Day 1 - Minneapolis to Oklahoma City

Sunday, February 3rd

No- It's not Willie Nelson. It''s just me with not too much to report for day 1 of this here journey.

Sunday, Feb 3rd

I left Minneapolis around 5:30 am and headed south. The temperature was 20degrees when I left. The driving conditions were perfect. The sun came up just after I passed the Iowa border (and the temperature went down to 7 degrees?).

As I drove through Iowa I noticed that the Iowegians still have the habit of parking their cars in the median strip of their freeways. I didn't see a lot of cars still actually in the ditch (I did see more than a few today though) but, I did see hundreds of tracks in the snow where cars had recently been parked in the freeway median strip. They have strange hobbies down here!

It warmed up as I neared Des Moines around 9:15. When I hit the Missouri border the temperature hit 30 degrees. When I hit the Kansas border the temperature had reached 40 degrees. They still have the forever beeping when they dispatch calls in Des Moines. I only heard two medical runs, but both times the beeps went on and on.

I usually take I-435 around Kansas City (rather than drive through downtown), but I hate I-435 as you can't stay in any one lane more than a mile as you continually merge with additional highways and have to switch lanes again.

Well... I-35 through downtown Kansas City isn't any better. I thought that would be the sure ticket through town on a Sunday at noon. Wrong! Interstate 35 is only one lane in a number of places as you go through downtown KC, and if you're not paying very close attention, you'll find yourself not on I-35 any more. And I thought Minnesota highway designers were the worst ever- guess again. I didn't hear one word on the 453.050 frequency again- they must have discontinued its use.

I programmed my old trunktracker (300 channel) with Kansas City FD frequencies before I left. When I put the radio on trucktracking it said beeped and said "error" (must be a personal thing). I've not had the greatest luck setting up trunktracking for the first time in a number of places. I must have done something wrong again. I do know that the newer trunktracker (500 channel) is much easier to program. Maybe I'll try programming it on the way back through.

It was bright and sunny the whole way and I made good time. Traffic was heavier than I had expected. Snow still covered gthe ground until I reached the southern edges of Wichita. It was nice to finally see the absence of snow after 10 hours on the road.

I arrived at my destination for the night, Oklahoma City, around 5:15 and checked into the local Red Roof. I reached room just in time to see the Super Bowl kickoff (whoopde-do). I've heard a lot of miscellaneous calls (none for structure fires) since I've arrived. They still have "Rescue-Ladders" from when they combined them into one company more than a few years back (they used to have separate companies- they now respond as a two-piece company).

I didn't even see a firetruck all day (which is a little unusual). I'm relaxing in my room (yes, the game's on- although I'm paying little attention) and I just had a relaxing dinner. There was a gorgeous susnet here in OK City tonight. I'll be kickin back waiting for Malcomb to come and then I'll hit the hay. Hope you all had a great day too!

Tomorrow I'm off to Albuquerque, New Mexico. The weather looks good again.

The Roving Reporter

Day 2 - Oklahoma City to Albequerque

Monday, Feb 4th

First of all- I was surprised to learn that there were still thousands of Oklahoma residents still without power, phone service and/or water in this area as a result of the freezing rain storm last Wednesday and Thursday. I was told I was lucky I arrived on Sunday and not on Friday or Saturday as area residents had jammed local motels during the outages.

This morning weather forcasters were predicting rain and snow to start later Monday evening and proceed into Tuesday (I guess I just kind of sneaked through at the right time).

During the night Oklahoma City had a good working fire around 0100 hours at 900 South 59th Street for a fire in a commercial furniture business. I missed the original call that apparently sent units west of the intersection of 59th Street and Interstate 35 for a fire visible from the freeway. Sent were Engines 16-23-19, Rescue-Ladder 19 and Battalion 3.

Engine 16’s Captain shouting out something like we’ve got a good working fire in a commercial business here awaked me. Engine 16 then reported they were laying a line and were “59th Street I.C”. Dispatchers sent at least Rescue 8, Engine and Rescue-Ladder 25 along with Car 603 to the scene (I may have missed others). It wasn’t too long before Engine 16 reported that the fire was in the rear and had not penetrated the building from the loading dock area. I fell back to sleep shortly thereafter. That’s all the radio traffic I heard during the night.

My alarm was set at 0630 hours, as I wanted to stop by the OK City FD shops before heading to Albuquerque. I left for the shops at 0730 with a stop to gas up the vehicle. I arrived at the shops just before 0800. The on-duty secretary introduced me to Chief Fonzie of the shops who took me on a tour of the FD yards and shop.

I got a number of photos of in-service and reserve apparatus in their yard. They just placed four new E One Cyclone II pumpers into service, with three more expected along this summer. I was taken through the departments new Communications Truck, a $330,000 vehicle that still was being equipped with electronics gear. Half of the vehicle is a command center and the other half is a meeting area (both equipped with monitors, radios, video etc).

I saw “Rescue-Ladder 30” in the yard asked Chief Fonzie if they run with the E One squads. He told me all the squads (I think they had seven at one time) were out of service except for Squad 8 (a squad-only rig) that runs city-wide on all working fires in the city. One of the others is being used as a Hazmat at Station 5. One other he said was being used for the diving team and othesr for miscellaneous specialized uses.

I hit the road again around 0830 with an outside temperature of about 32 degrees in OK City. As I headed west the sun showed itself for about an hour and then disappeared again. As I tried tuning the car radio as I headed west, I realized I was in the same predicament as “The Blues Brothers” were when they asked what kind of music was played in the bar they were performing in. “Oh, both kinds…. County AND Western!” It is hard to find anything other than country and western on area radio broadcasts in this area.

I did however find radio station KECO on 96.5 FM in the middle of their daily “Tradeio Broadcast”. Listeners were calling the station to try and sell unwanted possessions or to ask help in finding certain other treasures. Many people were offering for sale their almost new gas-powered generators now that their power had been returned. One lady was “looking for a parakeet- and oh, a cage too.” Callers gave their phone numbers. One caller exceeded the three-item limit and was chastised by the stations host, “Nathan,” for the trade broadcast. When I lost the signal they were on caller 41 for the day. Hey- it was a “change” from all the other “twangy” broadcasts available in the area.

Heading west from OK City on I-40 is a very, very boring drive. The only city of any size along the route is Amarillo with 10 stations and a lot of head of beef. The temperature had warmed up to 40 degrees as I neared the Texas border. The only radio traffic I heard going through Amarillo was “Engine 5 going to Station 6.”

I arrived in Albuquerque around 1545 hours and I heard no radio traffic as I approached- not a good sign. I checked into the motel and then headed to AFD Stations 1, 3 and 4. Both Stations 1 and 2 were vacant. The guys at Station 4 were very helpful and jumped at the chance to pull their rigs out for a visiting buff (see photos). The firefighters told me that yes; they had recently changed to an 800 mhz system. “Trunked?” I was afraid to ask. “Yes,” was their answer.

I haven’t even hooked up a radio in the room yet as I type this days report. After I finish this, I’ll check the Internet to see if there is any information available. If there is information, I will attempt to program my trunktracker. Otherwise I will just be relaxing watching the boob tube.

I was planning on ending up in El Paso tomorrow, but local weather here reports possible rain there tomorrow. If that is the case, I will probably end up in either Tucson or maybe go all the way to Phoenix.

Take care.

Your roving reporter.

Day 3 - Albuquerque to El Paso

Tuesday, Feb 5th

As I went to bed Monday night I was a little dubious about what I would wake up to this morning- anything from rain to snow or sleet. I was very happy when I looked out the motel room window at 0700 hours and saw the sun rising in the east (temperature about 30 degrees). I did my usual thing and got on the road at 0745. As I checked out of the motel I asked the clerk how to get on southbound I-25 (there has been on-going construction at the intersection of I-25 and I-40 for the last three years, at least). He told me to head north on University, turn left on Comanche and then turn south to get on the freeway.

Guess what? He was wrong- way wrong! It took me half an hour after following a bunch of detour signs (which took me further west and way further south for I-25 before I finally got to head east towards the freeway on Mountain Road. When I turned the corner I gunned it thinking this was the “on ramp”. Turns out I had to drive along the frontage road (ala Houston) a ways before I could finally get on. The day didn’t start out very good but it progressively got better as I went.

As I headed south the clouds started rolling in and the temperature dropped down to the low 20s. Then, as I looked ahead I realized there was no ahead. Fog had totally covered the roadway. Oh boy, what next I thought. Luckily the fog only lasted a few miles and then cleared up as the clouds cleared up from the west. I still wasn’t sure what to expect in El Paso where they reported rain the night before.

I still think the drive down I-25 from Albuquerque towards I-10 is one of the most picturesque drives I have ever taken on a freeway (except for maybe I-5 along the coast in southern California). It was sure true today. To start out there was an eerie fog over the Rio Grande basin as I headed south. The picture was kind of stunning with frost covered brush and trees in the foreground, the sun glistening off the low hanging fog and backdrop of the mountains behind that. I tried to take a picture, but the sun was looking directly in the lens of the camera.

As I got near Socorro the fog had disappeared and now there was this stunning view of the valley, the sun glistening off the clear blue Rio Grande River with the mountains serving as a perfect backdrop. The temperature had reached the 30s again and there wasn’t a cloud in sight. As I neared Truth or Consequences the temperature reached 40 and I could see some clouds to the south.

When I got to the Hatch, NM turnoff (Highway 26 cuts across diagonally to I-10) I had to make a decision. It looked like the clouds ahead were clearing out to the west. So I decided to go ahead with my original plans and head to El Paso for the night. The temperature continued to rise as I approached El Paso. As I hit Las Cruces it was 48 degrees and gorgeous out. As this was the first time I’d actually traveled all the way down I-25 to Las Cruces I was surprised to see all the nice new housing and building going on in that area.

I arrived in the City of El Paso around noon. I stopped at new Station 27, one of the northern most houses on the west side. The area was very new with gorgeous homes built along the side of the Franklin Mountain range, some with very spectacular views. The guys at 27’s were very friendly and helpful and pulled the rig out (turns out they all came from Ladder 2 at new Station 2 (a temporary Ladder company to cover the northwest end until Station 27 could be built). New 27’s allowed Pumper 27 to move out of Station 22 and a new truck company was created there.

I was told that new Station 11 was ready to open (that is where the ladder truck came from that Ladder 2 was using temporarily). The rig would not fit into old 11’s house (and for that matter, almost any other EPFD station). I asked 27’s where there was a self-wash car wash as I was sick of looking at my dirty, salt covered vehicle. I found the place with little trouble and washed the salt and grime from my filthy Impala.

I headed to the Travelodge Motel on Mesa Street that I always stay in when I visit El Paso. I love the place because of its location and the fact that they have KTLA as one of their TV channels. After checking in around 1300 hours I headed south down I-10 towards downtown. I found new Station 11 and parked in the rear of the house and noticed there were no cars there. Before I got out of the car Aerial 11 pulled up in back of the new house. The firefighters told me that the new station would not open until next week. They were there to train on their Pierce Tower (that had been at Station 2 since it was delivered). The rig was in their new quarters. Pumper 11 also pulled up as I got a picture of “Engine Co. 11” etched in the brick above the apparatus doors. I asked the firefighters why the lettered it so when El Paso refers to them as “pumpers”. They couldn’t explain it to me.

From there I headed to EPFD Station 1 and got a picture of Engine 9 out front. I looked for the EPFD shops next but couldn’t find the building (I’d been there once before). As I gave up and headed north, the Haz Mat unit pulled in front of me. I followed them a couple blocks and sure enough they stopped at the old FD Maintenance Shop (where they now keep most of the spare apparatus). I got a picture of their new rig (because of the morning rains here, most of the rigs were dirty- most companies decided not to wash them as there were puddles all over the place).

I headed to the EPFD training area (driving by Station 5- vacant) to see what rigs were there. Engines 2, 6, 10, and Quints 18 and 20 were there. I met an interesting Training Captain and we talked quite awhile about the goings-on in the EPFD. They are running a recruit class of 50 through right now! The uniformed strength is 800.

The Captain happened to be on a flight to the east coast on 9/11/01, which landed very unexpectedly in Wichita, Kansas. He and the other passengers were put up for three days at a hotel before he headed back to El Paso through Houston. He also told me an interesting story about his brother (also on the department). A car dealership had been vacated in the 8600 block of Montana Avenue. He suggested to the FD administration that they should purchase the property and move FD headquarters, the radio shops and the maintenance division into the dealership. That is exactly what the department did as it had been previously occupying a number of locations for various EPFD divisions.

The facility worked out great for the department. The showrooms are their lobby and a fire department museum with all kinds of memorabilia and even have an 1898 American Fire Engine steamer and 1930 ALF pumper. The auto repair garage is used for ambulances and smaller FD vehicles and a new higher roofed addition houses the big apparatus. The radio division has one end of the building. The arson division, fire prevention and other department units occupy the rest of the building. It looked very good to me- specially the showroom! One of the firefighters assigned there took me on a tour of the facility.

I headed to Station 20 a few blocks south (they were gone too) and got a Station picture. As the weather became overcast and the temperature started dropping, I decided to hit Station 19 on the way back to I-10 and my motel. I’m glad I stopped at Station 19 as they have one of only two International/Pierce four-door commercial chassis pumpers that the department operates. They were bought in 1996 to try and save money. The rigs look very much like Minneapolis’, but with a smaller model International. Engine 19 is the busiest engine (Pumper) in the department and will probably have the rig until 2006 (they have a ten year replacement policy and they do not do hand-me-downs or hand-me-ups. Firefighters say it us very slow getting going, is slightly underpowered and the turning radius is terrible. They are on their second diesel engine, by the way. The department paid $150,000 each for the two, whereas new Pierce pumpers run about $300,000.

I headed back on I-10 west towards my motel. As I-10 turned north beyond downtown I had a great view of Mexico west from I-10 across the Rio Grande River. There are very few paved streets on the other side and the housing all looks like shacks and lean-twos. You don’t see any grass and all the vehicles look like those in our junkyards. That is quite a shocking comparison to the gorgeous new homes I see on the hilltops on the other side of I-10 in El Paso. I wish I could find a place to stop somewhere near I-10 and take a video comparing the two hillsides along the Rio Grande. Earlier, when I was downtown, I drove about a block from the very busy border crossings between downtown El Paso and downtown Ciuad Juarez (they border each other).

I haven’t heard one full assignment today, but I have seen at least 15 medic units either on runs or at the scene of incidents in my travels. The trunktracker (new one) is working great! El Paso is really a very picturesque city with mountains dividing its three sections (shaped very much like a “w”). The Franklin Mountains divide the west from the center of the “w” and climb from the cities base of about 3000 foot elevation to a height of 6972 feet. The Hueco Mountains and Fort Bliss separate the center from the east section and top out at 5906 feet.

I lucked out today in choosing to visit El Paso instead of driving on to Tucson. Besides that, the drive to Tucson was a lot longer and I’d had enough of that the previous two days. It is hard to express to you how nice all the EPFD personnel have been to me today (as in previous visits). That is probably why I like stopping here, even though it is out of my way.

Tomorrow it’s on to Phoenix with a short stop in Tucson. I am looking forward to some warmer weather. More than once today I was accused of bringing the cold stuff with me. Today’s high temperature of 48 is not normal for here. It felt good to me, but it was rather cool for them.

Your roving reporter

Day 4 - El Paso to Phoenix

Wednesday, Feb 6th

I heard a lot of El Paso FD alarms broadcast throughout the night, but almost 90% were for medical runs and I heard no full assignment runs. As soon as I turned out of bed I turned the TV on so I could watch the KTLA Morning News (it begins at 0630 hours in El Paso and runs until 1000). It was good to see all the regular crew. I get lonesome for the KTLA news when I’m on the road (one of the best news departments in the country- and always the best fire coverage of any station I’ve ever seen).

I checked out of the motel around 0800 and headed west (actually north) on I-10. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It was only 34 when I left, but plenty of bright sun. It didn’t take but a few minutes for the frost to burn off the car windows.

Around 1000 hours I received a strange sounding beeping on my cell phone. It was a voice mail- the first I’ve ever received. In fact, I wasn’t even sure how to retrieve it. Then I got another. What the heck’s goin on I wondered. Then finally, as I approached Tucson, I received a cell phone call from Hiawatha Golf’s Assistant Manager, Dan Stoneburg, about a pressing issue. I think we got things ironed out.

In a way it’s nice to have the cell phone, but then again, I’m supposed to be on vacation also. In this case, however, I am glad to have had it handy. Apparently Dan was unable to get through to me as I traversed rural I-10. That is why he left the voice mail, which caught up to me when I was in the next Nextel available area.

I stopped in Tucson around noon to visit their training center at Station 10 and was surprised to see that there were no companies at the drill yard. I went by Station 1 to see if anybody was around and they were locked up tight. Disappointed, I headed back to I-10. I heard quite a few medical runs, mostly for TFD Medics and Ladder-Tenders.

The drive today was nice and easy, except for the 100-mile section of roadway between Tucson and Phoenix. That roadway is always packed and yet there are still only two lanes. If you want to pass a vehicle ahead of you in the right lane, most often you must wait for at least five or six vehicles before attempting to get in the left lane to pass. And good luck then.

The temperature along most of my route today was in the 40s. Then when I got near Tucson the temperature shot up to 65. As I arrived in the Phoenix area it was 70 and sunny- just perfect!

I heard part of a Rural Metro working fire in Scottsdale. There were a number of move-ups into Quint 819’s area. I arrived at the motel in Tempe around 1430 hours, checked in, dropped off some luggage and promptly headed to Phoenix FD Headquarters. I saw my friend Bill Bjerke at the shops, but he was just leaving for the day. He is a very busy man.

They were working on Ladder 41’s rebuilt 90-foot tractor-trailer rig. It is the third of the four 1990 Simon-Duplex/LTI 90-foot aerials to receive new ALF tractors. This tractor makes the rig quite a bit shorter. The original tractors, with rear-mounted diesel engines, were longer than most pumpers and proved to be nothing but a problem. A few of the stations they were assigned to were never able to close both the front and rear apparatus bay doors with the rigs in quarters.

I got a few pictures of some interesting fire rigs in the maintenance yard and then headed to PFD Stations 1 and 9 to try and get pictures of their new ladder trucks. Ladder 1 has one of the new ALF/LTI towers and they were out and about somewhere. When I stopped at Station 9 to see their new 118-foot Bronco Skylift I was told that the rig was down for maintenance. Where it was I don’t know, but I didn’t see it at the PFD shops. It could be that the rig was in for warranty work someplace.

I came across Engine 5 on a run and got a picture of it. I was surprised at home much additional new downtown development had taken place since last year. Areas that used to be scummy have been re-developed into attractive new commercial and housing

On the way back to the motel I drove through Arizona State University in Tempe, a very nice campus with its own downtown area. I also drove by Tempe Station 1, which is now lettered Station 6. Tomorrow I’ll have to find out where Station 1 is located.

Channel 12 here has really gotten into the news scene. They have periods of all-news with a helicopter flying about with the latest aerial views of traffic problems and other newsworthy events. I saw on the news tonight that the political powers here today endorsed the downtown sight for a new retractable roof football stadium for the Arizona Cardinals. They were discussing this last year when I was through here. The fire department radio has been very busy (as usual) except that I have not heard a word out of Mesa. Hopefully they haven’t gone to trunking. Never mind! They just put out a run.

Tomorrow I’ll also head back to the shops to get the latest on Phoenix Fire Department news from Bill Bjerke and hopefully get a new apparatus roster with all the updates.

That’s all for today. I didn’t take many pictures. I’ll try to make up for it tomorrow.

Take care.

Your roving reporter

Day 5 - In Phoenix

Thursday, Feb 7thI slept in rather late this morning. I hit the streets around 0900 hours and proceeded to Tempe Station 6. I was told that the reason they changed the number of the station to 6 is that they built a new headquarters next along with a new fire station at 1450 E Apache Avenue. The powers that be wanted the headquarters to be at Station 1, hence the number change. Station 6 will be getting a new station in 2003 near Mill and Ash Street. The present station will become something else, possibly a homeless shelter.

I got a picture of Engine 276s new Spartan/Saulsbury pumper (one of seven bought over the last three or four years) and Ladder Tender 276, a 1998 FL-70/Becker that has a 200-gallon tank and small pump. I also stopped at Station 1, but Engine 271 was out. I got a picture of the new station and the new headquarters building about 150 feet away.

I headed back to the shops to bug my PFD Shop Foreman Bill Bjerke. They were still working on Ladder 41’s new ALF tractor. The department is short 3 aerials at present as the ladders on most of the reserves aren’t useable (stress fractures). Hopefully, Ladder 41 with new ALF tractor and rebuilt 1990 LTI 90-foot trailer will be on the street later in the day.

The department has three more ALF/LTI towers on order just like the four that were put in service last year. Then the department will have a reserve aerial fleet. The department is working on a five-year apparatus order for up to 45 engines. They will most likely either be E One Hush or Spartan/Saulsbury as they are spec’d with rear engines (Saulsbury will build them if they get the bid).

I headed to the PFD Training area hoping to get a few rigs that might be training. I went by Station 1 and Engine 2 and LT 1 were out front (so I got a few photos). I was stunned when I got to the training area to see there were no drills going on (the first time I’ve ever seen that happen). I decided to head to Station 22 and get a picture of Ladder 22’s rebuilt 1982 Spartan/Van Pelt tower. Last year it was rebuilt with an ALF four-door cab. I started to head in that direction of Station 22 when Rescue 21 and Ladder 22 were given a run. I missed the address.

All of a sudden I hear a siren coming from near the training area. Here comes Rescue 21 behind me with lights and siren. I was able to see where they headed and noticed when they turned, quite always ahead of me. Just as I was about to make my turn, Ladder 22 comes barreling through the intersection code 3. They were enroute to a bad car vs. semi trailer truck accident a few blocks away. I was able to get nice photos of their new rig.

I’ve been meaning to get up to Glendale the last few times I’ve been here, but never made it there. So today, I headed towards that area stopping by PFD Station 24 (and getting photos of their engine and ladder). The ladder crew was at class with the Ladder-Tender, but a very nice firefighter from the engine pulled out the rigs for me (he said it was the first time he’d driven their new truck). I drove by PFD Station 15 but it didn’t appear anyone was home there.

My next stop was Glendale Station 152. As I neared their station on Bethany Home, Engine 152 turned the corner in front of me. I followed them to their station and was greeted by the nicest crew of guys. A firefighter that remembered me from about 10 years ago pulled out the engine, the ladder and their ladder tender (all very nice E Ones).

I was told that I should really see their new Station 157 at 59th & Mount View. I headed that way, driving by Station 151 and getting a photo of the house. When I pulled up to Station 157 I could not believe my eyes. Not only was the station unusual (two stories), but also it was huge and done in a historic period style with a huge monument out front. The doors are bi-fold with windows, just like in Minneapolis (only larger and taller!)

Phoenix had a “3 and 1” working fire in the 700 east block of a street I didn’t recognize. Engines 18, 718, 9; Ladder 24 (dispatchers sent them with their “big rig”), Bn 2 and Rescue 7 took the run. Companies reported smoke from the roof area on arrival. The fire was quickly knocked down.

Just as I pulled into the station, the engine went out on a run. I was greeted by a firefighter who took me through the gorgeous new quarters and helped me get photos of their HazMat and Booster. They also have two small-scale motorized fire trucks that are used for special events. The rigs were built by the firefighters and are quite unique. The engine came home from the run and pulled the rig out so I could get a photo (the Hush rigs are so quiet I didn’t even hear them until they were in the apparatus bay).

I headed back to Interstate 17, as I wanted to see if Ladder 41 was ready to go at the shops yet. I got to talk with Bill Bjerke off and on as he and his crew repaired minor snafus on the rig. When they tested the ladder pipe for pressure they found a few minor water leaks that would have to be repaired. It looked like the rig would not go on-line until tomorrow.

I headed towards Scottsdale so I could get some updates on the Rural Metro FD. I stopped on the way at PFD Station 11 and got a picture of their ALF/LTI tractor-trailer (the first of the four 1990 Simon-Duplex/LTI’s to be rebuilt). The firefighters there were great and pulled the rig out for me. The crew then headed went out for a jog when a run came out for Ladder Tender 11 a few minutes later. When I came upon them a few blocks away, they were on a dead sprint for the station. I also went by PFD Station 13 on the way to Rural Metro Station 810.

They currently run Engines 808, 809 and 810 from their headquarters station. Each one has a primary responsibility in their first-due area. Engines 809 and 810 have brand new ALF Eagle 1500 gpm pumpers. Engine 809 was out on a run, so they pulled Engine 810 out for me. Just after they did, Engine 808 also got a run. I tried to quickly catch photos of them as they pulled out.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day here- 74 and not a cloud in the sky. Every firefighter in this area is so professional and really goes out of their way to be helpful. I really enjoyed my day of buffing here.

Tomorrow I’m heading to San Diego. I was a little worried about getting a room on a Saturday night so I made a reservation for Friday and Saturday night. Karyle flies in Sunday morning and we’ll head up to her time-share in Carlsbad (30 miles north of downtown San Diego).

I hope you all had as nice a day as I did today.

Take care.

Your roving reporter.

Day 6 - Phoenix to San Diego

Friday, Feb 8th

There were a couple of fires to report but not a lot of information about either. Apparently, Apache Junction had a working fire last evening as I heard Mesa Engine 213 dispatched there to fill in. I was awoken around 0400 hours to a working fire in Mesa Engine 202’s first due. I never caught the address, but Engine 202 reported heavy fire and smoke. I fell back asleep before I heard any knockdown.

I left Phoenix around 0800 hours. The temperature as I left was only 38. I headed south on I-10 and took the Slauson cut-off (actually State Road 347 which angles at about 45 degrees towards I-8). It’s a nice four lane with mostly 65 mph speed limits, but it has a few stop signs and you go through a few towns at slow speeds. But it beats going out of the way down I-0 until it meets I-8.

The drive along I-8 wasn’t too bad. It’s very level with a lot of sand and goes between some small mountain ranges until you get near Yuma, AZ. Then the road becomes windy and mountainous before coming back down into the Colorado River basin. The temperature had climbed very fast from the 40s to 65 as I approached Yuma. I was surprised to see how much the east Yuma area has grown since I was last through there.

Once you pass into the State of California, I-8 remains flat again through farming country until you approach El Centro, CA where the elevation is sea level. By then, the temperature had hit 70 degrees. For the next 30 miles you climb winding, rocky, mountainous terrain until you climb to four different peaks, each of which are each over 4000 feet high (highest is 4190 feet). There are rolling hills in the mountains for about 20 miles and then it’s a coast back down very rocky, steep, winding terrain again until you get about 30 miles outside San Diego. You can almost coast into Alpine, CA from up in the Cleveland National Forest. When I got down in the valley the temperature was 68. I took quite a few photos as I traversed the mountainous areas.

Interstate 8 becomes very, very busy when you get near San Diego. I turned on my old trunktracker, which worked a couple years ago on the San Diego trunked system. Luckily it still works. I got off on El Cajon and headed to San Diego Station 10. I got a station photo, but they were out. Next stop was SDFD Station 17 (also out). I headed up to the SDFD shops by Montgomery Field and got a few pictures of some rigs out in the yard. The shop foreman was out so I was not able to secure an updated apparatus roster.

I decided to try and hit a few Stations that I don’t think I’d ever been at before. I know Station 39 was not there when Duane Troxel and I did the entire department in 1977. Station 31 may have been there. Anyway, Station 39 is east of Montgomery Field and I got their Station pix, but the Engine and Medic were sent on a run on I-15 just before I arrived. I don’t think they ever found the incident.

The next mistake was trying to get from Station 39 to Station 31. The street map I have splits the area east west near 39’s. I had a heck of a time trying to figure out where one side carried over to the other side. Anyway, to make a long story short, I ended up on Colina Dorado Drive- way up on top of a huge cliff overlooking the San Diego River and I-8 basin. To get to 31’s I would have had to go over a very steep drop of 3- to 400 feet. I decided it would be better for the vehicle if I just skipped 31’s (by the way- there is no way to go directly between these stations- it just took me a while to figure it out).

Next, I had to figure out where I was and how to get back to civilization. I found ly, I found Clairemont Mesa and I headed towards I-15. When I got to I-15, the southbound lanes were a parking lot. I kept going on Clairemont Mesa to Highway 163 and headed back in towards town. Just after I got back into the University Avenue area, I heard Engine 14 dispatched on a medical run and figured out I was only a few blocks away. I waited for them to show up, but didn’t get a photo as they had the same rig as last time I was here and the lighting was bad this time.

I headed west across town by Station 5 (nobody visible) and then to Station 8. Just as I was waiting to turn down Goldfinch Street, Engine 8 pulled up behind me at the stop sign. I turned the corner and pulled over by the Station, but they passed me by. I followed down the winding hill until they stopped at a 7-Eleven. I got a picture of them there.

I kept heading down towards Pacific Highway. I turned down Laurel and just as I was about to turn onto Pacific Highway I was just about rear-ended by a 737 landing at Lindbergh Field. Gosh they’re low coming in over that area! I found my way to the motel near SDFD Station 20 and decided to retire for the night as the sun was very low.

I’m looking forward to watching the Winter Olympics tonight. I’m monitoring San Diego City but have not heard a full assignment go out yet. Tomorrow I may hit some east valley fire stations. I’ve never buffed out around the La Mesa or El Cajon areas before.

Take care.

Your roving reporter

Day 7 - In San Diego

Saturday, February 9th

Today was a very busy day for the San Diego Fire Department. The City of San Diego was one degree shy of hitting a record high temperature for the day (record is 77). The Santa Ana winds were blowing today and San Diego ended up fighting a multi-alarm brush fire.

I started out by going by SDFD Station 5. The engine was in, but the truck was out (I later found out that they are still using the same rig they’ve had for 20 years- a 1980 Seagrave 100’ RM). Engine 17 got a run when I was near their area. I headed into the area (they were gone yesterday when I stopped by). It wasn’t long before Engine 17 reported over the air that they were returning to quarters, as their modat wasn’t responding. I decided to head to the station to see if I could get a picture. They have one of only two Spartan/Quality engines in the SDFD.

They were already in quarters when I arrived. I met the neatest crew who couldn’t do enough for me. We discussed many things. They told me that there are 20 Pierce Dash engines on order. They will pick up the first five in the next month or so. They also have four aerial ladders ordered (they thought Pierce also), three of which are tractor-trailers.

They have just about completed construction of new Station 37 near Blue Cypress and Spring Canyon (they have been in a trailer for quite awhile). There is a new Station 44 going in up north and there is talk of a Station 2 in the Mission Valley area. Companies at present have to make long runs into that area (Engine 17 included). They will also be rebuilding five stations in the not too distant future.

I hated to leave 17’s (the crew was so nice), but I headed again for Station 31. I actually got there this time (but they were out). I headed to Station 34 and got their station pic only as they were also gone. I headed towards El Cajon Station 9, but somehow missed the turn off. I headed to El Cajon Station 8 instead. They were in (but they had classroom training with Engine 9), but I caught a nice shot of Engine 9 out back (same as Engine 8).

I then headed to El Cajon Station 6. I got a picture of their Ladder truck (the engine was out). I stopped for a quick lunch nearby before heading to La Mesa. After lunch I attempted to drive to La Mesa Station 12, but ended up being forced onto southbound Highway 125. My map shows the streets going through- oh well. I ended up at La Mesa Station 13 and got a station photo only.

I turned around and headed towards La Mesa Station 11. While enroute, San Diego Battalion 40 had a good working fire in a commercial building that got Engines 40, 42 and 52 (they’ve got a 52?). Then I thought-no, but Poway has an Engine 52. It almost sounded like that was going to extra alarms, but they got it.

When I arrived at LaMesa Station 11, I got a picture of their Engine and Squad (the ladder truck wouldn’t fit on the station ramp and the street was pretty busy). The crew there was very cordial also and suggested that I try going back to Station12 as they have a refurbished 1955 Kenworth pumper and a new station. They gave me good directions.

I arrived at Station 12 just as San Diego sent out a brush assignment in the area of 4200 Sorrento Valley Boulevard. After getting pictures of Engine 12 and their Kenworth I returned to my vehicle to hear Battalion 25 request a second alarm on the brush fire. I told the driver of Engine 12 about the fire and he said he’d listen to the radio, as they were part of a strike team.

I never did hear who was sent on the second assignment. At nearly the same time, dispatchers sent a crash assignment was to Lindbergh Field for an overturned private plane. Most of that assignment was cancelled, as there was no fire and no fuel leak in the overturned plane.

I decided to head towards the brush fire not knowing if I would even be able to get into the area. I checked my maps to figure out where the fire was and headed up Highway 125 (I knew very well how to get on it). It turned on that what I thought was westbound I-8 was actually westbound Highway 52- which worked out great. I could see the smoke off in the distance. One of the deputy chiefs came on the air as Sorrento I/C and requested 20 additional engines to the scene and three additional TAC channels. Wow! I might see something yet.

I headed up I-805 (the fire was just east of it) and got off on Vista Sorrento Parkway. I turned the corner and was surprised to see four fire trucks on top of the hill sitting on the side of the road. Luckily there was a small parking area across the street, so I parked there and jumped out to get some photos.

And photos I got…lots of photos. Eventually another ten engines either pulled up or responded past me (it was mostly the San Diego rigs that didn’t stop). Man- this was great. Sun on the pump panel side and everything. And the rigs were pulling up right in front of me! I waved as La Mesa Engine 12 went by- the driver recognized me and waved back. Even SDFD Engine 6 (near the Mexico border) made the fire. The non-San Diego strike crews were waiting to meet their strike commanders and to be escorted to a fire sector. Eventually, all the rigs left this strike team staging area.

I wasn’t sure how close I could get, but I left the lot and headed down the hill towards the smoke. I turned right onto Sorrento Valley Boulevard and could see the fire on the tall hill north of Sorrento Valley Boulevard. I drove half way down the block and turned into a large parking lot and was able to get a great view of the fire from a point nearby the Incident Command Post. There were still pockets of thick smoke near the top of the hill and at the bottom of the west sector (near the I-805). There were crews all over on top of the hills. I took out the camcorder and got some video coverage of the incident. There was one San Diego FD chopper being used as a visual outpost and a CDF helicopter making fire retardant drops.

I decided to try and get up above and get photos of some of the rigs there. Luckily, the area was not blocked off until you got very near the top of the hill. I parked nearby and walked into the area and got six or seven more rigs there. There was another hilltop that had a few rigs operating there, but police barricaded access to that hill. It was dang hot out. And the winds were really blowing. My hair was a mess!

Firefighters were able to keep flames from hundreds of new homes, many not yet completed on the top of the hillside. I decided enough was enough and headed back into town. What a great break though for a visiting buff. I was so busy taking photos that I didn’t even have time to get years and makes on most of the rigs (other than San Diego rigs).

It was late afternoon and I headed for Mission Beach. I figured the place would be packed on a hot February day like this. It was packed! It took me quite a few passes before I got a parking spot by the Belmont Amusement Park at Mission Beach. There were quite a few surfers out on the water, although the waves here today were not that great. There were people everywhere. The walking/bike path was full of walkers, joggers, bikers, and roller bladders. Even the amusement park rides were operating.

The skate boarders and trick bike riders were also putting on their show for the public. Crowds gathered around these street performers at the end of Ventura Place. The local businesses were all packed. I stayed for an hour or so and just enjoyed the awesome weather and the local scenery.

I had a great day! I hope you did too. Take care.

Your roving reporter

Day 8 - In San Diego/Carlsbad Area

Sunday, February 10th

I had a very restful night- somehow I’d turned off one group of San Diego trunked ID’s, the one with dispatch on it. So I heard very little action overnight. I actually slept for eight whole hours for a change also. I took my time getting out of the barn, as Karyle’s plane was not due until 1130 hours. Around 0945 hours I decided to check flightracker to see how close her plane was and if it was on time. I was astounded to see that it was reporting the plane would land at 1018 hours. How can that be, I wondered.

I scurried to pack the car and get ready for Karyle’s call that she had arrived. I no sooner than checked out and started towards the airport and Karyle called saying they’d just landed. I asked her why she was over an hour early. “Fifty-five mile hour tailwinds” was her answer. That’s a bit unusual to have tailwinds from the east.

I picked up Karyle at Terminal 2 at Lindbergh and we drove along Pacific Coast Highway along San Diego Bay. There was a huge new cruise ship that was docked at a nearby pier. Taxicabs were unloading passengers by the hundreds as the sign said boarding starts at 11am. We drove by SDFD Station 1 (boy is that station hard to get to if you’re on the wrong side of downtown). Engine 49 and Truck 1 were out and Engine 1 was using an old Seagrave reserve that one firefighter said “should have been melted down years ago.” It was still very windy out. They had said on the news last night that the Santa Ana winds should die down by afternoon.

The brochure said we couldn’t check in until 1600 hours, but we decided to take a chance and head up to Carlsbad and see if we could get in early. We headed up I-5 (it’s about 25 miles from the airport) towards the time-share, which is next to Lego Land.

When we got up near the Carlsbad area around 1230 hours we noticed a smoky tinge to the sky north of us. We didn’t find out until around 1630 hours that there was a huge brush fire in Fallbrook, which is only about 10 miles northwest of us. The fire is on the backside of Camp Pendleton, which goes almost 10 miles inland from the ocean.

The cloud we saw looked like it was much further north. The news reports that there are other brush fires going, but I haven’t seen any TV coverage of them. The news also reported that winds today on I-8 near Alpine had 90 mph gusts and all high profile vehicles were stopped from driving in that area. The live coverage I’m looking at as I type this report shows a number of large homes in the Fallbrook area fully involved. It is also reported that two fire trucks were burned up earlier in the day.

One of the problems for the fire service here is that this is NOT normal brush fire season and many of the special helicopters and firefighting planes are not even in the area. Many of these flying machines are only rented during the normal brush fire season. There are conflicting reports on the acreage of the Fallbrook fire. One station says 2000 to 3000 acres and another says 10,000 acres.

They just said 10 to 20 homes have been destroyed so far and the fire is only 5% contained. Hundreds of homes have been evacuated in the area. Sandia Creek Drive is where the fire seems to be near right now. The temperature was 80 here and the humidity was 6% earlier today. Yesterday, in San Diego, the humidity was only 27%. The winds have just started to diminish.

I just took about a 20-minute break to program my new trunktracker for the Fire Departments in the North San Diego County Public Safety group with the 800 frequencies and their FD user groups. I am now listening to at least some of the fire ground traffic. They have big problems right now in Fallbrook. San Diego TV-15, an all news channel, has live coverage of the fire with a number of reporters at different locations at the scene. They report over 100 fire trucks and 650 firefighters on the scene at this time. The two fire trucks lost were CDF rigs.

Luckily I am still able to receive San Diego FD transmissions in Carlsbad on the old trunktracker, although they are a little broken up from time to time. I’ll have to keep two radios going as San Diego is on the old radio and I don’t want to fill the new one up with the same info. I’ve already got 8 of the banks full. I need to buy the computer program that allows you to input the info through your computer. Then you can save the information in the computer and program the areas you want into the trunktracker. It takes quite a while to program all the info for most systems into the trunktracker itself, especially the alphanumeric. It can be done much easier and quicker on the computer.

The old trunktracker (300 channel) only allows you to scan one bank at a time. It also only allows one type of usage in each bank (trunked or non-trunked). The new trunktracker allows you to scan as many banks as you wish and you may put normal FM frequencies in the same bank as trunked frequencies. It is also much easier to program than the old one.

Now they report that there is another fire burning on the Camp Pendelton Marine Corps Base and is moving towards an ammunition dump. We may HEAR that one. The winds are 48 mph at Camp Pendelton at this time. We can see for miles to the north and the sky is still blanketed with smoke.

The unit we’re at is very nice and is on the third floor of the Grand a Pacific palisade time-share (only two years old) on a hill overlooking I-5 and the Pacific Ocean. The unit has two very nice bedrooms and two full baths. The main room is a very large combination living/dinning room and there is a full kitchen. There are three TV’s and two VCR’s in the unit. There is also a nice outdoor deck off the living room with tables, chairs and chase lounge. Right now, however it is rather windy outside.

Take care. It looks like we’ll have great weather all week out here. I just hope the place doesn’t burn down with the rest of southern California.

Your roving reporter

Day 9 - In San Diego/Carlsbad Area

Monday. February 11th

Correction: First of all, I noticed too late that I said the Fallbrook fire was NW of us. The fire is NE of us. There is nothing NW of us but water and San Clamente Island for many, many, many miles.

Last night around 2120 hours, San Diego dispatched a full assignment to 4036 National Boulevard. Sent were Engines 19-12-6, Ladder 12 and Bn 12. Battalion reported they had a residential fire with heavy smoke and fire and ordered another engine and truck. Engine 12 laid a pre-connect line and Engine 19 reported they were laying a line. National City Engine 101 and truck 1 were sent as the extra one and one. The bulk of the fire was reported knocked down by Engine 12 around 2130 hours.

I believe Engine 6 must have been filling in somewhere nearby because of the Fallbrook brush fire in north San Diego County. I am sure the San Diego FD had at least one strike team at the fire, maybe two.

We started out this morning by exploring the Grand Pacific Palisades Resort complex. There a are a number of amenities including game rooms, fitness training facilities, large club room (we forgot our clubs), conference center and a large lounge. We also discovered another outdoors pool area with Jacuzzi and bar-b-q area on the west side of the complex.

There is a large concrete deck area that connects with a walkway than runs the length of the building on the ocean side and continues quite a ways along this hillside. The views are very nice as we are on a hill well above the homes and I-5 freeway that are between the ocean and us. As we were walking along this elevated corridor, the Met Life blimp flew by us. They were probably at the Buick Classic Golf Tournament at Torrey Pines that ended yesterday.

We stopped by the office and picked up a handful of tourist brochures for the area and then headed back to the unit before we hit the streets. We checked out the Carlsbad Outlet Mall just below our hill. There were many interesting stores and restaurants in an open-air corridor type facility. There was an interesting dancing-water fountain in one of the corridors between the stores that entertained the crowd- especially the young kids.

We headed inland from there to see if there were any shopping facilities nearby- there weren’t any that we could find. We turned around and headed to the Pacific Ocean. Yesterday, we drove north from our time-share; today we drove south. It was an absolutely gorgeous day here. It was a little windy, which caused some sand to blow inland from the beaches creating a haze over nearby neighborhoods.

We stopped at scenic overlooks along the ocean cliffs in Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solano Beach and Del Mar. We got many scenic photos along the ocean. There are many homes with views you-would-die-for along these areas overlooking the ocean. Surfers were everywhere today. Apparently, the conditions were good as we saw thousands of surfers hitting the ocean waves. Surf’s up dude! Along our drive, we also stopped at Encinitas Stations 3 and 1 and got a few photos.

Around 1300 we headed inland past Miramar Naval Air Station and had lunch at a Hometown Buffet in the Mira Mesa area of San Diego. Following lunch we stopped a few blocks north at SDFD Station 38. I talked to the firefighters there about new Stations 37 and 44.

Station 44 is due to be opened in July of 2003. Apparently the building contractor defaulted or went out of business and there have been many, many delays on the project. We drove by and it looks like the station is near completion, but the SDFD is not budgeting money for crews for another fiscal year.

We headed to new Station 37. San Diego had a working fire at approximately 1502 hours at 26th and Highland. It sounded like Engine 11 got a still alarm from a passing motorist and called for a full assignment for smoke coming from the roof of a commercial building. Dispatchers ended up sending a hi-rise assignment. Engines 11-7-19-4, Ladder 1, Rescue 4 and Bn’s 1-12 were at the scene. It sounded like they also had some burn victims as they requested a couple paramedic units to the scene. It turned out to be an electrical fire in some elevator equipment and one of the burn victims may have been electrocuted. Engine 19 laid a line into Engine 11. Engine 4 was assigned to “accountability” and Ladder 1 was being used to clear heavy smoke from upper floors. It turned out that the fire was put out with dry powder extinguishers.

We got lost looking for new Station 37. We ended up near where temporary Station 37 had been located on Scripps Lake Drive (b/t/w- the fire engine pictograph signs are still there). We got some help from a few locals and eventually found new Station 37. It is an awesome new facility that opened two months ago at Spring Canyon Road and Sunset Ridge Drive. The south side of the station (along Spring Canyon Road) is very nice looking with a fancy entrance. From the apparatus doors, which face west, the station looks rather plain Jane.

I rang the station doorbell. A SDFD captain answered the door just as his pager started beeping. “We got a run,” said the captain, “but you’re welcome to come back after.” I asked him which side the apparatus ran out of (both east and west facing doors look the same) and he pointed to the west. I got a photo of their engine just as they were pulling out of the doors. We decided not to hang around until they returned, as we wanted to beat rush-hour traffic getting back to the time-share.

To make a long story short- we did NOT beat rush hour traffic. We JOINED the rush hour traffic. Traffic along I-15 was a parking lot for quite a few miles. We finally got to moving; first 20 mph and then 40 mph before we finally reached freeway speeds about 8 miles north. We cut across State Highway 78 to San Marcos Boulevard, which turns into Palomar Airport Road (the street we turn off to get to the timeshare). We actually got back home around 1700 hours. For a while, I thought maybe we would be camping out somewhere for the night.

We traveled through some beautiful countryside today. There are so many scenic spots out here with all the rolling hills and mountains. There are many areas with spectacular views. The area is growing by leaps and bounds. So is traffic!

The Fallbrook fire is only 20% contained and has burned over 4000 acres and leveled 30 homes so far. There is still a lingering haze north of us, but neither as large or dark as it was yesterday. Another fire engine was burned overnight as fire swooped down on it from both sides. It looked like one of the rigs I shot at the San Diego brush fire on Saturday. I’m not hearing as much fire traffic on the North San Diego Trunked Frequencies today. I’m not sure what other frequencies the various agencies might be using.

They expect the fire to burn into the 125,000 acre Camp Pendelton Marine Corps Base which is home to more than 30.000 Marines. Rains in the area this year are 5-inches below normal levels of six point some inches. The Santa Ana winds (from the east) were definently a problem as they bring very low humidity. Tomorrow the winds are supposed to start blowing in from the ocean, raising the humidity levels here.

Hope you all had a great day- we sure did. Take care.

Your roving reporter

Day 10 - In San Diego/Carlsbad Area

Tuesday, February 12th

Last night at approximately 2335 hours Escondido had a mobile home fire at an address on Bernardo. They were assigned North County Tac Channel 5. Engine 1 arrived to report, “flames showing” from a mobile home and reported that neighbors said that the occupants might still be inside. Engine 6 found a hydrant and laid a feeder line to Engine 1. Ladder 1 assisted with opening up the home and searching for victims. Rescue 1 was also at the scene. I never heard that they found anyone in the home. The fire was quickly knocked down.

This morning we took our time getting going. We ate breakfast out on our 3rd floor deck. It was just gorgeous out again. We decided to head into San Diego and check out some of the museums in the Balboa Park area. We stopped at a Krispy Kreme donut shop on the way in (my first time this whole trip). SDFD Station 27 was nearby and I got a station picture only as the engine was gone.

We arrived at Balboa Park around 1100 hours. Our first stop was the San Diego Automotive Museum, but they were having a motorcycle exhibit only this week (so we passed it by). Our next stop was the San Diego Aerospace Museum. The Aerospace Museum was just packed with planes from the days at Kitty Hawk up to and including military planes used in Viet Nam. The placed is just packed with private, commercial and military aviation history. They even had an old PBY-5a similar to the one my father flew when he served in the Navy. I took quite a few digital photos of the planes, aircraft carriers mock-ups and displays.

Then we headed to the Museum of Photographic Arts. That was Ok, but I’m not an artsy-type person. We checked out the Model Railroad Museum. They had train layouts ranging in size from “O” gauge down to “Z” gauge. There was a lot of construction still going on the various layouts.

I thought the neatest part of the displays was the large topographical map layout of the entire area, which included El Centro on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west and from the Mexican Border on the south to San Juan Capistrano on the north. Laid on the map to scale were all the mountains, lakes and streams along with all the train lines that operated in the area. There was a control screen that identified the stations and routes of the various lines (by railroad name) in the area. There were also station pictures on the screen to show then and now photos of the stations. It was very interesting to see how the lines had to bend and wind their way through the mountains between San Diego and El Centro.

We stopped and took photos of many of the interesting buildings (many which have very intricately sculpted stonework). The stunning building architecture came from two exhibitions, the 1915-1916 Panama-California Exhibition (which celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal), and the 1935-1936 California Pacific International Exposition (held to boost the local economy during the depression).

We had more to see (we may come back another day), but it was 1400 and we were getting hungry. We had another enjoyable lunch at one of the local Home Town Buffet’s. Then we headed to the Mission Beach area. The first clouds I’ve seen in days rolled in as we headed towards the ocean.

Karyle picked shells along the water (and almost got swept off her feet by a large wave- he he) while I checked out bicycle rentals. Rentals were $7.00 per hour. We decided to come back later to do that. There is a wide combination walking/bike path along the beach that goes for miles in both directions from Mission Beach near Belmont Park.

We went up the coast into the La Jolla area of San Diego and stopped at picturesque overlooks to watch the surfers (ton’s of em out again today dude). There are so many gorgeous homes along the waterfront in that area, many I’m sure that are worth more than a million dollars. We ended up at Seal Rock Point, where sea lions almost daily come into beach themselves in the sand below the cliffs. The area was packed with other tourists and area residents watching and photographing hundreds of sea lions. A Channel 10 news crew was also there doing a live weathercast from the point.

We stayed for the sunset, which looked great until some thick clouds rolled in low on the horizon. We got a few photos anyway. It was a gorgeous day here with highs in the upper 70s, bright sunshine and a low breeze inland. It was a bit cooler along the coast and it cooled down to about 60 when we left at sunset along the ocean.

We drove through the very ritzy La Jolla shopping area with its many fancy upscale stores on the way to I-5. Traffic wasn’t too bad as we headed back north to Karyle’s timeshare.

That’s all for today. Hope you had as nice a day as we did here.

Your roving reporter

Day 11 - In San Diego/Carlsbad Area

Wednesday, February 13th

It cooled off a little last night and there was quite a bit of fog in the area. This morning it was overcast when we got up. We took it easy getting out of the barn. Following breakfast on our outdoor patio, we headed into San Diego. Karyle wanted to do some shopping at Seaport Village, an area loaded with all kinds of shops and restaurants southwest of downtown and along San Diego Bay. It was still fairly overcast. Some of the taller buildings disappeared into the low-hanging clouds.

I dropped Karyle off at Seaport Village to do some shopping while I visited SDFD Stations 4, 7, 11, 1 and 3. I was able to catch a few rigs out on the street. I headed back to meet Karyle at Seaport Village and we ate lunch along the shores of San Diego Bay. The sun slowly broke through the clouds and suddenly the tops of San Diego’s skyscrapers became visible again. It also seemed to warm up dramatically as the sun blazed down on us.

We decided it was nice enough to take one of the San Diego Harbor Excursion boats on a tour of the bay. We bought tickets on the “Spirit of San Diego. It was $16 each for the two-hour cruise, which travels the entire harbor. The boat left at 1345 hours. Luckily we had found a three-hour meter as the cruise would last two hours, fifteen minutes.

We boarded the three-level Spirit of San Diego and climbed to the upper deck, which had a number of tables and chairs on an open-air deck. There were also bench seats all the way around the railing. They had a small bar and served snacks and beverages (they also offered dinner cruises).

We headed southeast down into San Diego Bay towards the Navy Yards and under the San Diego-Coronado Bridge. It turned our to be just perfect weather for the boat ride. We’d brought along jackets, but removed them as the bright sunlight kept us plenty warm. I took loads of pictures of downtown, the Naval Ships along the bay and the gorgeous condos lining the shores of the City of Coronado. Many of these units, we were told, sell for $600,000 or more. We were also told that there is more retired Navy Admirals living in Coronado than in any other city in the USA.

We returned to the dock after the first hour to let off some passengers and take on new ones for the cruise the other direction. I got a number of postcard shots of downtown as we headed down towards Lindbergh Field (San Diego International Airport), the busiest single runway commercial airport in the USA.

The boat went all the way around North Island Naval Air Station to Ballast Point, near the entrance to the harbor. We past a number of submarines, Shelter Island, and Halsey Field (part of the North Island Naval Air Station. The narration on the cruise was very informative as I would barely be able to tell you the difference between a nuclear-powered carrier, like “The Nimitz,” or a floating-hospital like “The Mercy.”

We got back to the pier just before our meter had expired. We decided to head for northbound I-5 to try to get back to our time-share for the sunset. We heard the view from up on the hill here looking down towards the ocean has some spectacular sunsets. An earlier accident had traffic very backed up along I-5 through the Del Mar area. It was very slow going for more than 10 miles. Once we passed the accident scene (which had since disappeared) we flew.

We arrived back in Carlsbad around 1700 hours, just before sunset. We headed to the west side of the complex, which is on top of a hill with the west slope used for a very large nursery. At certain times of the year the hillside is covered with layers of multiple-colored flowers and is a tourist attraction in itself. At present, there is very little color, as most of the planting is just beginning to take place. The entire hill is irrigated with rows and rows of canals that hold the water that supplies the plants with the nourishment they need. The nursery wraps around the west and north ends of the base of the hill.

We met some interesting people from Arizona staying on the west side of the complex. They said the sunsets have been breathtaking. Tonight, layers of clouds blocked the sunset, and only a thin line of sun could be seen on the horizon. Tomorrow night we will try again for some breathtaking photos. The temperature had dropped to below 60 degrees at sunset with a very cool breeze blowing in off the ocean. We headed back to our unit for the night.

Take Care.

Your roving reporter

Day 12 - In San Diego/Carlsbad Area

Thursday, February 14th

The Fallbrook Brush Fire was called “100% contained” by 1800 hours Wednesday. Thirty-four homes were demolished and damage estimates are in the millions. The two engines destroyed by fire belonged to the North County Fire Department and the California Division of Forestry.

I got going a little earlier this morning and visited a couple stations each in both Carlsbad and Oceanside while Karyle finished watching her soap operas. I started at Carlsbad Station 1, which has a single engine (new Seagrave) and two paramedic units. I also found out that Oceanside is still operating on their old VHF frequency- the only department in Orange County to do so I was told. I was wondering why there was TV coverage of an overnight fire in Oceanside the night before last that I had not heard on the North County Net.

My next stop was Oceanside Station 2. They had a reserve rig painted in their old lime green paint scheme (their regular rig was recently in an accident). I was told about Oceanside’s two quints, bought under the Orange County, CA purchase order. Oceanside sent six rigs to the Fallbrook fire and closed two stations for the duration. They have seven stations now with Station 7 being a temporary double, mobile home.

I headed to Oceanside Station 4 to see one of two 1994 Spartan/Smeal 1500/500/75’ RM quints. One of the firefighters at Station 4 had responded to the Fallbrook fire for four straight days. He said his crew worked the first 48 hours straight at the fire, then worked two days with 12-on, 12-off shifts, at the fire scene. Today was his regular shift. He has worked 5 straight days without a day off. He was a little tired to say the least, but very helpful. He showed me a notebook they had with specs and photos of all their rigs. It was very interesting.

My next stop was Carlsbad Station 3. They were not home, so I just got a station photo. I got back to Karyle’s unit around 1015 hours and we headed into San Diego. Karyle wanted to spend some more time visiting the museums in Balboa Park. I opted to visit a few stations while she was museum visiting. We kept in touch by cell phone

I visited SDFD Stations 23, 28 (the SDFD shops are also there), 36, 27 and 20. I got a few rig photos along the way- and oh, a few Krispy Kreme donuts also. I was not able to get an up-to-date apparatus roster, as there was a luncheon taking place for a retiring shop mechanic. The list would not have been good very long as San Diego has 20 new Pierce Dash pumpers, three rear-mount 105’ aerials and one tractor-trailer aerial due sometime this year or early next year. Ladder 20 will be getting one of the Pierce rear-mounts to replace their unusual Peterbilt/Piereville 100’ RM.

The four medic-rescue companies (that use the larger Freightliner chassis and carry extra tools for extrications etc.) now have paramedic Captains. Previously, there was not advancement available for paramedics in the department. They now have these positions available at the medic-rescues. I was told there are four stations with medic-rescues. I know of three (9, 24, & 30). I’m not sure where the fourth is.

I picked up Karyle around 1400 hours and we headed to “Old Town” to look around and do some shopping. On the way, I caught a few rigs outside Station 5 that had stopped for TB testing. We stayed at Old Town until around 1600 hours. We left early, trying to beat the rush north on I-5. For the second day in a row we ran into a real bog-down near the I-5/I-805 merger, and for miles beyond that. That may be a daily occurrence here.

Again, we were thwarted in getting our picturesque sunset shots from our unit by some overcast weather on the horizon. We will try again tomorrow. We headed to a nearby TGI Friday’s for a relaxing meal and then retired to the time-share for the night. The weather today was just a little cooler, highs around 68 with mostly clear sunshine.

Take care,

Your roving reporter

P.S. Note the article carried in the Phoenix New Times newspaper about the plight of Rural Metro Firefighters featured on the Firehouse web site . It is very interesting.

Day 13 - In San Diego/Carlsbad Area

Friday, February 15th

It was another lovely, sunny day here in the San Diego area. Highs along the coast were only about 63, but inland it was about 70. We enjoyed the early morning hours making breakfast and lounging around the unit before heading for San Diego.

I dropped Karyle off at the San Diego Zoo. I headed to the southernmost stations in the City of San Diego, Stations 6, 29, 30 and 43. My first stop was Station 30. The engine was out when I arrived and just as I left they returned using one of those 1980 Seagraves that “should have been melted down a long time ago.” This one REALLY looked that bad.

Next stop was Station 29 in the San Ysidro area, closest to the Tijuana, Mexico border. The firefighters there were very interesting to talk to. They said they are nighttime runners at 29’s, very quiet during the day and very busy at night. They get quite a few medical runs late at night near the border. It is 1815 hours as I write this report and San Diego TV-15 has a live helicopter shot of a hold-up in progress in the Kearney Mesa area. Police are blocking off streets in the area as the robbery suspect is still in the bank and says he has explosives.

They will be building a new Station 29 directly across San Ysidro Boulevard from their current location within the next year. The city has bought the lot (now a used car lot) for $1 million. The station will be a three-bay drive-thru. Right now, the rescue has to park in front of the engine. I got a picture of their 75’ RM aerial and their medic rig.

Next stop was Station 43, a rather new house near Brown Field and only a mile north of Mexico. This house was designed to look like an aircraft hanger. It houses Engine 43, Tower 43, Crash 43 (a P-19) and Water Tender 43. One crew of four firefighters cross-man the four rigs. I got pictures of the tower outside and the others inside. There are many new commercial warehouses in the area and developers are beginning to build a number of new housing developments nearby.

One of the firefighters at 43’s said that I should stop at the Imperial Beach FD. It is the furthest station SW in the continental USA. I went by SDFD Station 6 on the way to the IBFD. When I got to the Imperial Beach station, the crew was just going out on a detail (they only run one engine). I got a picture of their rig as they left. When they have reported structure fires in Imperial Beach they usually get the IBFD Engine, SDFD Engine 30, SDFD Ladder 29 and an engine from Coronado.

Karyle called from the Zoo just as I was leaving the IBFD station to say she’d be ready to be picked up by 1400 hours. I headed up I-5 and picked her up at the zoo. Balboa Park was packed today as school kids were out for the day. We headed into the Clairemont area of San Diego for lunch at a very busy Home Town Buffet. We got there around 1430 and there was a waiting line to get in at that time. We were both very surprised to see it busy at that time.

After lunch we headed into the Mission Beach area and stopped along the ocean wherever we could. It was a little cool, but the surfer dudes were out in force again. We stopped again at Seal Rock to watch the sea lions with many other interested spectators. We drove down by La Jolla bay and watched more surfers hittin the waves dude. While it had turned slightly overcast, the scenery along the oceanfront in this area is just awesome.

Then we made a big mistake. We decided that instead of traveling up I-5 (which had been a parking lot the past few days) to take Torrey Pines Boulevard north near the ocean. Traffic there was also a virtual parking lot from Genessee Avenue north through Del Mar. It took us 45 minutes to go three miles! Even after that, traffic along Camino Del Mar (SR21) was just awful. How people that live in this area can put up with such horrific traffic day in and day out is more than I can fathom. There is absolutely no way to get traffic from San Diego to northern San Diego County (anywhere near the coast) without sitting in long, long lines of traffic (more like parking lots) anytime near rush hour. I’d hate to see it in BAD weather.

We finally made it back to our unit around 1730 hours. We missed the sunset (bogged down in traffic), which still didn’t look very picturesque from where we were. It was a relief to get anywhere after sitting with my foot on the brake peddle for almost two hours straight

Tomorrow we will probably stay up in this area (we don’t wish to fight any more traffic congestion). Karyle wants to visit the Wild Animal Park nearby and I’ll probably a hit a few stations in the north county area. Karyle’s flight leaves Lindbergh Field around 0900 on Sunday morning and I’ll start my slow trek north after that.

Take care.

Your roving reporter

Day 14 - In San Diego/Carlsbad Area

Saturday, February 16, 2002

After making breakfast in our unit, we headed towards the San Diego Wild Animal Park east of Escondido. It was very overcast and only around 60 degrees. Our first stop was at Carlsbad Station 5, which is also where the police and Civic Center for the City of Carlsbad. Out back of the station is a skateboard park, which was being used by a number of kids and at least one firefighter. I got pictures of their engine and heavy rescue.

Then we headed to San Marcos, stopping first at Station 2. I got pictures of their engine and Type III engine. We went by San Carlos Stations 1 and 3, but the companies were all out. We drove through Escondido and to the Wild Animal Park, which is way out of town out in the sticks. I dropped Karyle off and headed back into Escondido.

I stopped at Station 1 and got a picture of their Sutphen tower- the sun was shinning. Both Engine 1 and Engine 6 were out. The training area is behind the station and a group of eagle scouts was doing ladder drills at the tower. There is also a small glassed in storage area in the front of the station and they have a 1927 American LaFrance pumper parade piece on display.

Next stop was EFD Station 3 on the north end of town. They were using a spare Pirsch pumper and I got a photo of it. The motor on their regular Sutphen pumper blew up on the freeway enroute to the Fallbrook brush fire last Sunday.

I stopped at Escondido Station 2 on the east end of town and tried to get a photo of their Sutphen engine, but the driver and captain were both sleeping. I headed back through town past Station1 to see if either of their KME engines had returned. They bought two engines in 2000 on the L.A. County bid and are very happy with them. Both engines had returned so I got a nice shot of Engine 1.

Then I headed to Station 5 in the SW section of town. They have a gorgeous new station and a Sutphen engine (no photos). Karyle called me on her cell phone and asked to be picked up at the Wild Animal Park. I was enroute to Station 4 in the SE section of town. Luckily the station is on the way to the Wild Animal Park, so I quickly got a station picture and continued east to the park. I picked up Karyle around 1500 hours.

We were both famished so we headed to a nearby Hometown Buffet (they are all marked on my maps along with the fire stations and Krispy Kreme donut shops). The buffet was just packed. We had to wait in line to get in, as the tables were all full- at 3PM! We had a very nice, but late lunch and headed back to our unit. I gassed up the vehicle when we found a station that was only charging $1.21/gallon for regular- the lowest we’ve seen in this area.

We got back to the unit around 1615 hours. We walked over to the west side of the Grand Pacific Palisades (where we are staying at) to get a gorgeous shot of the sunset. Again, for the third day in a row, it clouded up on the horizon as the sun went down. While we never got a good sunset shot from our unit, we really lucked out weather wise while we were here. It got up to 67 or so again here today with bright sunshine all afternoon.

That’s about all from the San Diego area. Tomorrow I will head up to the Los Angles area after I drop Karyle off at the San Diego airport. They are expecting some rain in the area- some MUCH NEEDED rain!

Take Care.

Day 15 - San Diego/Carlsbad to Los Angeles

Sunday, February 17th

Karyle and I left the time-share in Carlsbad at 0630 hours- too early for both of us. I dropped Karyle off at the San Diego Airport around 0715 hours and headed back north on I-5.

Just as I got on the freeway San Diego dispatched Engines 38-37-40, Truck 40, and Bn 40 to Mira Mesa High School on Regan Drive for fire in the school. Engine 38 reported smoke showing almost immediately. Truck 41 was started then as the second truck. They had a fire in what sounded like a portable classroom. It was knocked down in a fairly short time.

Just as I got to Oceanside, it started to drizzle a little. When I got up to Orange County it started to pour. When I came across three accidents in less than a mile (all with cars that were sideways on the freeway), I decided it was time to get off the freeway and take local streets. I got off in the freeway in the Santa Ana area. I stopped at a local Mickey D’s to get some breakfast and take a break from driving. By the time I finished breakfast, the rain had let up.

I went by a number of stations. I stopped at Garden Grove Station 1, but they were all out. A short time later I ran into companies returning and turned around and tried to catch them before they got back in the house- but no luck (the still use yellow rigs in GG). I drove my Anaheim new Station 6, which still is under construction (well over a year now).

I had not been by Anaheim Station 4 before, so I decided to go by there. It stopped raining as I headed there. I met the nicest firefighter at Station 4. We talked for a good while. He pulled out their Saulsbury pumper (with mid-ship engine) for me and told me that the contractor that was building Station 6 had gone out of business. They just got a new contractor on-board a month ago. They expect construction to be completed in June or so. As he is assigned at Station 6, he can’t wait. There will be an engine and ladder company at Station 6 when it opens.

Anaheim has a few rigs on order. They are purchasing eight more Spartan/Saulsbury engines very similar to Engine 4 (see photo). Also, they have a Bronto 118’ sky-lift on order. At present the department has no reserve ladder trucks. Ladder 3’s rig is being rebuilt and they are using the spare. Ladder 2 is using the old squad as a spare.

Because Station 4 is so busy, each morning around 0900 hours they move an engine from Station 2 to Station 4 for the day. Engine 24 (second engine out of Station 4) arrived while I was talking to the firefighter. They sit outside all day next to the station and then return to Station 2 for the night shift. I asked the firefighter if it was busier during the day than it was at night. He said, “No,” and kind of shook his head. I thought that was interesting.

Anaheim uses a private contractor for their medical transports. Four of their stations actually have quarters for those medical units. New Station 6 will have separate quarters for the medic units also. The firefighter thought they paid about $1000/month per fire station to use the Anaheim stations. Two of the private medic units operate out of a hotel.

I drove by Orange County Stations 61 and 62 and got station photos. It was lightly drizzling again. I also drove by and got Station pictures of Los Angeles County Stations 35, 30 and 115. When I got to LA County Station 20 the drizzle had cleared up again. I stopped in and met another very interesting firefighter there. He was very helpful and insisted on pulling out both their engine and their aerial. He asked me if I would send them the digital images and I told him no problem.

We talked for quite a while also. I asked him where the busy areas were. He said that the Lancaster/Palmdale area has been very busy and are some of the busiest companies in the county. He also said they’ve had more than their share of working fires. Engine 20 is about the fifth busiest engine or so and the Rescue is in the top ten for the department.

He also told me that La Habra, which is in Orange County, had paid for LA County to do a study on the possibility of taking over their fire service. I thought that was most interesting. It could work out pretty well as La Habra is on the LA County border and there are LA County companies on the north and west of them. La Habra currently operates three stations. He hadn’t heard of any other departments coming on-line. Downey is not being discussed any more.

I decided to head for the motel in Arcadia as it was after noon. I checked into the motel, unloaded some luggage and headed into Los Angeles. It had clouded up again, and it looked like it might rain again. I drove down my usual haunts such as Hollywood and Santa Monica Boulevards. I love the views into the Hollywood hills as you drive in this area. I drove by LA City Station 27, but they were all gone. I noticed that the fire museum, that occupies old Station 27, is now open on Saturdays from 10am to 2pm.

I went by LA County Station 8 and they were all closed up, which is kind of unusual. I drove out to Beverly Hills to see if they had any of their ten or so rigs at their headquarters station out. They were all locked up tight also. They have finally finished the construction on Santa Monica Blvd that has been underway for more than two years. It was nice to be able to actually move on it at a reasonable speed again. I took a slow tour back through the same area. As I got near downtown LA the sun was shining brightly. There were still some clouds up north in the mountains, but the valley was all sunlight now.

I got back to the motel around 1615 hours. I was very tired of driving. The fire radio was very quiet. I didn’t see one fire truck on the drive both ways through town- very unusual. I usually come across more than one company out and about.

No sooner had I walked into the motel unit and LA City sent an assignment to 415 N Sycamore for a fire reported in a four-plex. I had been within two blocks of there, not 30 minutes ago! Sent were Engine 41, Task Force 27, Engine 52, Light Force 29, Rescue 52 and Bn 5 (where 61’s were, I’m not sure- unless the address was 1415?). When companies arrived they reported they had a working fire with possible communication problems.

Battalion 5 requested two more Task Forces and got TF 61, TF 58, Bn 18 and Rescue 29. Engine 41 laid preconnects and Engine 27 fed them. Engine 52 covered the exposure that had got going and all companies were working. The fire was reported knocked down in about 20 minutes, but soon after companies reported fire in the attic.

I lucked out today it was not a total loss, like expected. The rains only lasted until about noon and then it cleared up. The temperature was around 60 in Los Angeles. Not too bad by my account.

I just got an E-Mail from Karyle. She made it home safe and sound and said it was fairly warm back in Minneapolis. Hold on to some of that warm weather back home for when I return- please!

Take care.

Your roving reporter

Day 16 - In Los Angeles

Monday, February 18th

It turned out to be a pretty nice day here after all. They had been talking about rain here, but today was very sunny, with a few clouds hovering over us from time to time. I made a pilgrimage north and west from here along the base of the mountains (following Foothill Boulevard) that make up the Angeles National Forest.

I started at Pasadena Station 37 (out- I don’t think I’ve ever seen them in) and then Pasadena Station 33. I caught a number of companies training at Station 33 and took many photos. I headed north on Lake Avenue stopping at LA County Stations 11 and 12. Then I stopped at LA County Station 82, which is undergoing some renovation for the officers and battalion chief.

Station 82 is the quarters of Engines 82, Engine 282, Ladder 82, Battalion 4 and Patrol 82. The station can only house the engines and truck- the battalion buggy and patrol sit out back. The apparatus door was recently replaced with a taller door and the center posts in the apparatus bay were removed. There are no plans to add any bays at the station.

When I spoke with the battalion chief and asked him if they were very busy in this area he said “No, not really”. He added that most of the residents in the La Canada area call their doctors (not the fire department) if they have a medical problem because many of the doctors live in this area. The area is very upscale with many gorgeous single-family homes (apparently, many occupied by doctors). All the apparatus was outside because of the construction, but the rigs weren’t parked for photos. I got a few shots anyway.

Next stop was LA County Station 19. The firefighters were outside cleaning their rig. I got a few photos. A hop, skip and a few blocks away is Glendale Station 29. Glendale has six Pierce Quantum pumpers and a Quantum aerial with two more Quantum pumpers on order. Station 29 has an older Seagrave engine and Seagrave tractor-trailer aerial. The engine was in and a firefighter pulled it out for photos. Just as I left, I saw Truck 29 pull in behind the station. They also have an older engine lettered 229 behind Engine 29. It is cross-manned by the truck company when there are brush fires in the area.

I asked the firefighter who would respond on an alarm in the area. He told me Pasadena Engines 29-28-24, Ladder 29, and a Rescue. I thought that was kind of strange as LA County has two engines a hop skip and jump away, (Engines 63 and 19) both miles closer than Engines 28 and 24. I get the feeling that the Glendale FD is kind of independent in its thinking (even though I know they run with LA City a lot on first alarm assignments). The other FD’s they work with closely, Burbank and Pasadena, have red rigs while Glendale operates yellow apparatus.

Next stop was LA County Station 63, which is literally surrounded by a rather new housing development on the hills behind them. The rig was sitting out as they were mopping the station floor. I got a picture of their KME engine. Glendale Station 28 is just west of LA County 63 in an eight-block wide area that sits up between LA City and LA County jurisdictions. As it was noon hour, I didn’t go into the station, but got a station photo.

Then it was on to LA City. First stop was Station 74. They are on very busy Foothill Boulevard with a short ramp so I just got a station shot. Then it was on to Station 24 in the Tujunga Valley, a very strange section of the city that is more farmland than anything else. This station reminded me of a very funny situation when buffing here in 1976.

Duane Troxel and I visited every LA City station in the spring of 1976. Duane drove and I was shotgun, manning the Thomas Street Guide (street map book of the area with fire stations located on the maps). We were on the way to LA City Station 24. It looked like there was a shortcut to the station as indicated in the Thomas Guide. I directed Duane to turn right and we headed up this very steep hill. Duane said at the time he didn’t think it looked right. I told him the map locates the station right up ahead.

We got to the top of this steep hill and the road T’d less than a half block from the station. I said to Duane that the station should be right here. We got out of the car and walked a few yards further and looked down about a 200-foot cliff. Yes, the station was across the street- 200 feet below us! I took a photo from there before we headed down and around the cliff. I can’t ever remember Duane laughing as loud or long as on that occasion.

Back to the present: Next was LA City Station 77, which sits in a very industrial area of the valley (they were out). I headed back north to LA City Station 98 (a very busy house). They are in the Pacoima area, which seems to be a very decaying area in the valley. There are a number of public housing developments in the area that probably drove the home values down nearby and now the area has more than its share of problems.

My next stop was LA City Station 75. Firefighters were cleaning all the rigs outside getting ready for a Battalion Inspection, due in the next hour. I got photos of all their rigs. Then I headed for the 8’s area of LA City (Stations 8, 18 and 28). All three of these stations were added since the 60’s in the far northwest corner of the Los Angeles as that area of the city was developed. Station 18 is the oldest of these stations (added in 1968).

Station 8 was added in 1971 and Station 28 (less than a half mile away) was added a couple years ago (paid for by a developer in the Porter Ranch section of the city). I took station photos at the three stations. I seriously needed slide film, as I had less than a roll left in the camera. They are still shaping the land west of Station 28 for more housing developments. There is a new shopping center just south of new Station 28 that has a brand new Wall Mart in it. I got film there and saw LA City Squad 70 driving through the lot.

As I left the mall I thought I saw the squad going down Rinaldi Street, so I followed. Sure enough, it was Squad 70 and they’d pulled over near a bank a few blocks away. I got out and introduced myself and asked if the move from Station 39 to Station 70 was permanent. The Captain said that they were not sure, but that it was very crowded at Station 70, which was designed for a task force. I also asked him where they were building new Station 7 for Engine 7 (the company that displaced the Squad from Station 39). He said the station was going up in the 7500 block of Van Nuys Boulevard on the site of a former General Motors plant.

When I returned to the car, I heard south central companies working a fire in battalion 13s area. They reported a knock down a short time later. I never got the address. This was the second fire in 33’s first due area today (the other happened when I was out at LA City Station 75).

As it was approaching 1500 hours, I decided to head back. It had actually hit 60 degrees in the San Fernando Valley today and the bright sun made it fell warmer than that. I got on the eastbound 118 Freeway and as I approached the 405 Freeway I decided to head south on it until the freeway started backing up. It never did. I went all the way through the Sepulveda pass and then got off on Sunset Boulevard.

I headed east on Sunset, which is a very windy road through the very upscale Bel Air neighborhood of LA City. It seems like I often see reports (on the KTLA news) of horrific accidents along Sunset Boulevard in this section of town. The speed limit is 40 along this stretch of Sunset and it is most difficult to stay in your lane and follow this winding, hilly section of roadway at 40 mph. I now understand why they have these terrible head-ons along Sunset late at night here.

I drove by the very ornate Beverly Hills City Hall complex and didn’t see any rigs. I headed back in Santa Monica Boulevard through town, hoping to pick up something along the route. When Santa Monica ran into Sunset Boulevard, I followed it past LA City Station 20 and caught the Glendale Freeway (2 Freeway) and headed northeast (it was now after 1600 hours). When it connected with the 134 Freeway I headed east and followed it into the 210 Freeway eastbound, which took me the rest of the way back to Arcadia. I have found this route to be very good, even approaching the rush hour.

Tomorrow, I will probably head up I-5 into the San Jose area for the night. I may stay in the Mountain View area, one of the nicest spots I’ve found in the Bay Area.

Take care.

Your roving reporter