Station Fire Panel Postponed

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Bronwen

Thanks, Duncan, for forwarding this info along. As soon as we hear about a new date we will let everyone know.

~B~

——–
From: Duncan Baird
Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2010 4:05 PM
Subject: Fwd: Station Fire event — POSTPONED

Begin forwarded message:

From: “Saltman, Alex”
Date: August 4, 2010 15:44:51 PDT
Subject: Station Fire event — POSTPONED

I apologize for the impersonal email, but the Speaker has called the House back in session for next Tuesday morning. This is highly unusual, and certainly something we didn’t expect at all. But it means that the Members of Congress will all be in Washington that morning, and that we have to postpone the Station Fire event. We are now working with the other Members to reschedule the event, and I will let you know as soon as we have news on that front.

I sincerely apologize for the trouble this may cause you. Please email me or call if you have any questions or concerns.

Alex

Alex Saltman
Senior Legislative Assistant
Office of Congressman Adam Schiff
2447 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-4176

Click here to subscribe to Congressman Schiff’s Washington Update e-newsletter

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Busy Day for the News!

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Bronwen

In addition to the news that the Station Fire Panel Discussion has been postponed, the LA Times has had two articles in the past two days discussing the Station Fire and further investigations into what really happened. Links are given below.

~B~

Forest Service investigates withholding of key Station fire information
August 3, 2010 |  4:32 pm

The U.S. Forest Service has launched an inspector general’s investigation and invited Congress to order a broad inquiry into last summer’s disastrous Station fire, after the recent discovery that dispatch recordings from the critical early hours of the blaze were withheld from The Times and a federal review team.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/08/hed-for-station-fire-item-here.html

Federal inspector general launches probe of Station fire
By Paul Pringle, Los Angeles Times
August 4, 2010

A federal inspector general has launched an investigation and the Obama administration has invited Congress to order a broad inquiry into last summer’s disastrous Station fire after learning that dispatch recordings had been withheld from a U.S. Forest Service review team.

The telephone recordings, from the critical early hours of the blaze, also were withheld from The Times, which requested them under the Freedom of Information Act.

The inspector general’s probe will focus on why the several days of recordings were not provided to The Times or turned over to the Forest Service inquiry, which concluded that the agency’s initial attack on the fire was proper.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-station-fire-20100804,0,7487167.story

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New Venue Set for Station Fire Panel Discussion

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Bronwen

Thanks to Millie Jones at the Office of Supervisor Mike Antonovich for forwarding this info!

~B~

Subject: Station Fire Hearing
Date: Friday, July 16, 2010, 1:12 PM

I can now confirm the venue for the Station Fire Panel Discussion:

Tuesday, August 10, 2010
10:00am-12:00pm
Volosh Forum at Pasadena City College (PCC)
1570 E. Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena , CA 91106

The room holds approx. 300 people, so there should be plenty of room for all who wish to attend. Parking is available in the lot adjacent to the building, at the corner of Colorado Blvd. , and Bonnie St .

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Film Student Needs Help with Documentary

Posted on July 7, 2010 by Bronwen

A graduate student at the USC film school has contacted me about a documentary he is working on re: California wildfires. He will need resources who can discuss how wildland management has or has not contributed to fires in recent years. Likewise, he is looking for reputable sources about how human impact on California wildlands may have contributed to fires like the Station Fire.

Let me know if you are interested and I will send you his contact info. He needs to begin filming soon, so don’t wait too long.

~B~

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LA Times investigation contradicts key assertions by the Forest Service about its response to the fire

Posted on July 5, 2010 by Bronwen

Hot off the presses, here is another investigative article by Paul Pringle. Thanks Debra!
~B~

Aerial expert’s report on L.A. County’s biggest wildfire flies in the face of official review

As Capt. Perri Hall watched helplessly, a blaze that had appeared containable erupted into the devastating Station fire. A report by Hall, obtained by The Times, contradicts key assertions by the U.S. Forest Service about its response to last summer’s disaster.

For the full story, go to:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-station-fire-20100705,0,1015359,full.story

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Bill to help Station Fire victims moves forward

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Bronwen

Pasadena Star-News – Posted: 06/24/2010 12:53:54 PM PDT

A bill by state Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-Pasadena, to help property owners who suffered losses in recent natural disasters has passed the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee, Portantino’s office announced in a news release.

AB 1662 provides state property tax exemptions to homeowners who are forced to repair or rebuild because of a natural disaster. The measure was originally written for the Station Fire, but it was amended to include the mudslides that followed and eight other counties that have been designated as disaster areas – Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Imperial, Monterey, San Francisco, Calaveras and Siskiyou.

“In my own district bordering the Angeles National Forest, we suffered huge losses – first with the Station Fire last fall and then the destructive mudslides that followed this winter. This bill will provide immediate tax relief to both individuals and businesses affected by these catastrophes and help them rebuild their lives,” Portantino said in a statement.

As an urgency measure, it would go into effect immediately once it is signed into law. It now goes to Senate Appropriations.

Thanks Jane!
~B~

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L.A. Times: U.S. failed to fill order for aircraft in Station fire

Posted on June 16, 2010 by Bronwen

Paul Pringle has done it again, bringing to light the cover-up in the USFS “investigation” of the Station Fire.

For full details, go to the L.A. Times article:

U.S. failed to fill order for aircraft in Station fire
The agency didn’t press to get tankers in the air quickly, despite its own commanders’ urgent request, records and interviews show.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-station-fire-20100616,0,7356096.story

(Thanks, Bert.)

~B~

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Paving of Big T Road

Posted on June 16, 2010 by Bronwen

I just got a note from Karen Carson. Supposedly L.A. City is going to get the rough patch of Big Tujunga Canyon Road down by the Little League field paved by the end of July. This is according to the city council office in Tujunga.

I don’t know about you, but I can hardly wait!

~B~

P.S. Karen, it’s not that I doubt your word. I just don’t have a lot of faith in the City doing anything in a timely manner.

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Simple Words

Posted on June 14, 2010 by Bronwen

Editorial

A former neighbor posted something on a blog today that made my heart stop and my vision blur. They were simple words, yet reflecting a worst nightmare that many of us have been loathe to share, even though it haunts all our dreams.

The Ranch is gone. It wont [sic] be coming back.

And on Facebook…

rebuild will cost twice as much just to build 1 house. who has 1.7 million dollars that i can borrow?

I knew this day would come. I feared and dreaded it like I’ve dreaded few other things in my life. I feared that as time passed more friends and neighbors would realize the enormity of what it will take to rebuild, and that more and more would choose not to take up that burden. I don’t blame them. I know that I would not be equal to the task, myself.

Continue reading →

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Angeles Requiem

Posted on June 4, 2010 by Bronwen

Updated June 12, 2010

In the fall of 2009, a remote wildlife camera captured the Station Fire moving through a canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains. The camera was one of two placed in the Arroyo Seco between JPL and Switzer Falls, about a mile from where the fire originated. One camera was destroyed by the fire. This footage is from the one that survived.

For those of us who lived through the fire, this brings home the fury of the Inferno once again. For those who have asked us what is was like, here you go.

Thanks to Adi for sharing this. ~B~

Note: The video was offline for a time while edits were being made. As of June 12, 2010, the video is back online and contains several corrections.

For those of us who survived the fire as it roared through Big Tujunga Canyon, please bear in mind that this footage records the fire as it moved East of the Angeles Crest Highway. It does not record the fire as it moved through Big Tujunga. The events recorded here took place the day before the destruction of Big T.

From the author of the video:

This was recorded by a motion sensing camera, in a canyon on the front range of the San Gabriels. There were two cameras in this area. One burned completely, but this one was in a rocky stream bed away from anything flammable, and insulated by being anchored under a boulder.

About the Camera: Added 8 June 2010

The end of the video states that the camera used was an HCO ScoutGuard SG550. According to the manufacturer’s website, the camera features the following:

  • 5/3 Mega Pixels CMOS sensor, high quality picture
  • Auto LED IR-Cut-Remove
  • Compact size, well designed digital scouting camera (5-1/2X3-1/4X2 inches)
  • Ultra low stand-by power consumption (<0.2Ah/month), extreme durable and convenient with AA batteries (>80days)
  • Quick trigger time (<1.3s)
  • Lockable with mounting strap, nail/screw and cable lock
  • Innovative remote control, easy to operate

Although the manufacturer’s page doesn’t say so, I have been able to confirm that the camera casing is made of metal. Beyond that, all we can do is speculate that the camera’s placement was such that it was close to the water and away from vegetation that might have damaged it by burning.

For more information, please visit the link below.

~B~

http://www.huntingcamonline.com/scoutguard550530.html

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