Free Republic

A California assemblyman detained for trying to bring a loaded gun on an airplane said it was a mistake, but that he‘s usually armed because of the death threats he’s received for his anti-illegal immigration views. Tim Donnelly, a Tea Party-backed Republican from San Bernardino

I spoke with Stephanie about how the economy is affecting young women. Beside dealing with long term unemployment, the "jobless" economy is affecting how young men and women perceive each other. Many are putting off marriage and reassessing relationships. Many young women are investing free time with giving emotional support to their friends and seeking stronger ties with their existing families.

The bankrupt megachurch is to be sold to the Diocese of Orange.GARDEN GROVE – Crystal Cathedral's head pastor spoke optimistically about the future of her iconic megachurch at Sunday morning services, telling a congregation of about 400 that it was not too late to ask God to intervene and stop the church's impending sale to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange. Senior Pastor Sheila Schuller Coleman, the daughter of the church's founder, offered a prayer thanking God for "intentionally delaying" a miracle, and indicated that the bankrupt church would continue to pray and wait for God to reveal His final...

Official Calls For Riverside, 12 Other Counties To Secede From California Link to Article and Poll New state would have no term limits, part-time legislature July 1, 2011 10:24 AM RIVERSIDE (CBS) — Is the state of California about to go “South”? Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone apparently thinks so, after proposing that the county lead a campaign for as many as 13 Southern California counties to secede from the state. Stone said in a statement late Thursday that Riverside, Imperial, San Diego, Orange, San Bernardino, Kings, Kern, Fresno, Tulare, Inyo, Madera, Mariposa and Mono counties should form the new...

In effect until Saturday, Feb 26, 12:00 PM..FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM PST THIS EVENING THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING...THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES FOR* A PORTION OF SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA...INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING AREAS...ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS AND SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE.* FROM 10 PM PST THIS EVENING THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING* A COLD PACIFIC STORM WILL BRING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL LATE TONIGHT INTO SATURDAY MORNING. HEAVIEST RAINFALL IS EXPECTED WITH THE COLD FRONT PASSAGE LATE TONIGHT THROUGH EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. WITH THE COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE...THREE HOURLY RAINFALL AMOUNTS COULD RANGE FROM ONE HALF TO ONE...

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON......FLASH FLOOD WATCH NOW IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON...THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH IS NOW IN EFFECT FOR* A PORTION OF SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA...INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING AREAS...ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS...RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS...SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS...SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE...SAN DIEGO COUNTY COASTAL AREAS...SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS...SAN DIEGO COUNTY VALLEYS AND SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS.* FROM 4 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON.* WIDESPREAD MODERATE TO LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA LATE TODAY AND CONTINUE INTO SATURDAY. VERY STRONG LOW LEVEL FLOW...

LOS ANGELES — Hillside residents fortified their defenses as fire and police crews staged dramatic water rescues ahead of an even worse storm system expected to hit Southern California on Tuesday evening with more rain, hail and gusts up to 65 mph. Virtually the entire state has been affected by the storms that began Friday, dumping moisture from far Northern California south to San Diego. The National Weather Service predicted an even fiercer storm would roll into Southern California beginning Tuesday night, bringing 2 to 8 inches of rain in most areas and up to 10 inches in some mountains....

... STORM SYSTEM TO AFFECT SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA LATE FRIDAY INTO MONDAY... A LARGE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE APPROACHING FROM THE NORTHWEST WILL MOVE OVER SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA AND A COUPLE OF IMPULSES WILL MOVE THROUGH THIS WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE FIRST IMPULSE ROTATING AROUND THE MAIN TROUGH WILL MOVE THROUGH ON SATURDAY. THIS WILL LIKELY BRING RAIN... POSSIBLY HEAVY AT TIMES. SHOWERS WILL TAPER OFF LATE SATURDAY INTO SUNDAY. A SECOND UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE COULD ENHANCE PRECIPITATION AGAIN SUNDAY AFTERNOON INTO MONDAY. THIS STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING MUCH COLDER WEATHER WITH LOCAL GUSTY WESTERLY WINDS. THE STRONGEST...

On 18 October 2010, Southern California's landmark Crystal Cathedral, the prototype of all late 20th Century American Megachurches, filed for bankruptcy. I drove up the following Sunday to get a look at the place while it was still in operation. The Crystal Cathedral proper, a spectacular glass structure designed by Philip Johnson and completed in 1980, dominates a landscaped campus that includes the congregation's original church building, designed by Richard Neutra, Richard Meier's "Welcoming Center", and a variety of other buildings, reflecting pools and religiously themed statuary. A German tourist prevailed on me to take a picture of him and...

The 340-mile, southern section of the San Andreas fault could slip at anytime, triggering a massive, magnitude 8.1 quake, researchers announced Sunday. A report in the August issue of Geology by researchers at UC Irvine and Arizona State University suggest the fault is long overdue for a major quake — running from Monterey County to the Salton Sea, the Los Angeles Times reported. The last major rupture on the San Andreas was in 1857. Until recently, experts believed that the section of the fault through the Carrizo Plain, located approximately 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles, would remain dormant for...

At least eight city of Bell officials were arrested this morning as L.A. County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley prepared to announce criminal charges in the municipal salary scandal.

Former Bell, CA City Manager Robert Rizzo, after a March DUI arrestIn a press conference moments ago, Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley announced charges against the eight Bell, California city officials who were arrested today after they inflated their salaries, allegedly using around $5.5 million in public funds. Former Bell City Manager Robert Rizzo, who allegedly banked close to $800,000 a year, was charged with "53 counts of misappropriation of public funds and conflict of interest," according to the Los Angeles Times.According to the Times, "Angela Spaccia, former assistant city manager; Mayor Oscar Hernandez; councilmembers George Mirabal, Teresa...

California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown should quickly ask a judge to remove authority from the scandal-plagued Bell City Council and hand over management of day-to-day affairs to a court-appointed independent official, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors said Tuesday.Such an action against an elected city council may be unprecedented and would move the state into uncharted legal territory.The motion was approved 4-0, wth Supervisor Michael Antonovich absent.It was written before Tuesday morning's arrest of eight current and former Bell city officials, which raised serious questions of how to effectively run the tiny, working-class city of 40,000 people in southeast...

Idyllwild, Calif. (AP) -- Researchers have released dozens of tadpoles into a Riverside County stream in hopes of reviving a frog species endangered in the region. San Diego Zoo officials say zoo researchers bred the 36 mountain yellow-legged frog tadpoles that were released Tuesday into a stream near the town of Idyllwild. The mountain yellow-legged frog is on the federal Endangered Species List in Southern California and has recently been proposed for listing under the California Endangered Species Act.

The average temperature in July was 79 degrees, five degrees below normal, and the first eight days of this month also have been five to six degrees below normal, weather experts said That could put Southern California on track for a near-record-low summer, but it's still too early to say, according to weather experts. The Los Angeles area, in fact, has had below-normal temperatures every month since April. On Monday forecasters were monitoring a high-pressure system developing to the north that could swing over Southern California by Sunday and heat things into the mid-90s in some inland areas, she said....

Caltrans apologized Tuesday for covering a mural of an American flag on Interstate 680 last week, a move that triggered howls of indignation and inspired two men to repaint it, and the agency said it will meet with the original artists to create another mural. "Caltrans regrets the removal of the flag mural," Caltrans spokesman Matt Rocco said in a prepared statement. "The department will work with the artists and local community to discuss the department's current permitting process for transportation art with the goal of placing another mural at a suitable location." It cost $1,324.67 in labor, equipment and...

CHP investigators have arrested a 40-year-old cable TV installer in connection to the series of sniper attacks on Inland Empire Freeways. For weeks now, someone has been shooting out the rear windows of SUVs on the freeway. On Thursday, CHP investigators said they caught the suspect red-handed as he shot at an Escalade as he drove along Interstate 15 at the 38 in Wrightwood. The suspect has been identified as William Frye of Hesperia. His gray Toyota Tundra has been impounded along with several weapons. The seven-week shooting spree damaged more than 70 vehicles. Frye now faces up to 70...

An earthquake has rocked Southern California, shaking the Los Angeles area and forcing a halt to the Toronto Blue Jays-San Diego Padres game in San Diego. The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude-5.7 quake was centered five miles southeast of Ocotillo near the U.S.-Mexico border. It struck Monday at about 9:30 PDT. The quake was initially reported as a magnitude-5.9 temblor.

Did you feel it! San Diego

Voodoo Used to Influence Outcome of Mortgage Fraud Case Ruben Hernandez, 34, California, owner of Downey Motorcars, and co-defendant Joel Rodriguez, 45, a California resident, owner of Coast to Coast Mortgage, were sentenced in a mortgage fraud case. Hernandez and Rodriguez were convicted by a jury on May 6, 2010. Hernandez was found guilty of four counts of filing a false application and three counts of grand theft. He received a 12 year sentence. Rodriguez was convicted of six counts of filing a false application and five counts of grand theft. He received a 12 year, 8 month sentence. Hernandez...

Appropriately revered west coast burger chain In-N-Out Burger is making an unprecedented expansion into Dallas, Texas. The chain has infamously not expanded beyond the Western states of California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah, as In-N-Out trucks in its meat from a central facility and has resisted reorganizing that structure in order to accomodate farther reaching locations (for a visual explanation of the process, see this graphic at the Orange County Register).

Hemet could become one of the first California cities to formally support Arizona's immigration law. The City Council on Tuesday unanimously agreed to direct city staff to craft a resolution backing the law. The Arizona law requires police officers during a "lawful stop, detention or arrest" to detain people they reasonably suspect are in the country without authorization and to verify their status with federal officials. It is scheduled to take effect in August. Federal efforts to reform immigration law have repeatedly collapsed, leading states to attempt their own legislation as they experience spikes in illegal immigrants and related costs....

KTLA NewsSoCal Experiencing Surge in Earthquake Activity 70 quakes greater than a magnitude 4.0 have struck the region this year -- more than any year in the past decade. KTLA News 11:08 AM PDT, April 13, 2010 LOS ANGELES -- Southern California, along with Baja California, has seen a surge in moderate earthquake activity this year and scientists are trying to figure out what's causing the uptick. There have been 70 quakes greater than a magnitude 4.0 so far this year. That's the most of any year in the last decade -- and, it's only April. There were 30...

...LATE SEASON STORM SYSTEM TO IMPACT EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA LATE TONIGHT AND MONDAY...A STORM SYSTEM WHICH ORIGINATED IN THE GULF OF ALASKA WILL MOVE THROUGH EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA LATE TONIGHT AND MONDAY. THIS WILL BRING A PERIOD OF RAIN TO THE REGION AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS IN SOME AREAS. SNOW AND FOG WILL BE EXPECTED IN THE HIGHER MOUNTAINS. UNSEASONABLY COOL WEATHER WILL OCCUR IN ALL AREAS.RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL RANGE FROM ONE-HALF TO ONE INCH WEST OF THE MOUNTAINS WITH ONE TO TWO INCHES ON THE SOUTH AND WEST FACING MOUNTAIN SLOPES. LOCAL AMOUNTS COULD EXCEED TWO INCHES ON THE...

Very large Earthquake in San Diego...lasted a long time.

Wow...that was a good shake...it went on for quite a while. Everybody ok?

MEXICO CITY — Federal police have arrested Mexico's so-called "King of Heroin," a powerful drug trafficker allegedly responsible for running hundreds of pounds of heroin into Southern California each year, authorities said Thursday. Jose Antonio Medina, nicknamed "Don Pepe," was arrested in the western state of Michoacan on Wednesday and is being held for prosecution, said Ramon Pequeno, head of the anti-narcotics division of Mexico's federal police. Medina, 36, ran a complex smuggling operation that hauled 440 pounds (200 kilograms) of heroin each month across the Mexican border in Tijuana for La Familia drug cartel, Pequeno said. The White House...

A strong storm slams into the West Coast tonight and tomorrow bringing heavy rain and mountain snow. Kate Bilo and Ken Clark discuss this powerful system.

Foothill areas north of Los Angeles are under a flash flood watch as another winter storm approaches, threatening burn areas with more mudslides and prompting mandatory evacuations for hundreds of homes. Showers and thunderstorms are expected to drop between 1/3 of an inch to 2 inches of rain starting Tuesday afternoon through Tuesday night, said forecasters with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. Though the storm will be patchy and "showery," forecasters said it could dump more than a half-inch of rain an hour in some areas. Los Angeles County authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders Monday night for more than...

FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR ORANGE COUNTY...THE INLAND EMPIRE...ANDTHE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS BELOW 5000 FEET THROUGH TONIGHT... .A COLD...COMPACT LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL TRACK SOUTHWARD JUST OFFTHE CALIFORNIA COAST TODAY...MOVING INLAND ACROSS NORTHERN BAJATONIGHT. THIS WILL BRING PERIODS OF LOCALLY MODERATE PRECIPITATIONTHROUGH TONIGHT WITH PERIODS OF HIGH INTENSITY RAINFALL FROMTHUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVIER SHOWERS POSSIBLE LATE THIS AFTERNOONTHROUGH TONIGHT.**************************************** PERIODS OF MODERATE RAINFALL ARE EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT ON TOP OF SOIL NEARLY SATURATED FROM RECENT RAINFALL. PERIODS OF HIGH INTENSITY RAINFALL LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT FROM THUNDERSTORMS AND HEAVIER SHOWERS COULD INCREASE THE POTENTIAL FOR FLASH FLOODING.

..FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY AFTERNOONTHROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON... THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES FOR * A PORTION OF SOUTHWEST CALIFORNIA...INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING AREAS...ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS...RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS...SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS...SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE...SAN DIEGO COUNTY COASTAL AREAS...SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS...SAN DIEGO COUNTY VALLEYS AND SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS. * FROM FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON * RAINFALL RATES COULD EXCEED ONE HALF INCH PER HOUR AT TIMES DURING THE STORM...ESPECIALLY ACROSS SOUTH FACING SLOPES AND NEAR THUNDERSTORMS. THIS WILL BRING THE POTENTIAL FOR LOCAL FLASH FLOODING AND DEBRIS FLOWS...AND PERIODS OF...

Crystal Cathedral Laying Off Workers, Selling Property, Canceling "Hour of Power" In Some Markets January 29, 2010 The Crystal Cathedral, the Garden Grove megachurch, is laying off workers, selling surplus property and may be pulling its “Hour of Power” television show from eight markets in the wake of a precipitous drop in contributions. [Updated at 7:40 p.m.: An earlier version of this post said the church was pulling its "Hour of Power" TV show from a dozen markets.] The 7,000-member church has also canceled its “Glory of Easter” pageant, a popular reenactment of the life and death of Jesus Christ,...

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE, Calif. (CBS) ― [Storm-battered Southern California is beginning to dry out after a wild week of storms that flooded streets, spawned at least a few tornados, and left a trail of damage, but mudslides could still be a concern, but with predictions for more showers Friday, the supersaturated ground threatened to send damaging debris downhill. Officials have said the risk of mudslides can last up to 72hours after the rains have stopped. Hundreds of evacuees forced from homes in foothill communities are expected to learn sometime Friday whether it's safe for them to return home. Authorities said...

A Huntington Beach police officer checks out an SUV that winds blew onto its side in the parking lot of Peter's Landing Marina in Huntington Harbour. No one was in the vehicle when it tipped over. (Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times / January 19, 2010)The second of four rainstorms forecast for Southern California pummeled the coast this afternoon, with gale-force winds and at least one tornado lifting boats in Orange County 30 to 50 feet, causing serious flooding across the region and promoting a new round of evacuations. But forecasters said the worst is yet to come, in the...

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for the South Los Angeles, Long Beach and Whittier areas as a powerful new storm moves ashore. The warning is expected to be in place for at least 45 minutes. Radar shows heavy rain falling in Long Beach, with the storm moving in at 35 mph to the northeast. There were also reports of thunder and lightning across the region. Forecasters said the storm was capable of producing a tornado, but there was no evidence at this time that any tornadoes have developed on land. [Updated at 1:03 p.m.: The tornado...

California will be hit hard by an onslaught of major storms next week. This is a big deal, folks. Something we haven't seen the likes of in quite some time. Powerful ocean storms are going to play tag with tropical moisture all week long, and quite a bit of that moisture will be pumped into the West Coast. California will probably get the worst of it, but the storms will produce rain all the way to British Columbia. Along the California coast and all windward-facing slopes, rainfall totals could easily exceed a half foot by the end of the week....

The following event has been planned so voters can meet some of the Conservative candidates running for various offices. I encourage everyone who lives in Southern California to attend: Tea Party Revolution Candidate Fair 2010 at the Wooden Nickel Ranch in Menifee, California A Tea Party Revolution Candidate Fair will be held on Saturday, January 23, 2010 at the Wooden Nickel Ranch, 25690 Holland Road, Menifee, CA from 11:00 noon to 4:00 p.m. The event is free of charge. California candidates, running for office in 2010, will be present and addressing the crowd. The Wooden Nickel venue has a capacity...

For those concerned, Southern California weather tomorrow is more of the same, near perfect crystal clear, sunny weather, unlimited visibility, but slightly cold, down around 62 degrees, with mild pacific breezes. Hope y'all are hanging in there. I'll post another forecast tomorrow since so many seem so interested!! We'll get by this brutal cold one way or another! Hang in there everyone!! Bye now!

DIAMOND BAR, Calif. — A cluster of brush fires erupted along the fringes of suburban neighborhoods in eastern Los Angeles County on Tuesday. Helicopters and SuperScooper airplanes roared low over homes to drop loads of water on the flames in hilly terrain just outside back yards. Lines of widely separated flame moved across rolling grasslands. Weather appeared to be on firefighters' side, with little wind evident. County Fire Inspector Steve Zermeno said reports of five to eight separate fires near State Route 60 came in about 11:45. The area is about 25 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. About 150...

By the time heli-tankers arrived in force, the blaze had leaped Angeles Crest Highway. The last best chance to prevent a catastrophe had vanished.On a sizzling August morning, as flames burned unchecked down the road, fire crews milled about at an Angeles Crest Highway ranger station. Others were parked along the pavement -- a critical line of defense -- their engines quiet and hoses slack. It was more than an hour after first light, and some six hours after U.S. Forest Service commanders had determined that the fire required a more aggressive air attack. But the skies remained empty of...

Investigators are trying to determine why a U.S. Coast Guard C-130 airplane and a U.S. Marine Corps attack helicopter collided on Thursday night, likely killing nine crew members. Aircraft and ships are scouring the ocean off San Diego for any signs of survivors of the nighttime collision, but Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the crash likely killed both the plane's seven crew members and the two-person crew of the AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter.Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said the crash occurred minutes after control of the C-130 was handed off from FAA controllers to military air controllers.

BreakingNews San Diego media: 9 missing after collision of Coast Guard C-130 and Marine Cobra helicopter off the SD coast. BNO News working to confirm.

A STRONG PACIFIC STORM MOVING THROUGH NORTHERN AND CENTRALCALIFORNIA LATE TUESDAY THROUGH EARLY WEDNESDAY WILL BRING SOMEIMPACTS TO EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA. THE STORM WILL GENERATE A LARGE WEST SWELL WHICH WILL MOVE THROUGHTHE COASTAL WATERS WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY BRINGING HIGH SURF TOEXPOSED WEST FACING BEACHES WITH SOME BREAKERS EXCEEDING 10 FEETPOSSIBLE. THIS SURF WILL CAUSE DANGEROUS RIP CURRENTS. OTHER IMPACTS MAY EXTEND INTO NORTHERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHERNCALIFORNIA WITH MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL POSSIBLE AS FAR SOUTHAS THE SAN BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS AND STRONG...GUSTY WINDS POSSIBLEIN MOUNTAIN AND DESERT AREAS OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY. ANYMODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL COULD CAUSE MUD AND...

California Christians Worship In A Big Way The state has more megachurches than anywhere else in the country, with the majority in the suburbs between Los Angeles and San Diego. Their upbeat approach is luring thousands each weekend. A worshiper gets caught up in the music at Shepherd of the Hills in Porter Ranch, which attracts 8,000 people to its six weekend services. California has 193 megachurches, defined as those with at least 2,000 congregants. By Duke Helfand October 11, 2009 Once again, the Sunday faithful have packed the cavernous sanctuary at Shepherd of the Hills Church in the San...

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Anheuser-Busch InBev said Wednesday that it will sell its entertainment business, including theme parks like Sea World and Busch Gardens, to the Blackstone Group for as much as $2.7 billion.The final purchase price will involve a cash payment of $2.3 billion on closing and the right to participate in Blackstone's returns that is capped at $400 million.

SAN FRANCISCO—A federal judge has tossed out the federal government's plans to open vast tracts of forests in Southern California to new road building. U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ruled Wednesday that the U.S. Forest Service failed to adequately consider the effects the new plan would have on the landscape and wildlife in the Angeles, Los Padres, Cleveland and San Bernardino national forests. Los Padres is the principal home of the California condor.

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — Space shuttle Discovery and its seven astronauts took a cross-country detour and landed safely in California on Friday after stormy weather prevented them from returning home to Florida for the second day in a row.

NASA's Terra satellite has captured a dramatic image of the Los Angeles "Station Fire" wildfire. It is one of at least seven conflagrations currently affecting California, which by yesterday had reportedly laid waste to over 133,000 acres and consumed 80 buildings. NASA explains: "The area covered by the image is 245 kilometers (152 miles) wide. Several pyrocumulus clouds, created by the Station Fire, are visible above the smoke plumes rising from the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles in the left-center of the image. "Smoke from the Station Fire is seen covering the interior valleys along the south side...

The so-called Station Fire, which now covers more than 120,000 Southern California acres and is burning largely uncontained, continues to threaten the century-old Mount Wilson Observatory, home to astronomer Edwin Hubble at the time he made his landmark observations of the universe's expansion. The observatory is currently unmanned due to the fire threat and the attending smoke, but a webcam atop Mount Wilson's 150-foot solar tower has provided observatory managers and concerned observers with a view from the scene. At 12:55 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) the camera showed a great deal of smoke but no flames. ...According to the Los...

If flames were to reach the top of Mt. Wilson, home to the region's TV and FM radio transmitters, what would happen? Severe damage could disrupt cellphone service, as well as television and radio programming for those who receive signals over the air. It also could interrupt some emergency law enforcement communications. ... Mt. Wilson is home to more than two dozen towers that occupy its peak just north of Sierra Madre. It supports antennas that beam signals for television and FM radio stations throughout the region. The fire also threatens the historic solar observatory atop the mountain, which houses...