The fight to save Mount Wilson Observatory. Final picture from towercam as webserver fails. Video, maps & Street View.
Click here and then scroll down for the latest fire and EMS news from STATter911.com
Mount Wilson Observatory blog (includes how observatory staff is assisting firefighters)
The latest update on the “Station” fire from InciWeb
Watch Tuesday afternoon “Station” fire briefing
Watch Martin Mars air tanker make water drop on Mount Wilson
“Station” fire slideshow from WUSA9.com
UPDATE- As of 6:55 AM PDT on Wednesday it appears Mount Wilson is now out of immediate danger. Click here for the story.
At 13:49:06 PDT the image above was transmitted via the Internet. It is apparently the last image for a while from the camera mounted on the 150-foot solar tower at the Mount Wilson Observatory (Elevation: 5,700 ft., Location: N 34.224 – W 118.058). The UCLA Department of Physics and Astronomy site posted this message with the picture:
The Mount Wilson webserver has gone down, most likely due to a backfire infiltration of a pull box containing telephone lines that bring us our T1 internet service. The will be no more updates from the Towercam …
As we have been reporting firefighters are in a battle to save this 105-year-old historic facility. It is considered the place where modern astronomy was born (a history lesson from USA Today) and is surrounded by an important communications infrastructure.
The Los Angeles Times late this afternoon posted a detailed account of the efforts. Here are excerpts from the article by a number of reporters (including Louis Sahagun at Mount Wilson):
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.
Tour Mount Wilson: Click the image above for the Bing’s Bird’s Eye View. Click here for Google’s Street View of the communications facilities.
“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.”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOpqskNB54k&hl=en&fs=1&]
An explanation on the importance of the Mount Wilson Observatory.
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 temporary 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.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWajmoNpIi4&hl=en&fs=1&]
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 Protection Capt. Scott Visyak said.
