Battle for Mt. Wilson

From the LA Times:

...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.”

CBS has some raw footage of the fire here.

Towers still standing

The observatory and communications towers on Mt. Wilson remain threatened, but a look at the live web cam this morning shows they're still standing.

Station Fire update*,**

From the LA Times: Two firefighters have died south of Acton. The fire has grown to 42,500 acres and has destroyed 18 homes. Flames are threatening Mt. Wilson Observatory and a host of television, radio and law-enforcement transmission towers nearby.

*Update: The two firefighters were killed in a vehicle accident near Mt. Gleason, the Times and Star-News report.

*Update II: The transmission towers on Mt. Wilson are crucial to local law enforcement and maybe to the firefighters battling the blaze. From NBC Los Angeles:

Loss of communications facilities there would cripple fire and police departments across Southern California, which not only use mountaintop transmitters to communicate in the field but in many cases relay signals from other mountaintop sites back to dispatch centers via microwave facilities that are now threatened.

Mt. Wilson threatened*, **

Flames from the Station Fire are less than two miles from the Mt. Wilson Observatory and fire officials expect they will hit the area, home to television and communications towers, in the next two to four hours.

From the LAT:

“It’s a serious situation,” said Bob Shindelar, operations branch director of California Incident Management Team 5. “Is the observatory going to make it? We’re doing everything in our power. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it is impacted by fire today or tomorrow.”

(Sceen grab from a live web cam tracking the fire's advance.)

*Update: This is certainly one way to get the television stations' attention.

**Update II: The transmitters serve more than television and radio stations. They include cell phone towers and transmitters for the FBI, CIA and Secret Service, the LA Times reports. There's also the matter of the historic Observatory and Hale's 60-inch telescope.

Flames on the march

The flames appear to be advancing toward the Mt. Wilson Observatory. This is a screen capture from a live web cam near the observatory.

View from Mt. Wilson

A view of the Station Fire from a live web cam near the Mt. Wilson Observatory.