The Station Fire in the San Gabriel Mountains near Pasadena, California advanced north and west overnight, but did not move much in the directions that threaten Mount Wilson. This image from the Solar Telescope webcam was taken at 7:25 AM Pacific time (10:25 EDT), and shows smoke near the mountaintop but no fire…so far.
This image has been contrast-stretched to show the distinction between the smoke on the right (North) and the clouds to the West and South. The half-dozen dim gray circles persist from image to image, and must be debris on the camera's window.
Almost every time I visit the L.A. area, I drive up to Mount Wilson. I've hiked all over the mountain. The section where the telescopes are housed is now fenced off and only opened on public visitation days, which are thankfully frequent. A telescope (other than the Solar variety) isn't much use during the day!
The road the large mirrors were driven up (by mule team) in 1908 and 1917 is still in existence, and one may walk up from Pasadena. It is only a little matter of eleven miles, and a 4,500-foot (1.4 km) vertical ascent. I've hiked the four miles to Henniger Flat several times, and gone a few miles further, but not gone all the way up. One must get back, of course, although the return trip is mostly downhill.
I pray for the survival of the instruments (and radio/TV/cell towers). I also hope those in charge of the area institute a policy of brush clearing and periodic burning to reduce the risk in future wildfire seasons.
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