Fire Danger now Very High

As of this morning the Fire Danger in the Cleveland National Forest on Palomar Mountain is now rated at "Very High". Be careful out there.

Help Mt. Wilson Observatory

I am in Pasadena for PATS and it was comforting to be able to look up and see the domes and solar towers up on Mt. Wilson. Most of the readers of this blog know that the observatory there just survived a major wildfire.

They have some major recovery work to get through and they could use your help.

From their website:

As a result of the events of the still active Station Fire in the Angeles National Forest, we are going to be sorely pressed for resources to take care of cleanup and further preparation and mitigation activities. If you are interested in helping us with the process of transitioning back to normal operations, we welcome your tax-deductible donation in any amount. Donations can be sent to: The Mount Wilson Institute, Fire Recovery Program, P.O. Box 1909, Atlanta, GA 30301-1909 or you may donate on line using the Amazon Simple Pay Donation system.

For more information and the donation link visit mtwilson.edu

Mt. Wilson Tower Cam is back!

Mt. Wilson's tower cam is back!

That's the view tonight of the 100-inch Hooker Telescope from under bright moonlight with fires in the background. I missed it until just now, but there was a wonderful update posted yesterday and all looks good for Mt. Wilson Observatory.

Forest, Fire & Fun

This week the Cleveland National Forest raised their fire restriction level to Extreme. The forest on Palomar is very dry, so be careful out there.

Distant fires, like the 144,000 acre Station Fire, have taken their toll not only on the lands they have burned and the observatories threatened (By the way, things are still looking up for Mt. Wilson) in the San Gabriel Mountains, but they have been hitting Palomar Observatory from afar. Drifting smoke and falling ash have kept our domes closed for a week now.

You can help combat fires by eating and having fun (no, really) at the Palomar Mountain Volunteer Fire Department's annual fund-raising barbecue which is tomorrow. Details are below:

Good News for Mt. Wilson Observatory

The Mt. Wilson Observatory has posted a great update tonight. LA County Deputy Fire Chief Jim Powers who is in charge of protection for structures at the Observatory, "expressed his absolute confidence that they will save the Observatory." Follow the link for the full scoop.

It doesn't get any better than that. It almost makes the photo below, posted on Twitter the other night, look less scary.

The Battle for Mt. Wilson

Today the Station Fire made it to the summit of Mt. Wilson. While it lasted, the view from the tower cam on the 150-foot solar telescope looked pretty scary at times:

The view from the air didn't look much better though:


After a while we learned that these were backfires lit by the fire fighters to prevent the main blaze from reaching the observatory.

Power seems to be off on the mountain and official updates are now coming from a site not hosted there.

This afternoon the LA Times reports:

"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.

“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.”

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 ersatz 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.

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."

It is currently raining on Palomar Mountain right now. I don't see any rain on the way for the Mt. Wilson area, but hopefully they at least have some higher humidity to ease things a bit. The battle certainly isn't over.

Mt. Wilson Update

Mt. Wilson Observatory is still hanging in there. The Station Fire has now grown to over 120,000 acres. Here is a recent smokey shot of the view from their tower cam:


The tower cam is getting hit by heavy web traffic, so if it does not load for you it may be a sign that the servers are overloaded rather than catastrophe induced by the fires.

Here is the latest official update from the observatory:

Monday, 1 Sep 09, 7:15 am PDT - I wish I had some fresh substantive information to post this morning, but I do not at this point have any news - only what we can all deduce from Towercam and other sources. Towercam scenes continue to show thick smoke on the mountain with a concentration on the right side of the image implying activity on the mountain's north side. It clearly has not reached the mountain and, if advancing towards us, it is only doing so slowly.

The best updates, occasionally mixed in with wild rumors, seem to be found on Twitter.

As you may recall, at Palomar Observatory we faced the threat of wildfire two years ago. Yesterday, Ian O'Neill from Discovery Space and Astroengine interviewed me on the topic. Here is the result: Wildfires and Observatories.

Fire Threatens Mt. Wilson Observatory

The Station Fire is apparently threatening Mt. Wilson Observatory, which has now been evacuated of all personnel. The view above was taken from their tower cam at 5:14 p.m. on Saturday, August 29.

Their latest update on the fire from Mt. Wilson says:

It is expected that the fire, if it cannot be brought under greater control, could reach the Observatory sometime Sunday.

Official news on the fire is available here from InciWeb with more from the Cal Fire blog.

We certainly wish the best for Mt. Wilson and the many firefighters who are working to save this historic observatory.

More Prescribed Burning on Palomar

For the rest of this week the National Forest Service is continuing its prescribed burn in the Fry Creek Campground area on Palomar Mountain.


As you can see from this photo, taken yesterday afternoon from just behind the 200-inch dome, the burning is pretty close to the observatory. Unfortunately the smoke and ash has severely limited the observing during the last two nights. On the other hand, the burning will ultimately make the observatory a safer place and may prevent a much larger disruption of astronomical observations in the future.

Visitors heading to Palomar Mountain this week should be on the watch for the NFS crews. Please give them your courtesy. Also, be aware that smoke can sometimes drift into the roadway limiting visibility.

Don't Panic!

If you are anywhere near Palomar Mountain today you probably noticed the smoke plume. For me the view is giving strong memories of 2007's Poomacha Fire.

The good news is that this is not a wild fire. The National Forest Service is performing a 20-acre "prescribed burn" in the Fry Creek area.

Unfortunately, it is still rather close to the observatory and the smoke is likely to have a major impact on observing tonight.

Here's the view from the 60-inch telescope around noon today:


Even from well off of Palomar the smoke plume is rather impressive as you can see in this photo from around 4 p.m.

Alas, these are low quality shots captured from my phone. :(

Poomacha Fire Anniversary

One year ago today the Poomacha Fire broke out at the base of Palomar Mountain. The fire consumed over 49,000 acres and many homes in the area. While one of the observatory's employees did lose his home in the fire, the observatory and all of the homes on the top of Palomar Mountain were saved due to the tremendous efforts of the many firefighting crews that worked on the blaze.


Thank you firefighters.