station fire

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

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oak glen

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.

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fire water

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."

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young micah

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.

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guymccar@gmail.com

search continues

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.

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missing climbers

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.

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lightning strikes

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