Reports tonight tell us the cool wet weather today gave the firefighters the break we've all be praying for this week. With nearly 75% humidity and drizzle here in the LA Basin and mountain areas the fire is now 65% contained. The temperatures dropped to the mid 60's and low 70's today which also made it easier for the firefighters to work on the mountain, but also made it harder for them to set the backfires. It looks like you can't have it all, but this is good news. The water dropping Sikorsky Sky Cranes are still making their runs. To see them in action check out this gallery. Be sure to check out both pages.
The major good news is out of the nearly 3500 fire fighters on the mountain, no one has been seriously injured or killed. We've only had a couple heat related problems and one broken ankle to date. So that is good news on the fire fighters working in this terrain.
On the yellow area of the map the fire covers a over 54 square miles or 40,000 acres of the Angeles National Forest. It is the largest forest wildfire in the USA in many years. 44 homes and 28 out buildings and barns have been lost. Cost to fight the fire is in excess of $11 million not including the loss of personal property and real estate.
The only bad news is the fire is still heading toward Mt. Baldy Village-- however because of the rain and cooler temps' it's moving a lot slower. There are still nearly 50-60 fire trucks and fighters parked in Mt. Baldy Village on standby. For those of you who care The Buckhorn's still standing. The firefighter have spend some of their time this past couple days clearing additional back brush and trees.
We're going to do breakfast in a couple hours. So I get to take more pictures. More later.
