Station Fire Claims 2 LA County Firefighters (8/31/09)

The Valley
Originally uploaded by Sbaros

Story by: Lou Angeli

LOS ANGELES (August 31, 2009) -- This photo, taken from atop the Hollywood Hills along Mulholland Drive, shows Los Angeles in the foreground, and the raging Station Fire in the Angeles National Forest in the background.

As of Monday morning 42,000 acres are burning as Santa Ana winds increase to 20mph with a humidity of just 6%. 2,500 firefighters from a dozen agencies are now working under unified command headed by the USFS.

On Sunday, two Los Angeles County firefighters were killed when their vehicle went over an embankment and into a ravine during heavy fire activity. Capt. Tedmund Hall, 47, and Spc. Arnaldo Quinones, 35, are the first line-of-duty deaths on this blaze, which promises to be one of the largest in California history. Captain Hall had just completed 26 years with LA County, Firefighter Quinones, a marine veteran, 6 years.

The wildland blaze is beginning to affect the intermix and evacuations have been ordered. 10,000 homes are threatened along with 500 commercial properties and 2,000 other stuctures.

Just last week I toured this region, when the USFS had posted the fire potential as EXTREME. Integrated Command is currently focusing on keeping the fire from moving westward, into the city of Los Angeles. The fire continues to move eastward unchecked.

PHOTO BY: SBAROS