[SEL] Mt. Wilson?????

[Frank DeWitt]

I have been following this closely.  fire 
fighters are back on the ground and fighting.

Here is the latest I have been able to find

<http://ad.doubleclick.net/click;h=v8/389c/0/0/%2a/n;44306;0-0;0;40408113;31-1/1;0/0/0;u=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/09/pitched-battle-underway-to-save-mt-wilson-from-fire-as-officials-cite-progress-elsewhere.html;%7Eokv=;tile=2;ptype=sf;pos=2;sz=1x1;u=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/09/pitched-battle-underway-to-save-mt-wilson-from-fire-as-officials-cite-progress-elsewhere.html;%7Eaopt=2/0/ff/1;%7Esscs=%3f>
Click here to find out more!




<http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/09/pitched-battle-underway-to-save-mt-wilson-from-fire-as-officials-cite-progress-elsewhere.html>Pitched 
battle underway to save Mt. Wilson from fire as 
officials cite progress elsewhere

September 1, 2009 |  4:24 pm

<http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef0120a5956fa0970c-pi>
La-me-1station06_kpbeaznc


Firefighters made significant progress today in 
the Station fire, but a tense battle was underway 
this afternoon to save the communication centers atop Mt. Wilson from flames.

Officials announced this afternoon that most of 
the evacuation orders in La Cañada Flintridge and 
La Crescenta have been lifted. Crews were making 
good progress during the day on the fire's 
southern, northern and western fronts.

But firefighters were frantically trying to save 
the historic astronomical observatory and dozens 
of critical  TV and radio antennas from 
destruction. By 3 p.m., the fire was approaching 
closer than ever from two directions: one-half 
mile to the north and three-quarters of a mile to the west.

“We expect the fire to hit the Mt. Wilson 
facilities between 5 p.m. today and 2 a.m. 
Wednesday morning,” said Los Angeles County Fire 
Department Deputy Chief James Powers. “Right now, 
we’re conducting controlled burns around the 
perimeter in preparation for the impending fire's 
arrival. We’re also bringing in trucks and 
special equipment to coat all of the structures 
with protective gel and foam if necessary. We do 
not plan to cover everything with a gooey mess.”

The equipment was driven in on the two-lane, 
five-mile long Mt. Wilson Road, which intersects 
Angeles Crest Highway. Access to the road was 
restricted to firefighters and law enforcement. 
Fire lined several sections of the road on both 
sides, and rocks were falling from denuded hillsides.

As he spoke from his ersatz headquarters in the 
observatory’s main office, myriad controlled 
burns set beneath canyon oaks and old incensed 
cedars cloaked the mountaintop with dense acrid smoke.

The air was also filled with the ear-splitting, 
blaring sounds of an observatory fire alarm system.

Chainsaws could be heard in every direction in 
the surrounding forest. Massive earth movers were 
being unloaded off flatbed trucks nearby. Powers 
said authorities had deliberately delayed 
diverting firefighters and equipment to the scene 
until the complex was in imminent danger.

“That time is now,” Powers said. Los Angeles 
County Fire Department Battalion Chief Steve 
Martin said, “We are going to burn, cut, foam and 
gel. And if that doesn’t work, we’re going to 
pray. This place is worth a lot, but it’s not worth dying for. ”

In a worst-case scenario, firefighters were 
expected to retreat to the safety of the 
observatory parking lot or seek refuge in the 
concrete and steel basement of the 105-year-old, 
100-inch telescope observatory.

A Martin Mars air tanker, also known as a Super 
Scooper, dropped 7,500 gallons of water on Mt. 
Wilson, California Department of Forestry and 
Fire ProtectionCapt. Scott Visyak said.


Also, see http://joy.chara.gsu.edu/CHARA/fire.php

Frank


At 10:21 PM 8/31/2009, you wrote:
>http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~obs/towercam.htm
>
>
>ouch..4 hrs. ago, it was two ridges away...so they said
>_______________________________________________
>SEL mailing list
>SEL at lists.stationary-engine.com
>http://www.stationary-engine.com/mailman/listinfo/sel
>
>No virus found in this incoming message.
>Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
>Version: 8.5.409 / Virus Database: 
>270.13.72/2337 - Release Date: 08/31/09 05:50:00

   +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
HONOR GOD
SERVE PEOPLE
DEVELOP EXCELLENCE
GROW PROFITABLE
FOLLOWING BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES

    Frank DeWitt              |  mailto:frank at lbpinc.com
    Mechanical Design      |  Phone:  585 624 3052
    LBP  INC.                   |  Fax     585 624 1038
    2365 Cox Rd.              |     N 42.9130  W 
77.5164|
    Bloomfield NY 14469   |Web  http://www.lbpinc.com/