As of right this moment the Mount Wilson Observatory is still standing though flames are very close and people are extremely worried. This webcam shows the Observatory and surrounding areas (though the cam is going down frequently due to overloaded servers) which as you can see are fairly flame covered. As you probably know the MWO is over 100 years old and extremely important in the history of Astronomy including much of the observations and discussion that formulated the Big Bang theory. On Twitter, Xeni Jardin has been posting constant updates on this specific structure and the fires nearby. Keeping my fingers crossed.

You may have heard that the Station Fire doubled in size last night and continued getting worse today, but until you look at this map it’s hard to understand just how big it’s gotten. The smoke plume was easily visible today all the way in Venice. This one is getting scary, stay safe everyone.

Thanks to Sean‘s twitter feed, I learned yesterday that the Pasadena Humane Society, who has taken in 200+ evacuated pets affected by the Station Fire, desperately needs donations of blankets, food, money, etc. I had a case of premium food that my picky dogs won’t touch that I took over to them. I always feel so helpless when a natural disaster is going on and was happy to make a helpful gesture, no matter how small it is in the grand scheme of things.

The Pasadena Humane Society is located at 361 S. Raymond Ave. The facility is closed to all adoptions at this time and are keeping the doors locked. However, you can knock on the door and they will graciously receive your items. While they are typically closed on Mondays, I confirmed that they are accepting donations today. If you have any questions, you can call 626-792-7151.

From Museum of Jurassic Technology

Mount Wilson Road closed today at 6 a.m. after U.S. Forest Service authorities determined that the roaring fires could reach the mountain’s peak. Several radio towers for local broadcast outlets, as well as the historic Mt. Wilson Observatory, sit atop the 5,710-foot peak. The fate of the over-a-century-old facility is uncertain, but the importance of the observatory is undeniable. Designed by turn of the 19th century astronomer George Hale, who coined the term “astrophysics,” the Observatory realigned the way people viewed mankind as it related to the universe. Like the heliocentric model of Copernicus, which obliterated the concept of an Earth-centered universe, Hale’s experiments opened up the aperture on a more complex existence, where humans were perhaps as insignificant as tiny stars adrift in night sky. For some, astronomy struck at the heart of religion, while for others, gazing starward offered an ultimate advance in the search for God. The Museum of Jurassic Technology displays the epistemological questions, theories of God’s location, and Martian dreams sent on hotel stationery, postcards, and sloppily typed letters to Hale and the astronomers of the Observatory in the exhibit, No One May Ever Have The Same Knowledge Again: Letters to Mount Wilson Observatory.

Read the rest of this entry →

Eric Spiegelman stitched together this video from a collection of stills showing the progress of the atomic bomb like smoke plume resulting from the Station Fire. It’s pretty insane. *cough*

Quick follow up to that previous post about the fires, the following areas are now under mandatory evacuation due to the station fire. Read the rest of this entry →

If you have eyes or a nose you’ve certainly noticed the insane amount of smoke in the air the past few days but I’ve heard plenty of people talking about not really knowing where the fires actually are, or assuming they are just some far off brush fire again. Well not so much. These ones are close, and getting closer. The scariest of the four, yes FOUR fires burning around us right now, at least to me, is the Station Fire which is located just north of Pasadena and Glendale (exact location) and is barely contained if at all at last I heard. Yesterday it was around 5% and at least this afternoon that had dropped back to 0%. Apparently this is news to some people as 911 is being flooded with people calling in to report seeing smoke in the sky – no shit.

If you live near this, check out the evacuation centers after the jump. Might be a good idea to know where they are ahead of time, just in case. Read the rest of this entry →