Station Fire - Scenes from Alpine Village

During the heat of the Station Fire (still at 87% containment), I got several emails from folks who had moved away from this area and wanted more info. One was from a lady who had lived in Alpine Village, a lovely subdivision on the northeast corner of town with magnificent views of the Angeles Forest and Big Tujunga Canyon. No homes were lost in Alpine. Kudos again to our amazingly wonderful Fire Departments.

I've always wanted to post a picture of the road to Alpine because it's one of the most dangerous looking roads with a very steep drop off the north side. I just love those barricades... clearly there to say "Pay Attention!!" rather than "Don't worry, you can't drive off the edge."

I hike the ridge above Alpine regularly and the changes to the trail were immediately evident. The Fire Department had removed the barricade that prevents local Yahoos from joy riding on the Mountain.

Not only had the foot trail been widened and packed to handle the weight of the fire trucks. There was also a totally new road carved out of a steep embankment to the right.




Another view of the new road.


Fire Crews still on patrol...
Forgotten in a backhaul???
Info on fire equipment and backhauls from the Inciweb site:
"Firefighters out on the line often require additional equipment or supplies to do their work. An army of people works to support the firefighters by ordering, tracking and transporting to them everything from drinking water to generators. And what goes into the fire area must come out! While the fire is active and when it starts to wind down, the materials no longer needed must be transported back out of the fire area. This process is called backhauling.

A common item that is backhauled is 100-foot long fire hose. During the peak of activity on the Station Fire, over 13 miles of hose per day were delivered to firefighters on the line. After firefighters use the hose, it is backhauled, pressure tested for leaks, washed, dried, and rolled up.

Other items often backhauled are communication radios, repeaters, generators, packs, portable tanks, pumps, hose fittings, nozzles, ice chests, empty fuel canisters, lights to illuminate night operations, and garbage. Any broken or damaged equipment that is repairable is sent to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, where employees repair it for reuse.

Whatever firefighters can't backhaul in their fire engines is transported from the fire site in stakeside trucks and pickup trucks. Sometimes firefighters and equipment are delivered by helicopter to remote locations, and the backhaul operation must be carried out by helicopter."

Next, you can see how close the fires came

Another shot of the burned mountains.

The little Creekhiker surveys the damage.

And, this trio is another smogset.