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California Burning: Photographs from the Los Angeles Examiner

Lake Arrowhead Fire, 1951

The image depicts people on the shore of Lake Arrowhead, located in the San Bernardino Forest just east of Los Angeles, observing the smoke from a developing fire.[1] At 1:12 pm on Sunday, July 22, 1951, forest rangers discovered the fire on the north side of the lake near the dump beyond the dam.[2] Over 500 firemen and volunteer fighters worked to contain the flames along with a specialized team of 50 Native Americans who were brought in to help.[3] By the second day, the fire had burned 3500 acres, with backfires sparking along the perimeter. The flames moved to surround Squint’s Ranch, four miles north of Lake Arrowhead, but no structures were harmed.[4]

Officers believed that if low wind speeds continued, then the fire might have been controlled by Wednesday, July 25, and possibly even extinguished by Thursday July 26.[5] However, on Tuesday, July 24, winds picked up to 25 to 30 miles per hour, driving the fire deep into Willow Creek and Deep Creek.[6] Fortunately, a thunderstorm came through early in the morning of July 25, dropping 1.5 inches of rain on Big Bear Lake, which sits just east of Lake Arrowhead, and putting out the fire. Over four days, the fire had burned over 5000 acres of land, endangering over 200 homes and destroying two cabins and a US Forest Service fire truck.[7] Two men, John Camp Jr., 26, and Patrick H. Miller, 24, sustained minor injuries while fighting the fire as volunteers. Fortunately, no one died.[8]

[1] “Crews Best Forest Fire”, The Windsor Daily (July 25, 1951), 9

[2] “Fire Rages at Lake Arrowhead”, Los Angeles Times (July 23, 1951), 1

[3] “Winds Fan Arrowhead Blaze Out of Control”, Los Angeles Times (July 24, 1951), 1. “Fire Rages at Lake Arrowhead”, Los Angeles Times (July 23, 1951), 1. “Crews Best Forest Fire”, The Windsor Daily (July 25, 1951), 9

[4] “Winds Fan Arrowhead Blaze Out of Control”, Los Angeles Times (July 24, 1951), 1

[5]“Lake Arrowhead Fire Almost Under Control”, Los Angeles Times (July 25, 1951), 1

[6] “Crews Best Forest Fire”, The Windsor Daily (July 25, 1951), 9

[7] “Lake Arrowhead Fire Almost Under Control”, Los Angeles Times (July 25, 1951), 1

[8] “Fire Rages at Lake Arrowhead”, Los Angeles Times (July 23, 1951), 1

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3. Brush fire (Rio Hondo fire), 1951 Depicted is a brush fire emerging in Rio Hondo, a tributary of Los Angeles County whose name derives from the 'deep river' - Rio Hondo - that runs parallel to the San Gabriel River. Even as an area of land named after a body of water, fires still manage to ravage the land, and the efforts to mitigate this state of emergency caused no shortage of worry and damage. The fire spread rapidly through the brushes upon it's kindling, burning more than 50 acres of land and damaging two houses within a few hours [1]. The dry climate helped propagate the fire and spread embers to rooftops where the smoldering did most of its damage [5]. While the fire fortunately maintained itself within the riverbed [4], it didn't make the lives of the Los Angeles Fire Department easy. They had to storm together a 10 unit battalion that aggregated teams from Whitter and the State Department of Forestry to contain the flame. Shown in the image is the efforts of the fire department mobilizing to eliminate the flame. To that end they were able to shut down the fire in two hours, even deploying tractors with dozer blades in order to eliminate the immediate presence of fuel. While the nature of the fire was calmed quickly, quantifiable amounts of damage were done to the surroundings, and fire fighters were dispatched throughout the night to ensure embers didn't form again [1]. Fires like these continued to strike the area, and in 2005, volunteers and Angeles Chapter Staff came together to form a campaign called the Emerald Necklace which aims to plant trees and brushes that reinstate the park experience that perhaps once existed in the area [6].
4. Chatsworth Brush Fires, 1957
14. Warner Brothers Studio Fire (Burbank), 1952

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Arrowhead fire, 1951