Welcome to Thursday morning.  If this is your first time here (or you haven't been here in awhile) we strongly encourage you to take a moment to read The Ground Rules page.  It will tell you how things run here, how to make comments, how to return to this page AND protect yourself from viruses, and how to support the work we're doing.  Thank you!

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  UPDATE 9 AM  

CERT training: We expect an uptick in folks who want to sign up for CERT (Community Early Response Team) training on Oct. 13-17 at Loma Alta Park.  It's free!  Here's a link to our earlier story.

The bullet from LA County FIre:

• Last night's operating period yielded sucessful fire operation and continued line construction.
• Containment: 38%
• Acres:144,753 acres at this time.
• Fire Behavior: Fire behavior is extremely active with rapid rates of spread and flame lengths up to 80 feet.
• Cause: Under investigation
• 94 structures have been destroyed
• • 64 Residents
  • 3 Commercials
  • 27 others
• 2 Firefighter fatalities
• 6 injuries
• For more information call 323-881-2411

  UPDATE 8:30 AM  

Sign the sign! We saw this as we were driving our brother-in-law (an MSN senior editor) around last night.  We hope to get a picture up later today.  Here's the story from Andrea Davis-Griffin:

A neighbor has graciously posted a big Thank You sign on Chaney Trail–It would be nice if all the neighbors could stop for a moment at the sign tomorrow and sign their names and addresses and/or add decoration to show our appreciation as a neighborhood for the sacrifice, courage, and heroism of the strangers who worked tirelessly to protect our homes from the fire.

  UPDATE 8 AM  

The bullet this morning:    Thx to Monica Hubbard, who sent it to us, and especial thanks to whoever actually compiled it!:

Summary: The Station Fire has burned 218 square miles of land within the Angeles National Forest and near surrounding foothill communities of La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Acton, Soledad Canyon, Pasadena, Glendale and Sierra Madre.  The goals of the firefighters are to keep the fire west of Highway 39 and Angeles Crest Highway, east of Interstate 5, south of Highway 14, Pearblossom Highway, and Highway 138, and north of the foothill communities and the Angeles National Forest Boundary.  As of today, the fire is moving into areas of the forest with no recorded fire history. 

Community Meeting/Station Fire Update
First Church of the Nazarene
3700 E Sierra Madre Blvd
Pasadena  91107
September 3, 2009  7 p.m.

Mandatory Evacuations:
Glendale:  Dukmejian Wilderness Park

Angeles National Forest:  entire eastern main body of the Angeles National Forest will be closed effective 12:00 p.m. 9/3/09 until full containment of the Station Fire.

Open to Residents Only:
City of Los Angeles:  Riverwood, Sister Elsie Canyon, and Blanchard Canyon
Openings:  All OTHER residential evacuations associated with the Station Fire have been lifted at this time.

Road Closures:
•       Angeles Crest Hwy between Big Pines Hwy and the Angeles National  Forest Boundary in La Cañada Flintridge
•       Little Tujunga Rd between Placerita Canyon Rd and Osborne St
•       Big Tujunga Rd between Mt Gleason Ave and Angeles Forest Hwy
•       Angeles Forest Hwy between Aliso Canyon Rd and Angeles Crest Hwy
•       Chaney Tr at Angeles National Forest gate
Evacuation Shelters: Located at La Cañada High School, and Golden Valley High School, Recreation Building at Marie Kerr Park, Verdugo High School. 

Animal Shelters: Located at Pasadena Humane Society, Baldwin Park Animal Shelter, LA County Agora Hills Animal Shelter.  Antelope Valley Fairgrounds will accept all large animals.  Pierce College can only accept horses, donkeys and mules.  Lancaster Animal Shelter and Agoura Animal Shelter are both accepting small animals.

Los Angeles County Fire Department /s/ Dep IC Luke Claus for IC Michael Bryant

US Forest Service /s/ IC Mike Dietrich
Glendale Fire Department /s/ IC Greg Godfrey
Pasadena Fire Department /s/ IC Martin Johnson
Los Angeles City Fire Department /s/ IC Greg West

Los Angeles County Sheriff'ss Department /s/ Christy Guyovich for IC David Fender

Mars attacks Mt. Wilson: Thanks to Wildfire Today, here's an KCAL9 hi-def look at the Martin Mars drinking up Lake Elsinore and dropping it on Mt. Wilson.  Yeah, baby!

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Hollyslope Rd. resident and photographer Mohamad Elarabi shares his dramatic on-the-ground pictures of the fire that approached his house and the firebirds that are helping to beat it down.

  UPDATE 6 AM  

Look, Ma, we're a virus!:  Compugod Steve Bass has been spreading the word about the malware we've found when you put "altadenablog" in Google, and  several notable computer security sites have run with that information.  (Of course, their quotes of Steve is actually Steve quoting us!)  Just remember to link to us directly — don't go searching now, you don't know what you'll drag home!