L.A. CO. F.D. Camp 2
To our brothers Art Ruezga and Chris Herman
who will always live in
our hearts and never be forgotten
August 20th 1993
Two firefighters died in the Glen Allen Fire on August 20th, 1993, in the steep canyon beneath the Altadena Crest Trail. Their colleagues are quoted in this LA Times article.
This memorial stands alongside the trail. If you look carefully, you can see a second cross in the canyon below where you're walking. The memorial is a heart-catching sight. It punctures the solitude hiking can create and makes you realize you're not alone.
The plaque (quoted above) doesn't lie; a couple of those fire station caps on the cross are brand new.
Sure, people have died here. People have died everywhere, we just don't always think about it. That's what a memorial is for.
22 comments:
thank you for reminding us that the news stories have people behind them
This is a very haunting image!
It always stops me in my tracks when I get to this cross. The deaths of two inexperienced firefighters was such a tragedy. A memorial service attended by many firefighters was held there not long ago, which may be why the caps are new. Your photo is superb - surely the best anyone has ever taken of this place. The lighting's excellent, and the flag is rippling in the breeze. But is the flag a new addition? I don't recall seeing it before.
They always do, don't they, Book Dragon? We just don't always think about it that way.
Thanks, Kate. In person, even moreso.
I only read the first couple of pages of this very involved post, Bellis, but it looks like one of the victims was a 13 year veteran. I'm relatively new to this trail, but I can tell you the flag has been there since at least February.
Thanks for this Petrea. Powerful photo.
My cousin died fighting a fire, he was a young man in camp for breaking the law. The flames overtook him and others that were on detail fighting the fire. I believe he was 16 or 17 when he died.
Very poignant Petrea...I agree Book Dragon...
I'm sure the fire service would like to see this photo. Maybe you should send it to the fire chief who gave us a tour last December.
"If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind …"
—John Donne, Meditation XVII
Roberta, that's tragic. Many of these crew people are inmates. They're trained, but it's dangerous work. I remember a crew that survived in the Station Fire, holed up in a building on a mountaintop. Another crew that John and I met during that fire were "troubled" young men, changing their own story lines from bad guy to hero. It seems, though, that 16 or 17 is too young for such work.
Thank you, Chieftess.
Thanks, Hiker. I hadn't thought about it.
J, that's the thing. Thank you. I think another person's death is especially diminishing when that person dies in service to the rest of us.
Beautiful writing, Petrea. These lines are perfect for the striking image: "The memorial is a heart-catching sight. It punctures the solitude hiking can create and makes you realize you're not alone."
Sad and interesting.
Hats off to those two brave men. May they never be forgotten.
I don't think they'll be forgotten, Steven. Firefighters and Police Officers are tenacious at honoring their fallen ones.
Very moving post -- your photo and what you've written.
Merci, Ms. M.
I'm sort of stunned and speechless right now.
The photo is worthy of the story.
I'd like to hike that trail.
Thanks, everyone, for your great comments today.
Patrizzi, yes. Too much building too close to the foothills.
When I saw this memorial I thought I couldn't bear the thought of someone dying to save my home. Yet firefighters take this on knowingly. If you live in town (not up next to the hills) and you have a fire, you call them. The fire may not be as dangerous, but the risks are still there. And they come.
Still, as you said, I'll view my chaparral from the trail as opposed to my kitchen window.
Bless them all.
We lived in Rubio Canyon at the time of that fire...it was brief, compared with others, yet a moment was all it took. Thank you for reminding us and sharing a look at the memorial. Their brethren saved our home and many, many more in October that year. Our heroes.
Hi Marylinn, thanks for your comment.
You know, if you drive along the 210 freeway, east or west of Pasadena, you can still see the "line of demarcation" where the Station Fire burned above the cities in the fall of 2009. Above town, things are beginning to get green again amidst the ashes. Below the line, it remained green and lush even after the fire.
The firefighters protect the people and the structures. It's what they have to do. They have to let the forest burn.
Directly below that memorial, nestled amonst the homes, is a school that they also saved...
Thanks, Anonymous. Many homes, too, I'm sure.
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