Local Residents Experience Tense Night After Evacuation Warning

Some Altadena residents experienced a tense night on Tuesday after an evacuation warning heightened fears that the Bobcat Fire was closing in on the unincorporated community.

On Tuesday night, the county issued an evacuation warning for Altadena, Pasadena, Sierra Madre, Monrovia, Duarte, and Bradbury. That warning still remains in effect on Thursday.

“Residents following Ready, Set, Go! should have evacuation plans in place, organize their emergency evacuation supplies, and have essential evacuation personal belongings easily accessible. Vehicles should be fully fueled, facing out in their driveways and ready to go,” county fire Capt. Ron Haralson said.

The warning came after a wind advisory estimated 20-40 mph winds could drive the fire in the direction of local communities.

Residents in Arcadia north of Foothill Boulevard and east of Santa Anita Avenue were advised to voluntarily evacuate. Residents in Sierra Madre north of Grandview Avenue were also asked to voluntarily evacuate.

But Pasadena and Altadena residents were left wondering when they would be forced to leave their homes.

“Last night was a stressful one in our home. We live above the Eaton Canyon Golf Course on one of the last streets still in the city of Pasadena before the neighborhood transitions into L.A. County jurisdiction,” said Bill Paparian, a former Pasadena mayor and city councilmember.

Paparian and his family gassed up their three cars and packed up valuables and essential items. They constantly monitored the Internet for updates after receiving county evacuation alerts on their cell phones.

“One of my sons went on a scouting mission around 10 p.m. to the top of Michillinda Avenue to monitor the situation on the hillside above,” Paparian said.

“We were prepared to evacuate. It was difficult to decide what to take with us and what to leave behind. There is a lifetime of memories in our house. Last night was a stressful one, to say the least. It was a reminder of how precious our lives are.”

The blaze broke out around noon on Sunday near Cogswell Dam and the West Fork Day Use area as triple-digit temperatures scorched the region. By Wednesday morning, the fire had burned nearly 12,000 acres. Winds were expected to gust up to 26 mph away from Pasadena by noon.

The U.S. Forest Service estimates that the fire will not be contained until Oct. 15.

“I’ve packed half of the stuff and I’ve got to get the rest done today,” said community activist Monica Hubbard, who lives in Altadena. Hubbard said she was heading to a family member’s house or a nearby hotel.

As a precaution, Santa Anita Park race track has been set up as an evacuation center for residents who decide to self evacuate. Currently, three people are being lodged at that evacuation center.

“People be ready,” said Marium Mohiuddin, director of communications, American Red Cross Los Angeles Region.

“Fires move fast. Be ready to go. Have things packed up, including important documents and essentials. You should even have your car pointed in the right direction. We have set up an evacuation point at Santa Anita Racepark. If you need a place to go, go there. We are trying to anticipate needs as the fire grows. We are taking strict COVID measures to make sure people are safe.

Many of the threatened areas faced evacuations in 2009 when Los Angeles County was struck by its largest wildfire in recorded history, the Station Fire, which killed two firefighters, devastated 250-square-miles of forest in the San Gabriel Mountains, forced evacuations in Altadena and Pasadena and destroyed more than 200 buildings.

While firefighting technology and tactics have evolved and improved since 2009, years of drought have left the Angeles National Forest packed with kindling. In 2018, fire officials said the possibility of another massive blaze in local foothills was very real.

Since then, the U.S. Forest Service has resumed flying firefighting aircraft at night, a practice that was banned during the Station Fire. Lawmakers and others questioned whether air support in the early days of the Station Fire could have helped it from growing as large as it did.

The Forest Service had previously flown night operations but stopped the practice in 1977 following the death of a pilot. In the wake of the Station Fire, the decision was reversed. Night flights resumed in 2013.

“The deadly fire in Paradise taught us all that fire is a very dangerous thing, and our areas continue to see an influx of new residents who haven’t lived along the urban/wildland interface before,” said Altadena resident Rene Amy.

“Kudos to those who helped spread the word about the issue, but there was a notable tendency to fan the flames as to the possible danger to our communities,” Amy said.

“Only limited areas were under evacuation warnings, but information repeated by various sources made it sound like everyone in Altadena should be ready to leave their homes with only a moment’s notice,” he said. “Of course, folks should always be prepared for an emergency, and this has given a whole lot of folks a very loud and powerful wake-up call to do just that.”