with calls and interview requests since news of the recent deaths began making world headlines.

"It sounds like there were commercial expeditions on the mountain," said Curran, now 65, speaking from Sheffield, England. "If that's the case, I think they're putting a lot of people out on a limb. . . . Any time you have inexperienced people on the mountain, you're asking for trouble."

high-altitude graveyard

2008-08-08T16:22:00.001-07:00

Photo by Renatto Sottsass

By Guy McCarthy

In case you're still wondering what happened to 11 high-altitude climbers who died on K2 in Pakistan last week, here's a bit more perspective - including some from a person who made it to the top of the so-called Savage Mountain in 1993.

Phil Powers, now 47 and executive director of the American Alpine Club in Golden, Colo., got down alive that day.

But he lost a climbing companion in the Bottleneck couloir - where so many others recently perished - so the tragedies a week ago brought 15-year-old memories back to life.

The photo above shows an approach to the Bottleneck couloir high on K2. It was taken during a 2004 expedition to mark the 50th anniversary of the first recorded ascent of the Savage Mountain. The successful Italian team in 1954 included Lino Lacedelli, Achille Compagnoni and Walter Bonatti.

Compagnoni and Lacedelli made the summit and Bonatti did not, under controversial circumstances. But Bonatti, the youngest member of that team, went on to prove himself the greatest climber of his generation, according to alpine historians.

One Italian died of pneumonia in Camp II, about 19,000 feet elevation, on that 1954 expedition. Two Americans and three Sherpas had already died on previous K2 expeditions, in 1939 and 1953, according to K2 historian Jim Curran.

Not to belabor the point, but K2's been educating and killing climbers since they first started trying their luck near the high end of the Baltoro Glacier, deep in the Karakoram Range. Since the first Italian ascent in 1954, an estimated 300 people have climbed to the summit of K2, but scores of them died trying to get down off it.

Many climbers who died a week ago sucessfully summited, only to perish on their way down what is widely considered the world's most difficult and dangerous 8,000-meter mountain.

Powers is one the few climbers to stand on top of K2 - and one of the even smaller number who live to talk about it.

"The Bottleneck is not the crux of the climb, as some have suggested," Powers said today in a phone interview. "The lower slopes are much more difficult and technical."

But anything can happen in the Bottleneck, Powers said, because of its physical features.

"It's an hour-glass couloir, meaning it opens wide at the bottom and it opens again at the top," Powers said. "The narrow, exposed part doesn't seem that long, perhaps a hundred meters," roughly the length of an American football field.

The steep walls of hardened, overhanging ice and snow can be intimidating, Powers said.

"The serac is easily 200 feet above when you're in the Bottleneck," Powers said.

Earlier this week, Powers spoke with the Rocky Mountain News about his K2 experiences and his recollections of the Bottleneck. He also produced a slideshow presentation that PBS Online NewsHour posted today.

Powers' slideshow includes one of his own images of the Bottleneck and its overhanging walls of ice and snow.

"The Bottleneck is the steepest portion of the summit, but actually it's not nearly as difficult as much of the terrain lower down," Powers told the Rocky Mountain News. "Depending on conditions, I liken it to a really steep ski run.

"Directly above it is the Balcony Serac, which is made of ice," Powers said. "If it tabs off or breaks, it's quite threatening to the Bottleneck."

"We weren't using oxygen or high-altitude porters, and we were not roped together, because we felt very comfortable on this terrain," Powers said.

"Coming down, at the Bottleneck, I remember my foot going through quite easily to the rock below -- it kind of threw my balance off," Powers said. "If you actually fall in that situation, you use the technique of self-arrest to stop yourself with your ice ax. I didn't fall, so I didn't have to self-arrest."

Powers said he went on ahead, and he was within eyesight of the Bottleneck at Camp 4, just shy of 8,000 meters. He had made an agreement with his climbing partners that at least one needed to get to high camp before dark so someone could shine a light or use voice recognition for the others if darkness fell.

"Dan Culver was behind me with his friend, Jim Haberl," Powers told the Rocky Mountain News. "I remember looking out and seeing them at the Bottleneck and thinking -- 'Oh, this is good, they're quite close.' So I poked my head back in the tent to melt snow for water.

"Then I heard Jim yell 'help.' Dan was gone.

"Jim used the words, 'He cartwheeled by.' Did he fall because he was hit by a piece of ice from that serac? Did he trip or slip, or fall into unconsciousness because of the altitude? We'll never know."

These painful memories remain instructive teaching tools, and Powers summed them up for PBS Online NewsHour.

"Despite the fact that slopes up there (in the Bottleneck area) are reasonable, things do happen," Powers told NewsHour. "Ice can fall and hit you, high altitude illness can take one over.

"So it remains a dangerous mountain, no matter how experienced or prepared one is."

The 11 who died last week either lost their footing and fell, got swept off the mountain by avalanche, or found themselves cut off from descent when the Balcony serac fall cut fixed lines in the Bottleneck.

Faced with night temperatures of 40-below and colder, scant oxygen and depleting physical reserves, few of those left alive survived.

The Bottleneck couloir on K2 stands at roughly 27,000 feet elevation - above 8,000 meters - in the so-called "death zone."

High-altitude climbers describe the heights they covet in fatalistic terms in part because there is barely enough oxygen to sustain human life. Conditions that can set in rapidly include pulmonary edema and cerebral edema.

The few places on earth that stand above 8,000 meters are exposed to jet-stream, hurricane-force winds, extreme cold, other radical and rapid weather changes, and they are found only on the upper reaches of the world's 14 highest mountains.

-30-

'death zone'

2008-08-07T13:10:00.001-07:00

Photo provided by Nicholas Rice

By Guy McCarthy

"The photo of the Bottleneck was taken just after the Serbian fell," Nicholas Rice, 23, of Hermosa Beach, said in an e-mail early Wednesday from K2 base camp.

The so-called Savage Mountain, the world's second-highest and widely considered its most dangerous, stands at 28,251 feet elevation in the Karakoram Range in northern Pakistan.

The Bottleneck photo shows a line of climbers ascending the couloir at 11:06 a.m. Friday Aug. 1, according to electronic data attached to the file. Click on it for detail.

The Bottleneck is at roughly 27,000 feet - above 8,000 meters - and about 1,300 feet below K2's summit. The photo shows part of the setting where 11 climbers died last week high on K2 in one of the deadliest episodes in mountaineering history.

I received the image on Aug. 5, forwarded from Rice by his friend Simon Weaver, 30, of Sherman Oaks.

The Serbian climber Rice referred to in his Aug. 6 e-mail is Dren Mandic, who according to worldwide media reports was the first to die on K2 in the recent tragedies, as he tried to ascend the Bottleneck.

A Pakistani high-altitude porter and experienced Karakoram climber named Jehan Baig tried to recover Mandic's body but he also reportedly fell to his death. Rice later said he helped pack Baig's belongings for transport back to Skardu.

The climbers in the Aug. 1 photo - as many as 10 are visible - continued to the summit, according to multiple acounts. Many of them made it to the top. But few survived.

The Bottleneck is considered a last major obstacle on several routes to K2's highly coveted summit. Only a few hundred have reached the top in more than a century of exploration and attempts. An estimated 27 percent of those who stand on K2's summit get killed on the way down.

The deaths of Mandic and Baig on Aug. 1 were the first in a fatal sequence of events that would leave a total of 11 climbers confirmed dead and frozen high on K2 in the next 24 to 36 hours.

Witnessing that first fatality is part of why Rice is alive today to tell his story.

As reported again today by the Los Angeles Times, Rice's delayed start, after he spilled melted snow on his socks, coupled with freezing hands that he couldn't warm up, convinced him that K2's summit could wait.

Shortly after the Bottleneck photo was taken, Rice abandoned his summit bid and descended to base camp.

---

The Bottleneck couloir on K2 stands at roughly 27,000 feet elevation - above 8,000 meters - in the so-called "death zone."

High-altitude climbers describe the extreme heights in fatalistic terms in part because there is barely enough oxygen to sustain human life. Conditions that can set in rapidly include pulmonary edema and cerebral edema.

The few places on earth that reach above 8,000 meters are also exposed to jet-stream, hurricane-force winds, extreme cold, other radical and rapid weather changes, and they occupy dangerous terrain found only on the summits of the world's 14 highest mountains.

Climbers ascending ridge near Camp III on K2, dated July 4 2008. Photo provided by Nicholas Rice.

Rice's K2 dispatches are here.

base camp

2008-08-06T08:15:00.000-07:00

K2 from base camp, image dated June 25 2008. Click for detail.
Photo provided by Nicholas Rice.

By Guy McCarthy

Many climbers who survived one of the deadliest episodes ever on K2 departed base camp swiftly - some by hired helicopter - after 11 of their comrades died high on the so-called Savage Mountain.

But a 23-year-old mountaineer from Hermosa Beach remains five days after the tragedies began, in a desolate tent community that reeks at times of smoldering garbage.

"It smells of burning trash in base camp right now," Nicholas Rice said today by e-mail from below K2.

Rice is now reluctant leader of a drastically depleted expedition, minding his dead companions' gear for porters to carry to Skardu later this week. In a series of e-mail exchanges, Rice shared some details about his current situation.

"I wouldn't say that I am in charge, as there is no one to be in charge of except our cook and kitchen boy," Rice said. "All the members of the expedition are either home or dead."

Rice's expedition leader, Hugues D'Aubarede, is one of the 11 reported killed high on K2 since Friday. There were up to seven other teams on K2 as tragedy began unfolding in an area known as the Bottleneck. Climbers from Nepal, South Korea, Serbia, Norway and Ireland are among those presumed dead.

"I will only now be considered leader of the expedition by the (Pakistan) Ministry of Tourism by default, and will have to go to the debriefing and deal with the other bureaucratic details in Islamabad," Rice said.

Rice is missing his teammates, but he is not entirely alone. He gets along well with Abbas, the cook, and Fazal, the cook's helper. All three lost close friends in the tragedies that began Friday.

"It has been just the three of us for a few days now," Rice said.

Abbas and Fazal are from Hunza in northern Pakistan, the same region that was home to the two high altitude porters who died high on K2 since Friday, Rice said. Though they worked on opposite ends of the mountain, the four Pakistanis were friends, Rice said.

The Pakistani climbers who died have been identified as Mehrban Karim and Jehan Baig.

Aside from his remaining comrades in base camp, Rice has support in the Los Angeles area. His friend Simon Weaver, 30, of Sherman Oaks, is trying to coordinate communications with Rice in Pakistan. Weaver has been trying to get Rice's return flight from Islamabad to LAX pushed back from Aug. 8 to sometime mid-month.

"He seems to be doing okay," Weaver said in a phone conversation. "He's by himself a bit more right now, of course. He's waiting for the porters, maybe there by the eighth (Friday Aug. 8)."

Rice is young compared to many of his colleagues who perished. But he is saddled with the morbid tasks at hand in part because he exercised judgment high on the mountain when others twice his age gambled and paid with their lives.

Meantime, he's patient, waiting for porters to carry his colleagues' gear down the glacier to Skardu. All he wants for, he says, is some decent coffee. Whether he gets it or not, he's becoming accustomed to less and less company.

"Base camp is emptying out at the moment," Rice said. "Only a few are planning on staying. Most are impatiently waiting on porters. Some (climbers) paid $14,000 to get a MI-17 Helicopter to come get them from Base Camp. . . . "

-30-

k2 redux

2008-08-05T11:09:00.000-07:00

Camp II photo provided by Nicholas Rice

By Guy McCarthy

In the wake of 11 climber deaths that underscored K2's reputation as the world's most dangerous mountain, 23-year-old Nicholas Rice of Hermosa Beach today described base camp as "a cage that everyone wants to escape."

But Rice's brush with death high on the unforgiving peak - and the loss of so many comrades since Friday - have not deterred him from planning a return to the remote Karakoram Range in northern Pakistan for another attempt on the so-called Savage Mountain.

"I will for sure come back," Rice said in a satellite phone interview today with National Public Radio, summing up a sentiment of generations of climbers who have escaped death where others perished. "There's something about this mountain that draws us all to it."

There were reportedly up to seven other expedition teams on K2 as tragedy began unfolding Friday high on K2. Climbers from Pakistan, Nepal, South Korea, Serbia, Norway and Ireland are among those presumed dead.

In a dispatch posted online earlier today, Rice paid tribute to his expedition leader, Hugues D'Aubarede of France.

After a rainy night on the lower reaches of the mountain, Rice visited the Gilkey Memorial outside base camp, a collection of aging climbing gear and mementos from previous tragedies on K2. Art Gilkey died in a 1953 American expedition in which the team abandoned its attempt to be first ever to summit K2 to try to save Gilkey, stricken by illness at high altitude.

Despite their efforts Gilkey was killed in an avalanche. But the 1953 American team earned worldwide respect for the courage and compassion they demonstrated in trying to save their teammate.

"(I) headed down to Gilkey Memorial to put up the plates we had made to memorialize Hugues, Karim, Gerard and Baig," Rice said in his post. "It was ironic, as the last time I had gone was with a happy healthy Hugues. I am, however, happy that he in the end achieved his goal.

"This was his third year in a row on K2, and finally he had made the summit and lived his dream," Rice said. "It is a shame that triumph and tragedy seem to come hand in hand on K2."

D'Aubarede and Rice had met trekking earlier in the Askole region of Pakistan, French climber and expedition coordinator Raphaele Vernay said in an e-mail Monday from Lyon, France.

"Hugues liked Nick very much," Vernay said. "He was like his son."

Rice said earlier today he was keeping his fingers crossed for two Italians still awaiting rescue higher up the mountain at advance base camp, but the weather wasn't looking good. In the main base camp at the foot of K2, the pain of so many deaths in such a short time cast a pall over those who remained.

"Base camp now seems like a cage that everyone wants to escape," Rice said. "The Koreans are hiring a few helicopters to take them out rather than walking. The Americans, Dutch, Serbian and Norwegians are all waiting for porters to arrive so they can head down. Very few people are considering staying and trying again."

The mountain seemed to mirror the somber mood, Rice said.

"Every evening, we hear cascades of rocks falling down the slopes around us," Rice said. "Huge pieces of ice are crashing down in the icefall, and avalanches roar down the slopes of all the peaks around us daily. . . . rivers flow down where once consolidated snow was . . . It almost seems as though the mountain is weeping for the recently deceased."

In his interview with NPR today, Rice recounted how spilling water on his socks delayed his departure from Camp IV early Friday, a mishap that may have saved his life. The delay, combined with freezing hands and word of poorly-placed fixed ropes on a dangerous section known as the Bottleneck, made him decide to return to base camp without reaching the summit.

Rice also said the weekend's death toll will not discourage him from returning to K2 for another attempt at the summit.

"It's always been a dream of mine to be up there," Rice told NPR via satellite phone. "And it's quite painful to have gotten so close to the summit and . . . turn around.

"Maybe not next year, maybe not the year after that. But I can say in my lifetime I will for sure come back here," Rice said.

"There's something about risking your life . . . for something you love, and testing your body to its maximum that you can't do in a completely safe environment.

"Without risk, we aren't living."

K2's summit stands at 28,251 feet elevation, making it second-highest in the world to Mount Everest. But K2's exposure to jet-stream weather systems, the rapidly changing snow, ice and rock conditions, and its steep upper reaches are considered a more difficult and potentially deadly challenge than Everest.

Only a few hundred have made it to K2's summit since the first successful ascent in 1954 by an Italian expedition. Dozens have died trying over the years, and the death rate for those who do reach the summit is still 27 percent, about three times more than Mount Everest.

As difficult as the ascent is, descent is considered even more dangerous. Many of the 11 reported killed over the weekend had made it to the top of K2 only to perish trying to come down.

Rice's mother said Monday she had promised herself she would never encourage her son to attempt the Savage Mountain.

"We started climbing together when he was very young," Wendy Knowles said in a phone interview. "We went up Shasta when he was 16, and he took off from there. Then he did Denali" - Mount McKinley in Alaska - "and that was his ticket to the Himalayas.

"I used to tell him I'd never help him climb that mountain," she said of K2. "But I supported him in going to Broad Peak. That's how he got me. . . . I'm just very grateful he's okay."

-30-

Rice also spoke to KNX1070 NewsRadio of Los Angeles today. Interview here.

For description of the Bottleneck from someone who made it to the top of K2 and survived the descent, listen to this NPR interview with Karakoram veteran Ed Viesturs. He summited without oxygen in 1992.

karakoram story

2008-08-04T14:06:00.000-07:00

By Guy McCarthy

Hermosa Beach native Nicholas Rice has survived one of the deadliest episodes ever on what many climbers consider the world's most dangerous mountain.

Eleven climbers are reported dead on K2 today, many killed over the weekend by avalanche or cut off from descent when ice cut fixed ropes high on the mountain. Others reportedly died trying to save the injured.

Today Rice is one of the few remaining in a lonely base camp in the remote Karakoram Range of northeast Pakistan, and he is gathering the belongings of his dead companions.

"I can tell it's wearing on him to have to pack up things of people who have died," said Rice's mother, Wendy Knowles, who has been in touch with her 23-year-old son via satellite phone.

"He's doing what has to be done," Knowles said in a phone interview after talking with Nick this morning. "But I can tell from his voice that it's pretty grim."

According to his online dispatches, Rice was high on the mountain over the weekend, when a combination of falls, avalanche and exposure killed members of his French-led expedition. His team leader, Hugues D'Aubarede, 61, is among the reported fatalities.

There were reportedly up to seven other expedition teams on K2 at the same time as the tragedy unfolded. Climbers from Pakistan, Nepal, South Korea, Serbia, Norway and Ireland are among those presumed dead.

Rice made it to Camp IV above 25,000 feet without supplemental oxygen, but he turned back and descended to base camp after one climber fell to his death and ice cut fixed lines on a steep section below the summit known as "the Bottleneck."

D'Aubarede and Rice met trekking earlier in Askole region of Pakistan, French climber and expedition coordinator Raphaele Vernay said in an e-mail early today from Lyon, France.

"Hugues liked Nick very much," Vernay said. "He was like his son."

Rice has been posting online updates of his team's progress and the tragedies. He has remained focused in his postings, but he also reveals the toll of a deadly weekend are weighing on him.

"(A)fter my first decent night's sleep in a week, I woke up and went down to have breakfast with the last team member remaining in my base camp, Peter," Rice said Sunday in a dispatch posted today.

"He is however, heading down today, and I will have to complete my stay in base camp alone, faced with the grim task of packing my climbing partners' and friends' belongings and informing their embassies and families of their grim fate," Rice said.

A climber he calls Wilco was still being helped down the mountain with severely frostbitten feet after five nights above 8,000 meters - 26,250 feet - a region known among high-altitude climbers as the "death zone" for its lack of oxygen and exposure to the elements.

Two others were also still descending - Cas, who made a miraculous downclimb of the Bottleneck where the fixed ropes were cut, and Marco, found unconscious with gloves off and harness half off.

"Base camp is quite somber thanks to the enormous loss of life in such a short amount of time," Rice said. "Today (Sunday) is the final day that I can rationally hold on to the thread of hope that Hugues is somehow still alive."

A final dispatch Rice posted today is titled "Summit Push - The Final Cost."

"After a quiet breakfast alone in base camp, Sultan helped me sort through Karim and Baig's belongings and pack them for the journey back to Skardu," Rice said.

"I headed up as Wilco was taken up in a (gurney) to the makeshift helipad that the Americans had constructed," Rice said. "We all watched as Eric was loaded in the helicopter so he could swing up close to Camp II on the Abruzzi route to check the progress of Marco on his descent.

"After that was finished, we waited as Wilco was loaded into the helicopter to be evacuated, and then again when Cas was loaded into the second helicopter to be taken down."

Rice composed a list of the dead and, apparently accepting the death of his team leader, he listed D'Aubarede among the confirmed fatalities.

K2's summit stands at 28,251 feet elevation, making it second-highest in the world to Mount Everest. But K2's exposure to jet-stream weather systems, the rapidly changing snow, ice and rock conditions, and its steep upper reaches are considered a much more difficult and potentially deadly challenge than Everest.

Only a few hundred have made it to K2's summit since the first successful ascent in 1954 by an Italian expedition. Dozens have died trying over the years, and the death rate for those who do reach the summit is still 27 percent, about three times more than Mount Everest.

As difficult as the ascent is, descent is considered even more dangerous. Many of the 11 reported killed over the weekend had made it to the top of K2 only to perish trying to come down.

Rice's mother recalled today that she had promised herself she would never encourage her son to attempt the Savage Mountain.

"We started climbing together when he was very young," Knowles said. "We went up Shasta when he was 16, and he took off from there. Then he did Denali" - Mount McKinley in Alaska - "and that was his ticket to the Himalayas.

"I used to tell him I'd never help him climb that mountain," she said of K2. "But I supported him in going to Broad Peak. That's how he got me. . . . I'm just very grateful he's okay."

As news of the high-altitude drama broke worldwide over the weekend, Rice continued maintaining satellite phone contact with his mother. He also continued filing dispatches about his progress.

Rice's dispatch dated Saturday is headlined, "Summit Push - Climbers Stranded on Summit."

His previous dispatch dated Friday is titled, "Summit Day - Tragedy Begins."

According to his reports, Rice made it above 25,000 feet on K2, to Camp IV. He decided against a summit attempt because of deteriorating conditions and his assessment of his strength and stamina at the time.

"I realized, since I was feeling quite strong, that I could summit K2 without oxygen, Rice wrote. "(H)owever if I wanted to keep my fingers and enjoy a normal adult life, I needed to turn around and not let my ambitions get the best of me."

The death of a climber who fell that day on a part of the mountain known as the "Bottleneck" convinced Rice to head down rather make a summit attempt, he wrote.

"I made the decision to head down, as I wasn't willing to climb on a
route that wasn't properly fixed (protected by reliable fixed ropes) and was by nature dangerous . . . and had already killed someone," Rice said.

"I watched as the line of climbers stopped and some went back to help," Rice said. "(I) was somewhat shocked when I saw the line of climbers continue up the route towards the summit."

During his descent Saturday, Rice stopped in Camp II to melt snow for water, rest and to make a satellite phone check. He received a disturbing message about the ordeals that continued above him on the mountain.

"(A) big chunk of ice had fallen off the serac above the bottleneck, and cut the fixed lines, stranding the climbers above the bottleneck," Rice said in the last dispatch available today on his web site.

"The mountain seems to have become quite dangerous from top to bottom and I couldn't wait to get off of it," Rice said. "Jelle and I arrived at the bottom of the route around 6 p.m. Joselito was at the base to meet us, and told us of the tragedy . . . He set the death toll at nine."

Rice said he held out hope for his expedition leader, D'Aubarede, even though there was no news of him.

Just before sunset Saturday, an injured climber was spotted near Camp III, and another climber in Camp IV was sent down to check. There was little else the people in base camp could do at that time, other than try to keep track of communications.

"We all went to bed not knowing the fate of the climber," Rice said. "Also, I said goodbye to Peter tonight, who was heading down tomorrow to Skardu. This was his fifth attempt on K2 and he was no stranger to the loss of teammates on this deadly mountain."

-30-

NOTE: 2007 K2 photo at top by Christian. NASA image of Karakoram Range, right, taken by unidentified shuttle astronaut with handheld camera September 2000.

More from NASA's description of the image:

The Tarim sedimentary basin borders the range on the north and the Lesser Himalayas on the south. Melt waters from vast glaciers, such as those south and east of K2, feed agriculture in the valleys (dark green) and contribute significantly to the regional fresh-water supply. The Karakoram Range lies along the southern edge of the Eurasian tectonic plate and is made up of ancient sedimentary rocks - more than 390 million years old, according to geologists studying the shuttle imagery. Those strata were folded and thrust-faulted, and granite masses were intruded, say the geologists, when the Indo-Pakistan plate collided with Eurasia, beginning more than 100 million years ago.

sick forest

2008-08-01T20:46:00.000-07:00

By Guy McCarthy

As reported here previously, there are a lot of dead and dying trees in the San Bernardino National Forest.

The ridge pictured is between Big Bear Lake and Running Springs, above Highway 18 west of Snow Valley ski resort.

Cutting down all this dead and dying fuel is cost-prohibitive, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Otherwise they'd have done it years ago.

In the meantime, from the east San Gabriels to the San Jacintos, extreme fire hazards remain in the nation's most urbanized mountain forest.

For a report from Running Springs during the Slide Fire early Oct. 23 2007, click here.

-30-

parker center

2008-08-01T20:20:00.000-07:00

By Guy McCarthy

As millions of people can testify, the 5.4-magnitude temblor at 11:42 a.m. July 29 2008 made the earth tremble from Tijuana to Las Vegas.

It also shook this eight-story building in downtown Los Angeles, which is headquarters for the largest law enforcement agency west of the Mississippi.

No damage was reported this time. But Parker Center was yellow-tagged after the 1994 Northridge quake, meaning the building had been damaged and it might be unsafe to occupy, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Parker Center, constructed in the 1950s and opened in 1955, was built to primitive earthquake standards, according to the Times.

That is one reason a new LAPD headquarters is under construction on Spring Street, across from the Times building and City Hall.

Sometimes I work in the press room on the ground floor at Parker Center, but that section is just one story and a basement area.

I worked night shifts this past week, so I was not there at 11:42 a.m. Tuesday. For a brief report on what it was like where I was sleeping when the temblor hit, see the previous post, terremoto.

Click here for another photo of Parker Center taken Thursday morning.

-30-

terremoto

2008-07-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

By Guy McCarthy

Everybody around here seems to have an answer to the question "Where were you at 11:42?"

Here's mine.

The image above, created in 2001 by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, shows a part of the earth's crust that started trembling at 11:42 a.m. July 29 2008.

Visible are the Los Angeles metro region, San Diego, north Baja, the Transverse Range, the San Andreas Fault, the Salton Sea and a bit of the Colorado River. In the most obvious urbanized area, west of Cajon Pass and San Bernardino, lie the Chino Hills - epicenter for the 5.4-magnitude temblor.

What it felt like as it rumbled for 15 to 30 seconds depended on where you were.

This week I'm working night shifts at Parker Center, the aging Los Angeles Police Department headquarters in downtown L.A. When the quake struck Tuesday morning, I was at home sound asleep on the second story of a nearly 100-year-old house in an orange grove east of San Bernardino.

The grove itself is situated on a bed of alluvium - loose sediment borne out of the fault-riven, fault-raised mountains of the Transverse Range that includes the San Gabriels, San Bernardinos and San Jacintos.

In other words, like most of urbanized Southern California, the ground under the grove house is not bedrock. It's layers of eroded sand, pebbles and stones.

So no matter how ho-hum the temblor felt to some California old-timers, that 5.4 jolt about 30 miles west of my place made the second floor where I was sleeping shimmy like a belly dancer on stilts.

More on this later. I have another night shift at Parker Center and need to get some rest.

"big burn"

2008-07-28T05:05:00.000-07:00

By Guy McCarthy

It's no secret that "big fire is big business," and that the costs of fighting ever-larger blazes in the West are "out of control," as the Los Angeles Times noted in A-section headlines Sunday for its first installment of a five-part series titled "Big Burn."

The Times also billed Sunday's package with centerpiece subheds: "Drought. Overgrown forests. Runaway Development."

There's not much news in the packaging. These themes have been reported many times before by newspapers across the West.

But if the rest of the series does anything to shed more light on the supercharged costs of rampant development in obvious danger zones, it will have been worth the space and effort.

Borrowing a phrase from D-Day architect and later President Dwight D. Eisenhower, some critics of the Forest Service several years ago began referring to beneficiaries of the annual blank-check spending spree in our war against fire as the "fire-industrial complex."

Local, state and federal agencies, along with private contractors, who reap the lion's share of taxpayer spending on firefighting in the West are among California's largest employers. The building industry is viewed by many economists as a primary barometer for the state's financial well-being.

So the Times, in undertaking "Big Burn," has targeted two major entities that sometimes enjoy the sort of favorable press coverage reserved for sacred cows - especially in recent years, as the imploding newspaper industry staggers toward an uncertain future.

One reason I'm writing about this is that four years ago I co-authored a series at The Sun newspaper in San Bernardino that foreshadowed a good deal of what "Big Burn" implies.

Titled "Unnatural Disasters," much of the work remains accessible online. A link is listed below. Conceived by a team of editors and reporters in the wake of catastrophic fires and floods in 2003, the series took its name from a statement made by former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

After an estimated 19,000 people died in Venezuela flash floods and debris flows in December 1999, Annan dismissed descriptions of the carnage as a "natural disaster." The term was all but obsolete, as more and more people chose to live in obvious danger areas.

"The term 'natural disaster' has become an increasingly anachronistic misnomer," Annan was quoted in a U.S. Geological Survey report on the Venezuela devastation. "In reality, human behavior transforms natural hazards into what should really be called unnatural disasters."

The NASA photo above was taken Oct. 27, 2003, as the Old Fire left Del Rosa and north San Bernardino in smoking ruins and made its way towards Lake Arrowhead and Crestline. That fire contributed to six deaths and burned a thousand homes in less than five days. Sixteen more people died in Christmas Day post-fire flash floods.

Combined eventual costs of October 2003 fires in the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountains exceeded $1.2 billion, according to the Forest Service.

Fire seasons since then have remained noteworthy for their destruction and escalating costs, and last year it seemed to cover all 12 months of the calendar. In October 2006, five Forest Service firefighters died in a firestorm trying to protect a vacant home in the San Jacinto Mountains. In October 2007, more fires across Southern California contributed to a dozen deaths, destroyed more than 1,500 homes, and scorched over 750 square miles.

Authorities say the Esperanza Fire was the work of an arsonist. They said the same about the Old Fire and several other destructive fires since 2003. Some people say accountability for these events has more to do with where we live and how we live.

Hopefully nothing else burns for the next 25 years. But we all know that's fantasy.

In the meantime, maybe people will read "Big Burn" and get more out of it than just a few cheap thrills. The overriding question is whether we take these matters seriously enough to craft realistic land use policy.

Until we do, sit back and enjoy the air shows. October and the Santa Anas are just around the corner.

-30-

Unnatural Disasters, The Sun

Big Burn, Los Angeles Times

nasa images

2008-07-24T21:34:00.001-07:00

PASADENA - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration opened easier access today to a significant part of its image and video archive.

All you need is a computer and an internet connection.

Located at http://www.nasaimages.org, the site is supposed to combine 21 NASA imagery collections in a single, searchable online resource.

Enabled by a five-year partnership with Internet Archive, a non-profit digital library based in San Francisco, the new access is billed by NASA as no-cost to taxpayers, and images are free to the public.

The example above, which I'd never seen before, shows the Old Fire burning up-slope towards Crestline and Lake Arrowhead on Oct. 28, 2003. Click on it for full-screen view.

-30-