Victory Bell and Toxic Dump - February 7, 2006


Victory Bell & Illegal Dump - February 6 & 7, 2006 "One thing leads to another, and another"

	February 6, 2006 0947 hrs The 150' Mount Wilson webcam zooms in on Santiago Peak and the new Sierra Fire located in Orange County. It was reported at 0430 hrs and due to Santa Ana winds blowing 50 mph from the Northeast, the fire quickly grew. Most of Los Angeles was under the smoke cloud, and ashes fell in Long Beach. Some false fire reports were called in as far as the Grapevine due to the heavy smoke in the area.
	Near my employment, there is a mountain road that extends into the foothills.. On a clear day I like to drive up to this point and sit in the sun and take a few pictures. I knew I could see Santiago Peak from this location so I decided to drive up after work and get some photographs of the fire, and long range smoke pictures that I will use for my training classes.
	I park my truck and hike out to my favorite spot that overlooks the greater Los Angeles Area. The wind direction on the fire has changed and the smoke is obscuring Santiago Peak. I take a few close-up pics, then focus the camera on some other things.
	Flying high overhead is a Cooper's Hawk. This medium-sized hawk specializes in eating birds, thus it is built for fast flight through the obstacle courses of trees and limbs while trying to catch it's prey. Most Cooper's Hawks examined had healed fractures in the bones of the chest, furcula and wishbone. These injuries are due to the dangers of dashing through vegetation to catch birds. The Hawk will capture a bird with its talons and squeeze it repeatedly to kill it, unlike other falcons that bite the prey to kill. Populations were in decline but they are starting to recover as they are adapting to the urban lifestyle, and eating a few pets now and again. They are 39-50cm (15-20 in), wingspan 62-90 cm (24-35 in), and weigh about 260-597 g (9-21 oz). The female is larger, and there call is sharp "cak's".
	The smoke is getting thicker and downtown Los Angeles is starting to fade into the muck. I decide to go home.
	February 7, 2006 The Sierra Fire burns on through the night while the 150' Mt. Wilson webcam continues to monitor the situation.
	Since the fire is still going, again I decide to go up to my favorite spot during my lunch break to capture a few more pictures while I enjoy my McDonalds burger. In this picture, the fire is starting to flare up again as another large cloud of smoke extends into the Orange & Los Angeles Counties. At this time, the fire has consumed 3,500 acres while 1,000 firefighters from 17 different agencies battle the blaze. The good news is that no structures have been lost, and no injuries reported. At various times the number of homes evacuated have been from 1,300 to 2,500.
	Keeping tabs on the Angeles Forest and foothills, a Los Angeles County Sheriff copter flies down the South side of the San Gabriel Mountain range.
	As I sit back and enjoy my lunch, I happen to notice how much trash is left behind, even out in the middle of nowhere. True... some if it could have blown in from the wind, but most of it is just people that dump their trash where ever they are standing. I was always taught, "pack it in - pack it out". Another good one is "take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but foot prints." When I saw this cigarette butt on all those dry weeds, a shiver went down my spine. I took a couple of pictures of this scene for some future presentation.
	After kicking back and watching the Sierra Fire from afar (about 40 miles). I pack up my trash and start to head back to the truck. That's when I see it. In the middle of this picture, a few pixels across, is where I see something that is unfortunately is all too typical for the Angeles National Forest. Over the side of the road, down the hill about 150ish feet is a black industrial 55 gallon drum.
	Zooming in on the drum I can see more detail. I also use my binoculars. I can tell that the drum has been sitting there for a long time, as there is no roll scars down the hill, and the grass has grown around the drum. Even with the binoculars I can not tell if the drum is open or closed... and, I know from my training that there is NO WAY I'm going down there to take a look. One, I don't know what it is or what could be inside, and two, the hill is pretty steep at that location. I get on my cell phone and I call in the report. Angeles immediately responds and they tell me Patrol 13 will give me a return call.
	Looking down the hill above the drum, I can see what looks to be a giant bell, an industrial cart, and a plastic bag. The drum is about 150 feet below the ridge but this bell thing is about ~60 feet down and looks very heavy. This also looks as if it was there for awhile. Even at 60 feet, the area is still too steep to go down. I take a few more pictures.
	Patrol 13, returns my call and I give him the details over the phone. He was nearby so I didn't have to wait long for him to meet up with me. I met him down the road and we drove to the spot on the road above where the drum was located. We found a safe spot to park and walked the rest of the way.
	Mike (Patrol 13) makes an assessment of the situation , and here comes a hand shake for a job well done. He thanks me for the report. Now the hard part begins. I tell new Fire Lookout Applicants that they hold a "million dollar radio". Not because the radio costs that much, but because in a few minutes enough resorces, people, fire engines, helicopters could be launched as a result of your call. The call is made! This is a complex problem. Haz Mat teams do have lights and can work during anytime of the day or night, but the team is not equipped to desend past 50 feet, in the dark, down very steep terrain. There is no choice to wait until a Haz Mat assesment team can be called in first.
	February 8, 2006 The next day, Mike (Patrol 13) and Joe (ANF Hazmat) shows up on scene followed by two trucks from the Los Angeles County Health Haz Mat team. I have printed my photographs and I used "NASA World Wind" along with "Google Earth" to show the location of the drum. The measurements from satellite photos confirms that the drum is 160-180 some odd feet down the ravine and the bell thing is about 60 feet down.
	The Los Angeles County Health Haz Mat team sees the challenge right away. Forest Service and County teams can descend ~50 feet, but beyond that, special gear will be needed to be brought in to safely rapel down into the canyon. Also, it is unknown if the drums are empty or intact and the level of response will depend upon the identity of the material(s) involved, if any.
	In the past, Haz Mat teams have gone down into canyons to recover drums before, but the angle of the slope was much less then the steep canyon where this drum is located. Because of the extreme challenge of this site, a coordinated and well planned response will be needed. There is a possibility that the services of an external commercial contractor will be required for this job. Even though there is little chance a hiker would come across the drum due to the terrain, a red hazard marker is placed on the nearby telephone pole.
	Oh yea... and the Sierra Fire is still burning. The fire as of today is at 7,180 acres and only 18 percent contained. They expect to have containment by Saturday. Investigators found that the smoldering remains of a perscribed burn was fueled by the Santa Anna winds. The prescribed burn was last Thursday, when no winds were predicted, and the fire was fully out, but fire does have the ability to burn through roots underground with no smoke or even be cool to the touch. When the wind came, the fire exploded. Five planes, ten helicopters and +1,900 firefighters are working the blaze.
	February 15, 2006 After much planning, a company is hired under contract to retrieve the barrel and the bell. I couldn't be at the site during the recovery because I had to drop off Susan at the Airport. She is heading back to Ohio for our Grand-daughters 1st birthday. This photo was taken by a passing mountain biker and was forwarded to me by Stanton (ANF PIO). Here you see the part of the crane and the men in the hazmat suits that had to go down the hill to get the items.
	Later that morning about 11am, Joe had the contractor deliver the bell to John Muir High School. As it turns out, this bell is of major significance to the School as a main icon during the football season. It is fought over like the "America's Cup" when one of the schools wins that game, they get the honor of keeping the bell for that year. In this photograph, the bell is returned to the Muir High School. *Wished I could have been there for that!* What a moment it must have been. Still... this is so cool and it is the very reason why I volunteer my time. Just by keeping my eyes on the forest translates into hundreds of smiles. As a volunteer, a smile is worth the time invested.
	February 21, 2006 I get a cell call from Stanton at the Forest Service asking if it would be ok to give my name to the newspaper. I have no problem with that, I think it is neat that the school got the bell back, and it makes me proud that my volunteer service has had such a good outcome. Later that day, I have a dentist appointment and I hear the Office Manager, Ginger, talk about the John Muir Alumni Association with another patient. I asked her if she knows anything about the Victory Bell, and she then told me the story that it was recently found, and that it had been stolen back in June of last year. When I told her I was the one that found the bell and reported it, she was so excited, and grateful. She thanked me personnaly. Like I said, it makes me proud to volunteer for this very reason.
	February 22, 2006 I wrote an email to the Principle of John Muir, Dr. Danniel Webb regarding a site visit to photo raph the bell. He sent me the following message... "For all of Muir, including its thousands of alumni, thanks for finding the bell. You are welcome to come by anytime. However it probably will not be until this summer before we get it fully renovated and find it a new and more secure home. Thanks, Dan Webb"
	March 8, 2006 After having a cough for a week or so... I finally feel well enough to make the trip to the high school. Finding the main office of John Muir is an adventure that I think the school's namesake would have enjoyed. It took me about 15 minutes and directions of about 5 people to finally find the office. Dr. Webb was not available but I did meet the Dean. He took me to Dr. Webb's secratary and she made arraingments for me to visit the bell. The bell is stowed away in a vault storage room. They told me that the bell is not in the best of shape and that they plan to refurbish it later this year.
	So there it is... the bell that I had found in the Angeles National Forest, back where it belongs. As I said, "one thing leads to another, and another" and in this case it is a very happy ending. There is a grand history of this bell between John Muir High School and Pasadena High School. It is brought out for pep rallies, and the big game known as the "Turkey Tussle" for every year since 1954. As it turns out... the bell was stolen June 2005, and it was missing for the 2005 game. Everyone was very upset. Looks like 2006 will have a great return for the Victory Bell. This is what makes being a citizen volunteer worth it!!! link to http://johnmuiralumni.org/tussle_2005.htm