They’re Not Big On Tact at the Americana

(Pic from last May by the Atwater Village Newbie.)

Wildfires are raging all over Southern California, destroying countless homes — and laying waste to a mobile home area in Sylmar. The smell of smoke is in the air all over the region, even several miles from where the blazes are lighting the nighttime sky.

Over in Glendale, the Americana at Brand was set tonight to light up its first-ever Christmas tree tonight, complete with Santa, a choir, Peabo Bryson, and a big fireworks display.

Surely, they’d cut out the fireworks, right? Might be tacky, given what’s going on right now in the region.

Naaah. Like I said, the Americana isn’t exactly known for its restraint, or tact. Back in May, its opening celebration ran long — and the shopping center wound up freaking out the city by unleashing its fireworks display at 11:15 p.m. (see above).

This time, having been watching fire coverage all day, we both at first freaked out when we heard loud pops — and then fire in the sky off in a distance. It took us a beat to realize that those were fireworks — and that the Americana was behind it.

MEANWHILE, we were home to catch the Americana fireworks because — I’m sure like many of you — the fires forced us to cancel our evening plans. We were set to attend an early Thanksgiving meal at a friend’s house in La Mirada… but the thought of Blogger Preschooler breathing in all that smoke — and the thought of battling traffic down to Orange County — convinced us to phone our regrets, sadly. KFWB finally convinced us once and for all, when a county fireman warned listeners to stay off the freeways if they could.

If the smoke is this noticeable in the Atwater Village/Silver Lake/Los Feliz/South Glendale area, I gotta imagine it’s nearly unbearable closer to the actual blazes. How are all of you faring? Let’s all send good thoughts tonight to the brave firefighters working overtime to save homes and lives.

Blogging the Montecito Fire

(AP photo by Michael Moriatis)

Wonkette editor Ken Layne has been one of my heroes of the recent presidential campaign. Under his watch, Wonkette has been a fun, irreverent stop to read about some of the more outrageous but true aspects of the McCain-Obama race.

Layne happened to be spending time in Santa Barbara this past week, and got a front row view of the devastating fires now hitting Montecito. He filed this report for LAist. An excerpt:

In the foothills, dozens of “hot spots” could be seen, with five or six huge estates bursting into flames and a fire line that dropped behind ridges and over hills and went in either direction for as far as you could see. Convoys of fire engines roared up the highway, from Ventura and Los Angeles and Orange County. The radio hosts somberly recounted the tragedies seen and offers of help received.

Mansions and compounds literally exploded as we creeped south on the 101.

Layne tunes in to L.A. news radio outlets KNX and KFWB, where the anchors made sure to reassure listeners that estates owned by Oprah Winfrey and Rob Lowe were safe. Sez Layne: “Idiots.”

Experiencing "The Summer We Never Had"

(Flickr pic by Irene Tong.)

My business lunch conversation today ranged from industry topics to, well, more industry topics. But the first order of business: Discussing just how gosh durn hot it is out there. Is it really late October?

Now, according to the Los Angeles Times — well, at least the 3 people who still work there — we’re experiencing the second hottest October since 1877. We’ve now experienced eight days over 90 degrees this month — more than any other year except 1965:

“It’s the summer we never had,” said William Patzert, a climatologist for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Canada Flintridge.

The average daytime temperature in downtown Los Angeles this month has been 84.3 degrees, he said. September’s average high temperature was 83.2 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

“In September we only had two days over 90,” Patzert said.

The warmest October in Los Angeles’ recorded history — an average of 84.5 degrees — was 1965, when Southern California was blasted by hot, dry Santa Ana winds. On Oct. 23 of that year, Los Angeles had a temperature of 100 degrees. In San Diego, firefighters were busy battling three blazes amid the October heat wave.

Of course, we’ve seen two major bouts of fire this month. Not helping matters: We’ve seen eight months now of essentially no rain. That, combined with the intense heat, means conditions are ripe for more fires.

L.A. Once Again Burns

(Pic by Mel Melcon /Los Angeles Times)

It’s the pact with the devil we make when building up Southern California: Countless days of rain-free, sunny skies. But on the flip side, that means the possibility of an occasional, destructive fire is always there.

Now, of the two fires, the one burning out of control near Porter Ranch is of particular concern to fire officials:

“This fire has the potential to move from where it is now . . . perhaps as far as Pacific Coast Highway,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Michael Freeman said Monday afternoon as he assessed what he called “a design for disaster.” Freeman said winds of up to 60 mph were expected to push the fire down through canyons at least through this morning.

The winds were so strong that Freeman said embers were being blown as far as a quarter mile, and flames stretched up to 80 feet. Flames longer than 8 feet are considered virtually insurmountable, and Los Angeles County prohibits hand crews from approaching flames longer than 4 feet, according to Drew Smith, a county fire behaviorist.

Porter Ranch fire evacuees are being sent to Chatsworth High — the same spot a few weeks ago where families were sent to reunite in the wake of the Metrolink train collision.

As the Times notes: “It is the rare Southern Californian who doesn’t have a personal disaster story.”

Any of you forced to relocate, or are you sticking around and breathing the thick smoke?

Coastal Journey, Day 2: Morro Bay to Monterey

After an excellent night’s sleep — BTW, that may go down as my favorite part of the whole trip, the great sleep we got — it was time to pack up in Morro Bay and head up the coast to the Hearst Castle.

The Pacific Coast Highway was fine at this point, but temporary signs warned us that the 1 would be closed about 46 miles away. That was fine; we needed to simply drive up through Cambria and to San Simeon, where the home that W.R. Hearst built still stands.

The Kid Formerly Known as Blogger Toddler wanted to know if any princesses or Prince Charming resided there. Sorry to say, no. We bought a $2.99 toy snake in the gift shop to keep the kid happy — and sure enough, he was too busy sliding the snake (which doubled as a choo choo train, in his mind) on the ground to make a scene. The tour guide even said she was now thnking of bringing a few toy snakes to every tour in order to placate the rambunctious little ones.

It was hot enough that the Roman Pool looked quite inviting. As part of the perks of the job, Hearst Castle employees get to hop into the pool on one certain day every year.

Employees also had to spend the last few weeks breathing in the smoky air; I could feel it in the back of my throat just minutes after arriving on the hill where Hearst Castle is situated. The guides said they’ve adjusted, and that thankfully they take turns narrating the tours.

Whatta sight. And yet, the Hearst Castle was never completely finished. Hearst drove architect Julia Morgan a tad crazy as he constantly changed his mind on things.

The dining room.

The indoor pool.

The indoor movie theater. Following the tour, we were back in visitors’ center, where we grabbed food from the snack bar. We also checked out the free IMAX sized film that told the story of Hearst building the castle; Evan liked it, as it featured planes, trains and boats prominently.

After all of that, we headed up north a little futher to check out the elephant seals. The animals were lounging on the beach, occasionally getting up to burp and yawn.

The fires in Big Sur forced us to turn around and head up the 101 to get up north; the sky remained pink.

We arrived in Monterey a bit before dinner — and after checking into the Sand Dollar Inn (another fine spot), we hit the Tuscan-based Italian restaurant La Giostra.

The sun was completely set by the time we got to Dennis the Menace park — but we managed to still squeeze in some play before a park ranger locked the gate.

Next up: Day three, Sea otters and San Francisco, oh my!

Universal Studios Thanks Fictitious Fire Department For Support

(Pic credit: Mike Meadows, via LAFD News & Information blog.)

Universal Studios Hollywood has sent the word out that it’s “open for business” and that none of the theme park’s rides have been affected — well, other than the tram ride, which has incorporated the fire (and obviously no longer visits the charred King Kong) as part of the experience.

The park has begun airing radio ads promoting the fact — but I was struck by this: In the ads, Universal thanks “The Southern California Fire Department” for its heroics.

Southern California Fire Department? No such agency exists. The Los Angeles County Fire Department battled the blaze, with a huge assist from the Los Angeles Fire Department. Actually, I’ll let the LAFD’s d’Lisa Davies describe who all came out to assist:

On Sunday, June 1, 2008 at 4:50 AM, 31 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 9 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Arson Unit, 1 Urban Search and Rescue Unit, 2 Rehab Units, 1 Hazardous Materials Team, 4 Helicopters, 4 EMS Battalion Captains, 7 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams, Emergency Air 1, Foam Tenders 60 & 100, the Heavy Equipment and Dozer Company, Supply & Maintenance Mobile Mechanic, 1 CERT Coordinator, under the direction of Agency Representative Assistant Chief Greg West, responded to assist the L.A. County Fire Department, to a Backlot Soundstage Fire at 3900 Lankershim Bl. in the Studio City area.

Guess “Southern California Fire Department” was easier to say.

Universal Studios Thanks Fictitious Fire Department For Support

(Pic credit: Mike Meadows, via LAFD News & Information blog.)

Universal Studios Hollywood has sent the word out that it’s “open for business” and that none of the theme park’s rides have been affected — well, other than the tram ride, which has incorporated the fire (and obviously no longer visits the charred King Kong) as part of the experience.

The park has begun airing radio ads promoting the fact — but I was struck by this: In the ads, Universal thanks “The Southern California Fire Department” for its heroics.

Southern California Fire Department? No such agency exists. The Los Angeles County Fire Department battled the blaze, with a huge assist from the Los Angeles Fire Department. Actually, I’ll let the LAFD’s d’Lisa Davies describe who all came out to assist:

On Sunday, June 1, 2008 at 4:50 AM, 31 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 9 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Arson Unit, 1 Urban Search and Rescue Unit, 2 Rehab Units, 1 Hazardous Materials Team, 4 Helicopters, 4 EMS Battalion Captains, 7 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams, Emergency Air 1, Foam Tenders 60 & 100, the Heavy Equipment and Dozer Company, Supply & Maintenance Mobile Mechanic, 1 CERT Coordinator, under the direction of Agency Representative Assistant Chief Greg West, responded to assist the L.A. County Fire Department, to a Backlot Soundstage Fire at 3900 Lankershim Bl. in the Studio City area.

Guess “Southern California Fire Department” was easier to say.

R.I.P., Universal Tram Ride King Kong

(Flickr pic by SFPhotocraft.)

Sunday morning’s blaze at Universal Studios destroyed several sets and buildings… and also burned down the King Kong portion of the famed studio backlot tram tour.

The King Kong attraction was cheesy, yes. And hadn’t been updated in 20 years. But it was still a main highlight of the tour, and I’m sure the re-enactment of what a earthquake would look and feel like inside a San Francisco subway station was impressive back when it first opened.

The King Kong portion was so old that I got a kick out of the fake news broadcast that ran during it: Rolland Smith, who was lead anchor at New York’s WWOR-TV at the time the ride was created, takes center stage. Why WWOR, of all things? For a brief period in the early 1990s, Universal owned WWOR (Channel 9 in New York), and had rebanded the station as “Universal 9.”

Also, according to this, former NY mayor Rudy Giuliani once criticized Universal Studios for the King Kong feature, which included graffiti painted on fake subway cars.

The attraction (built in 1986) won’t be rebuilt, the L.A. Times reports, but instead be replaced by an all-new feature.

R.I.P., Universal Tram Ride King Kong

(Flickr pic by SFPhotocraft.)

Sunday morning’s blaze at Universal Studios destroyed several sets and buildings… and also burned down the King Kong portion of the famed studio backlot tram tour.

The King Kong attraction was cheesy, yes. And hadn’t been updated in 20 years. But it was still a main highlight of the tour, and I’m sure the re-enactment of what a earthquake would look and feel like inside a San Francisco subway station was impressive back when it first opened.

The King Kong portion was so old that I got a kick out of the fake news broadcast that ran during it: Rolland Smith, who was lead anchor at New York’s WWOR-TV at the time the ride was created, takes center stage. Why WWOR, of all things? For a brief period in the early 1990s, Universal owned WWOR (Channel 9 in New York), and had rebanded the station as “Universal 9.”

Also, according to this, former NY mayor Rudy Giuliani once criticized Universal Studios for the King Kong feature, which included graffiti painted on fake subway cars.

The attraction (built in 1986) won’t be rebuilt, the L.A. Times reports, but instead be replaced by an all-new feature.

Happy Thanksgiving Day — Don’t Let Your Turkey Kill You

Call it the turkeys’ revenge. The Los Angeles Fire Department says, deep-fry your turkey at your own peril. Actually, they say it a little more succinctly: Your Turkey or Your Life.

Watch the first minute of the video… and that doesn’t even illustrate what a deep-fried turkey might do to your arteries.