Angeles National Forest Closure

The Angeles National Forest within the San Gabriel Mountains is closed indefinitely as fire crews continue to make progress on the Station fire that has burned more than 157,000 acres since the afternoon of August 26.

This is a loss to the hiking my wife and I plus many others enjoy along the Angeles Crest Highway.

Last year, we were fortunate to have made our way to a fire tower that gave a spectacular view of the mountain ranges. We had always seen the sign "Vetter" and wondered about it. When we made our way to it, we found another couple who were among the volunteers that regularly spent the night as lookouts.

The fire tower was located on a prominent rise and jutted above the mountains about a mile in from the Chilao Flats picnic area. It was unique since it was naturally situated high and there were few steps to climb.

But the fire tower was among the structures lost in the blaze.

Earlier in August, we discovered the Stony Ridge observatory directly across the road from the Chilao picnic area. The observatory had long been abandoned but there was plaque from the late 1950s heralding its completion and purpose.

Both unique landmarks and the thousands of acres of once beautiful hiking are now inaccessible. Southern California is remarkable for the hiking and the terrain that dips from sea level to Rocky Mountain heights in such a short distance. What was once a convenient hour jaunt up a local mountain road for us is now gone for many months or even a few years.

I had been meaning to write an article for AC on the beauty of driving along the Angeles Crest Highway. And now that would be pointless.

How long will it be closed? I'm thinking back to a local trail called Henniger Flats that was washed out in heavy rains during the spring of 2005. It was just a mile from our house and was a trail and road leading to Mount Wilson.

The amounts of dirt that washed over it were so extensive that the road and trail was shut down until earlier this year - a full four years.

There is still green around Mount Wilson, the observatory that crews worked so hard to protect.

A firefighter in our adult group at church told about flying over the mile high complex and said there was still plenty of green surrounding it. Then he mentioned the two firefighters who lost their lives when their truck veered off a road in thick smoke and he had to pause for composure. Pray for the families of Tedmund Hall and Arnaldo Quinones.

The cost of fighting the fire will total more than $ 43 million. The federal government will pick up between 80% to 90% of the expense. A dozen or more state and local agencies fought to keep the flames away from the homes in the foothill communities.

Southern California still has many miles of terrific hiking and scenery. My favorite part in the Angeles National Forest is now off limits.