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I’m posting some information I gathered earlier this afternoon. If you want to skip straight to the most recent official press release, it’s at the bottom of the post. Just scroll down.

I spoke earlier today with Elisa Weaver, Sierra Madre PIO, and she said her greatest worry is that some folks who have been asked to evacuate won’t, and then, should the need arise, there could be a huge traffic jam between emergency vehicles going up and last-minute evacuees coming down.

She asked for people in the evacuation area to evacuate to prevent this worst-case scenario.

Weaver was at Sierra Vista Park, where the emergency command center is located. Sierra Vista Park is the location of the city’s pool and recreation center. Tired-looking firefighters were taking breaks, some at picnic tables eating lunch.

The recreation center was filled with men and women in uniforms from all over Southern California: San Bernardino, Anaheim, Burbank, and many more. I saw Sierra Madre Search and Rescue uniforms (for those of you not well-versed in Sierra Madre culture, the Sierra Madre Search and Rescue gets a standing ovation every year during the 4th of July Parade. They are a special part of our town’s history, and it ain’t just cause they all look so cute in the shorts), police uniforms, fire uniforms, Humane Society uniforms, everything you can imagine.

It all made me very curious about who was in charge, who took orders from whom.

So, I asked Lt. Cook of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Incident Management Team, and he explained the way the command center works. At the time, which was this afternoon, Sierra Madre was in charge, and the Fire Department issued orders to the people who had come out to help. They set “trigger points,” which are locations that determine when it’s time to ask different sections of the city to evacuate.

When the Fire Department gives the word, then the law enforcement officials take command of the evacuation. They go door-to-door and ask people to evacuate. If a resident indicates that he or she will not evacuate, the officer will ask for the name of a next-of-kin to notify in the event that the worst happens.

The most recent press release I received, however, indicated that the Southern California Interagency Incident Management Team 3 will be taking command of the fire, so I imagine that things are operating differently now than what I described above.

The other thing I’d like to point out is that The Foothill Cities Blog continues to post really interesting observations and links to cool photos. Check them out for sure.  And, 2020 Hindsight is an interesting round-up of information too.
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Here’s the text of the most recent press release:

The Santa Anita Fire is reported to be 30% contained, with most of the containment in the area surrounding Sierra Madre residences. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Background – updated information in bold
The Santa Anita Fire began on Saturday, April 26th at approximately 3:00 p.m. and has currently burned under 400 acres of wildland urban interface. The only structure damaged at this time is a small out building off of Lotus Lane.

Two firefighters have been injured, one was stung by a bee Saturday afternoon; the other strained his knee working in the steep terrain Sunday morning.

The fire is 30% contained and is looking at 5-7 days for full containment.

Approximately 1000 people have been evacuated from Oak Crest Drive across Carter Avenue to East Mira Monte Avenue, continuing down Mountain Trail Avenue, across Grandview Avenue to Santa Anita Avenue.

The American Red Cross has opened a shelter at the Hart Park House, 222 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. The number for the American Red Cross is 626-799-0841 x270.

The Sierra Madre City Council held an emergency meeting at 12:10 a.m. on Sunday, April 27th to declare the City in a state of emergency.

Air support began again Sunday morning at approximately 6:30 am. We anticipate having 2 helicopters, 3 air tankers, and over 400 firefighters on the ground. There are over 500 logistics and operations people assisting with relief efforts.

The difficulty of this fire is the terrain which is steep and difficult to access. Additionally, some of these areas have not burned in over 40 years. So far, the weather has been on our side, and although there will still be intense heat today, we expect little wind and rising humidity.

A wedding party for Ken and Julie Grady consisting of 45 people and 4 pets were asked to shelter in place at Sturtevant Camp; the party was safely evacuated Sunday morning. The party had driven up Saturday night to camp and celebrate the nuptials. Sierra Madre Search and Rescue lead the evacuation operation coordinating with LA County Sheriffs. It took five helicopter trips to take the party back to their cars at the Chantry Flats Ranger Station where Los Angeles County Sheriffs escorted everyone back down the mountain safely. There were no reported injuries during this operation.

All Sierra Madre schools, public and private, will be closed on Monday, April 28, 2008. These schools include: Alverno High School, The Gooden School, Bethany Christian School, Saint Rita Elementary, both campus of Sierra Madre School, and Sierra Madre Community Nursery School.

Evacuations are to remain in place through Monday, April 28, 2008 at 6:00 a.m. Incident commanders will continually evaluate the safety of residents’ return. Incident commanders are sensitive that evacuations are a stressful and inconvenient event; we thank the public for the patience and understanding as firefighters work to contain the fire as public safety is our top priority.

We are asking residents and visitors to stay off the streets, keep areas clear for fire department access and to stay attentive. Immediate updates can be found on cityofsierramadre.com and SMTV3, channel 3 on Time Warner.