As I drove home from work early last night past the great smoky hillside that once was the eastern end of Griffith Park, it seemed like the fire was mostly over.
And then later on in the evening, it flared up again. After the local news switched over to late night programming, Spooney and I walked outside and saw what looked like a volcano in the distance, about 6 miles away from our house as the crow flies. It was all glowing red - and I mean RED, and smoky, with multiple helicopters hovering overhead.
We heard that Dante's View, a 2-acre landscaped garden & refuge off one of the trails in the park, had been destroyed. This is the picture I took from that very spot in February, after riding horses with my friend Kate through what is now the burn zone.
The chaparral and trees that you're looking at are all gone now, as far as I can tell.
That's Griffith Park Observatory that you see on the peak. It's an amazing place, with a kick-ass telescope and a Tesla Coil, and it's been the scene of many movie shoots, including Rebel Without a Cause.
The fire came very close to overrunning it last night.
Somewhere below it is the Los Angeles Zoo. Earlier in the day yesterday, the visitors were evacuated and the animals ushered to their indoor pens. A spokesperson for the zoo said that their plan was to protect the animals there, for now, and that evacuating the animals (actually, only a portion of the animals), is a last resort. Can you imagine?
To say nothing of all the fleeing deer and coyotes and birds and rabbits and other varmits displaced by this 600 acre fire.
And the 300 people in Los Feliz waiting to go back to their homes.
It's going to be a bad summer for Los Angeles, I'll tell you what.
11 comments:
Griffit park is really a cool place. I also used to go horseback riding there, too bad for the fires, but you are right. Fire season is here.
Be safe, Vikki!
Yeah, evacuating a zoo. I can't fathom what sort of undertaking that would be.
Yeah, I saw that stuff on the news last night and wondered how y'all were.
Holy shit.
I spent last night having dinner with 2 friends with Los Feliz who didn't want to head home after work because of the traffic they would have to go thru to get there. Throughout dinner we kept getting update calls from friends who were near there - and finally got the call that their streets were being evacuated and they wouldn't be able to get inside. It was the first time i had the "what would you grab if there was a fire" conversation when it wasn't funny. We were most worried about my frind's dwarf hampster, but luckily they were allowed back in this morning, and Chiquita is fine.
Sorry, didn't mean "wasn't funny", meant "was dead serious."
I am glad you are safe Vikki, and I can't imagine having to make the decision to evacuate only a portion of the animals.
i would fight the fire at the zoo with all that I had, even if it means that some houses have to be sacrificed. Because, the animals there didn't get any say in where they were going to live, it's our responsibility to care for them.
I just hope Paula and Aaron are OK. They're really close to GP.
CiscoK: The last time I was up there, I got my horse from the Sunset Ranch. They're so close to the burn area, I hope all the people and horses are okay.
Chris & Grant: I am perfectly safe, thanks. Just bummed out about the loss of wildlife and the loss of fauna and everything.
Alana: I saw this very cute young dude on the news last night who drove up to the evacuation area to help people move their stuff and their pets. He was like a li'l Good Spicoli Samaritan.
SkyDad: I agree absolutely.
Randy: P&A are across the bridge on the other side of the 5, so no worries.
Alana - I'm glad Chiquita is okay.
And Griffith Park's observatory, they must save that. I remember going there in high school when I lived in Burbank. My friends and I tried to recite the movie lines, but failed miserably. I must Netflix that movie.
Your pictures brought tears to my eyes, I hope you all fare well and the animals in the zoo are safely evacuated.
Lots of positive energy is being sent your way.
Whoa
I haven't had this experience so close to home - yet.
When I bought the house Cave Creek Complex fire was just getting under control.
I'll bet I'll take it way, way more seriously if it comes that close again. (After all, I just got that new a/c installed, right?)
sorry.
Be well.
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