Photos: We Are Helping the Angeles Forest Heal

Above: The burned-out shell of Hidden Springs Cafe on the Angeles Forest Highway (photos by Danny Hagle)

By Danny Hagle
LA County Public Works Crew Leader

The Station fire that burned through Los Angeles National Forest did millions of dollars of damage. It also destroyed a lot of memories.

Click here to see more photos from behind the fire lines.

Growing up in the Antelope Valley, the forest was my backyard. I have camped there many times in my childhood and as an adult with my wife and kids, sleeping under the stars surrounded by lush green forest, waterfalls and wildlife. As a teenager camping with friends on the weekends, we’d always run out of food hiking and when we went to leave the forest we always stopped at the Hidden Springs Cafe to get a hot burger–the best burger you can imagine.

I got a close-up look this week when I went behind the fire lines with a Public Works tree crew working to reopen the closed roads between the Antelope Valley and LA basin. I watched the news of the Station Fire but it’s hard to imagine the destruction unless you see it with your own eyes.

It was like a nuclear bomb had gone off: smoldering stumps along the roadside, ash and blackened rocks, and dead birds and rabbits. As we passed the Hidden Springs Cafe nothing was left but rubble and the phone booth that stood out front. My memories where shattered, and I felt sick at the loss of the place I cherished so much.

Our subyard at Mill Creek was completely burned to the ground, as well as the ranger station and homes nearby. An American flag, slightly blackened from the ash blowing in the breeze, flew at half mast in memory of the two firemen who lost their lives in the area. 

There’s no time to mourn: There are more than 750 dead trees to remove and miles of charred guardrails to replace to make the roadway safe. It’s just a start of the work that is needed before it will be safe for the public — and to helping the Angeles Forest live again. I’m proud to be part of it.