#6 negative - fire season

august will be the last month of the sky is big in pasadena.  

i have accepted a position at salford mennonite church in harleysville, pennsylvania.  we will be moving in september, so august will be my farewell month to the city of pasadena.  when we moved here from virginia i posted a list of the ten things i would miss most about harrisonburg.  i figured that would be a good way to end our time here, so each day i will be doing one final rundown of life in this great city.  i have prepared two lists - ten things i won't be sad to leave behind, and twenty of my absolute favorite things about pasadena.  i am going to start with ten positives and ten negatives, alternating back and forth each day.  concluding with my top ten things about life in pasadena.

#6 negative - fire season

this one needs little explanation.  this photo was from 2009 during the awful station fire that destroyed much of the san gabriel mountain range just north of pasadena (coincidentally, one of the highest visitor totals of any photo i've ever put up).  fire season fills the air with smoke, rains ash down across the city, and sparks fear in the lives of people who live near the the burn zones.  i will have no problem leaving this part of pasadena behind.

september theme day: big

recent forest fires have been tormenting residents and the environment of l.a. county. these fires are big, and refuse to go away quietly. warm temperatures and extremely dry weather have created the perfect climate for fires to ignite. as of this post, the station fire is still lingering on our mountains.

i have been compiling a list of other bloggers working on this continuing news story. it can be found here.

hundreds of other city daily photo bloggers are working with today's theme.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

station fire continues to burn

i'm beginning to feel a little like a broken record, but our mountains are still ablaze. many churches canceled their sunday services, and many schools are closed today. two firefighters have lost their lives in a vehicle accident while in the line of duty. the "la canada fire" or "station fire" has claimed well over 80,000 acres of forested area and 18 homes.

and yet life goes on (at least in a less outdoor, more air conditioning kind of way). such is life in southern california - a strange place to live during a time like this.

the list of links i have been compiling continues to grow. you can check it out right here.

dual post: la canada-station fire/belgian beer fest at lucky baldwins

forest fires continue in la county. i've been compiling a significant list of bloggers who have been working on the continuing story which you can find at yesterday's post.




the above photo is what i had planned to run today. however with the continued presence of the fires, it is taking a back seat today. never the less, if this heat is making you thirsty, head to lucky baldwins. much like the ipa festival that i attended a few months ago, this one is worth attending for a pint or two. today is the last day to check it out.

more perspectives on the la canada fire

the smoke continues to billow from the forest fires north of la canada. plenty of other bloggers are writing about this massive fire that is clouding the sky in the san gabriel valley. everything tastes like ashes.

petrea's photos here and here, x3, x4(big)
pio right here, x2, x3
kchblog, here, x3, x4
little homestead, x2, x3
laurie's perspective in south pas. x2, x3, x4, x5, x6, x7(big), x8, x9
hometown pasadena, x2
keith over in monrovia, x2, x3, x4, x5(big)
some german insight from hoecki
deb at altadena daily photo, x2, x3
hatching a patch
west coast grrlie
mr. earl, x2
stan's blog, x3
east of allen, x2, x3
daily photo la, x2
pasadena adjacent, x2
altadena hiker, x2
grow something new
brian and kelly
firefighter blog
matthew j krabill
loving pretty things
gershom's journal
john barkman photography
cafe pasadena
and of course the always fantastic altadenablog.

altadena hiker has a fantastic rundown of the aftermath.

pasadena rose magazine has a great rundown of places to get your info.

the pasadena star news also has a slideshow.

fire on the mountain

these images are of the mountains just north of arcadia and sierra madre. the picture was taken in pasadena which gives perspective on how close we are to those towns. yesterday a fire broke out and it has been burning since then. our prayers go out to those who may be affected. top picture is from yesterday in the late afternoon, bottom is last night.