The Battle for Mt. Wilson -- the extraordinary effort of firefighters to save the historic observatory and communication towers from the wrath of the Station Fire last summer-- was recounted Wednesday night by one who was there.
Dave Jurasevich, superintendent of the Mt. Wilson Observatory, spoke to a full house at the Sierra Club's monthly meeting at the Eaton Canyon Nature Center Wednesday night. The fire -- which Jurasevich said took out one third of the Angeles National Forest -- showed every indication that it was going to destroy the complex, but the extraordinary efforts of hotshots and other fire crews over several weeks managed to save the facility.
Hotshots are elite 20 member firecrews that respond to large fires, and are trained and equipped to work in remote areas for extended periods of time with little or no logistical support. They count on putting in 16 hour days, sleeping on the ground or in vehicles, and keep themselves extraordinarily physically fit for the job. They were involved in later stages of the fire, preparing fire breaks to preserve the structures.
The fire, which was started by a timed incendiary device on Aug. 26 that no one yet knows who set, set off a "perfect storm" in the combination of hot weather, dry brush, immense amounts of fuel, and steep slopes. The observatory was ordered to be evacuated the next day, but Jurasevich was told to come back the next day -- not the first time he would do that dance.
At one point, the first responding firemen had to leave on the fourth day of the fire, Aug. 29, because the radio towers on Mt. Wilson were interfering with the firefighter's own communication equipment, leaving staff behind.
Jurasevich said that there was always a safe bunker there -- the building holding the 100 in. telescope was steel and concrete, double-walled, and away from brush and trees, and would always be available as a retreat if the fire overtook the complex.
Jurasevich told several stories stemming from his unique vantage point:
- Evacuating thru Red Box, among the evacuees were a group of illegal aliens tending a pot farm in the forest.
- A backfire at the observatory went the wrong way, burning through a fiberglass electrical pole box, and knocking out all T1 Internet communications, the webcam, the conductors for the firewater pumps, and the fire alert system.
- The observatory only lost one tree - a 300-year-old pine that had developed an internal fire.
