Great News!! Newcomb's Ranch survived the Station Fire

"Newcomb's survives!!"

Great news this morning via the Fullerton office of Angeles Crest Christian Camp.

Newcomb's Ranch is still standing and serving food and drinks to firefighters. Firefighters are currently setting backfires in the Devil's Canyon area to provide further protection.

Further, more than 300 firefighters are based at Christian Camp and working to protect the camps and creating firebreaks to stop the progression of the fire which is burning in the southern area of Chilao. Camp Eaton, Valcrest and the Horse Flats areas are safe.

The southeastern flank of the fire is burning in the San Gabriel Wilderness Area. This area has not burn since the 1920's. Look for the fire to chew through this brush and make its way east to Hwy. 39 near Crystal Lake and south towards foothills communities such as Sierra Madre Monrovia and Duarte.

Simply, these decades of fuel loading needed some sort of release and the Station Fire is now doing the cleansing which was long overdue.

** Just talk to a LAFD Paramedic (Station 81) who is providing on site first-aid at Christian Camp, who verify the above information. Great Thanks to all our Firefighters!!

The Popular Newcomb's Ranch Inn, R.I.P. ??

"Here's hoping that Newcomb's survive's to see the winter"

If the rumor is true that the historic Newcomb's Ranch was burned in the Station Fire, then the "Ghost of Louie Newcomb" must be shedding a tear.

The historic Newcomb's Ranch has been an Angeles Crest Highway and Angeles National Forest Landmark for decades. Many hikers, drivers, campers, and especially the motorcycle community, have stopped in to rehydrate and inflate caloric intake with a "Newcombmizer" and "Newcomb Burger" respectively.

Newcomb's was and I hope will still be the gathering point for local residents which include Forest Service Employees, Cal Trans Workers from the Chilao Yard, Camp Caretakers, and some private residents.

Visitors to Newcomb's were greeted by Dennis and Tony from Burbank who tended bar, and the likes of Kristin, Kelly, Megan, Haley, and Monica who waited on the tables. And if one was lucky, they would meet Lynn Newcomb, who's family homesteaded the site which the restaurant is named after in the 19th Century.

It was my luck to be able to live in this area for a time in the 1990's and get to build friendships with many in the area.

Now today, speculation is that sites such as the Chilao Caltrans Yard, Angeles Forest Christian Camp, Chilao Visitor Center and Newcomb's are all gone.........................

Your memories and thoughts appreciated.

Great news regarding Angeles Crest Christian Camp.

As of Tuesday, September 1, at 5:00 p.m. - The camp is still safe and clear!
More great news!! We found out that there are firefighters at the camp and on Sulphur Springs Road (the road that leads to the camp entrance off of Highway 2)!
We have talked to the firefighters and there is no immediate threat to the camp.

The latest reports verify that there are still fires surrounding the camp but they are not moving toward the camp itself. There is literally a ring of fires around the camp however the camp remains safe.

We praise God for His protection!!

This report gives an idea on the size and scope of this historical conflagration.

** Caltrans workers at Chilao lost 3 out of 4 residents, but their new equipment barn escape damage. but the workers are not too happy about the supposed lack of protection for their homes, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The California Department of Transportation employees who lived at the remote location known as Chilao were deeply embittered by having been, as they put it, abandoned by firefighting crews as flames bore down on them Monday afternoon.

Some were too angry to talk about it. But equipment operator Robert Torres, whose home was the only residence spared, offered a few comments on their behalf.

“We were left on our own here,” he said. “At one point, there was a helicopter flying overhead with a bladder full of water and not dropping. What does that tell you?”

“Before we evacuated, we were waiting for a strike team to arrive or an aerial drop of water or fire retardant,” Torres said. “That never happened.”