Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, October 16, 2021

Mountain Views-News Saturday, October 16, 2021 

SIERRA MADRE SPOTLIGHT WALKING SIERRA MADRE - The Social Side 

by Deanne Davis 


ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT FOREST FIRES 

This week's spotlight is slightly different than the last few. I'm shining a 
big o’le light on THE SIERRA MADRE FIRE DEPARTMENT. 
Last week they hosted an event called “Tea at Three with Chief Bartlett 
and the Fire Department''. It was organized to highlight the different 
programs the Fire Department has in place to protect and serve our senior 
community. The event was a suc-cess, from the delicious tea, desserts and 
fun personalities! It's easy to forget during a crisis that while we hunker 
down to protect ourselves and loved ones, our first responders remain out 
there every day, pandemic or not. They answered every call, putting their 
own safety at risk to protect strangers, to protect their community, to protect 
us. Say hello to one of our fire heroes the next time you see them and 
thank them for not only protecting us when the world was "normal," but also for continuing to do 
so as the world fell apart. I have nothing but absolute admiration and re-spect for the entire station, 
especially Chief Bartlett. As if starting a new position wasn't difficult enough, he was appointed Chief 
during the start of our lovely pandemic, and then faced with the challenge of protecting our community 
from our burning mountain...again. He didn’t flinch, he dispatched his team and once again 
protected us from the wave of fire that was headed our way. Let's please take a moment to remember 
all firefighters that were taken too soon. 

It’s because of these fires that the tea event was so brilliant and crucial. I was contacted a couple 
weeks ago to help with this event and was thrilled! Once again, our AMAZING communi-ty came 
through. As the guests started arriving, they were greeted by an array of delicious local refreshments 
and an eager and welcoming group of brave firefighters, but instead of fighting fires they were fighting 
one another to win bingo! Chief Barlett and the Fire Department an-swered questions, shared 
information about the Paramedic Subscription Program and File of Life Packets, and socialized with 
all in attendance. 

However, it would be remiss to write this article and not mention the heart beat behind it, Nathalia 
Flores. She was the driving force behind this. It was her vision we were creating. So, I'm doing something 
I haven't done before: I'm shining a flashlight on Natahlia. She is an extremely hard working 
woman who takes everything in stride. I was unable to attend the event because of a prior commitment, 
but it didn't phase her. She not only got everything done, she got it down beautifully! Keep your 
eye on her, she's going places! 

Well my sweet neighbors it's been a blast but I have to go! Stay strong, help one another and one day 
soon we will be able to shake the hands of these incredible and brave Sierra Madreans! 

Our Spectacular Donors:
Tea at Three mugs: The Kensington Sierra MadreFour Seaons Tea Room: Donated Tea 
Poppycake: Donated CoffeeMadre Made- Donated Banana Bread and Scones 
The Only Place in Town - Zucchini BreadSucculents - Sierra Madre Garden Club 
Media – Mountain Views News 

Letter To The Editor 
THEY CALLED IT PARADISE? 

A small town in the forested hills emerged at 
the base of the Foothills near the Sierra Nevada 
Range in Butte County. As the setting was idyllic, 
offering clean air and gorgeous scenery, the 
people called it Paradise, As the town thrived 
more people came, stayed, and called it home. 
The town grew, but grew so much the ingresses 
and egresses of the town ( in case of a major fire 
)were basically forgotten or ignored until disaster 
struck. On November 8, 2018 disaster struck 
as 95% of the town was lost, Fueled by a sea of 
tinder created by 5 years of drought, and propelled 
by 40 mph powerful gusts of wind, the flames 
grew and traveled rapidly. Burning at a rate of 
a football field or an acre a second. In less than 
24 hours, the fire had swept through the town of 
Paradise and other communities, leaving a charred 
ruin in its wake. “Over the course of 17 days, 
the Camp Fire, named for its origin along Camp 
Creek Road, killed 85 people, burned more than 
150,000 acres, and leveled more than 18,000 buildings 
— a hospital, houses, businesses, schools 

— making it the most destructive and deadliest 
wildfire in California history.”. As Wikipedia sta-
ted…..”The fire forced the evacuation of Paradise, 
Magalia, Centerville, Concow, Pulga, Butte 
Creek Canyon, Berry Creek and Yankee Hill and 
threatened the communities ..The actual total 
statistics were 153,336 acres burned or 240 square 
miles caused by an Electrical transmission fire 
from a PG&E killing 85 people and destroying 
18,804 buildings. Do you want Sierra Madre to 
become another Paradise? 
On September of 2020, the Bobcat fire broke 
out in the hills behind Monrovia and came back 
down the canyon towards Sierra Madre, Alta


dena, and Arcadia. It was finally contained by 
December 18.2020 after having burned 115,796 
acres in the central San Gabriel Mountains. 
Evacuation orders for residents were announced 
in Sierra Madre, Monrovia, Bradbury, and Duarte, 
along with evacuation warnings for those in 
Arcadia, Pasadena, and Altadena. The fire then 
grew westward and threatened the Mount Wilson 
Observatory by September 15, and approached 
within 500 feet (152 m) of the observatory as firefighters 
worked to protect the structure. The 
fire came so close that the paint bubbled on the 
building from the heat. By September 17, the fire 
rapidly expanded to the north into Pleasant View 
Ridge Wilderness due to moderate coastal winds, 
leading to mandatory evacuations in Antelope 
Valley as the fire approached Juniper Hills. The 
fire was exacerbated by very dry vegetation from 
over 5 years of drought and rugged topography 
that made it more difficult to access. 

The Monastery Housing Development site is considered 
to be in a Severe Fire Hazzard Area. The 
city decided that after The Bobcat Fire of 2020 
that no further development should occur in Severe 
Fire Areas. After the evacuations of just over 
a year ago, why is this development even being 
considered? It should have been eliminated before 
any discussions ever began given its location. 
If the winds in 2020 had blown in another direction 
the monastery would have been destroyed 
in the fire as well as other parts of Sierra Madre 
.What more proof does anyone need than the 
unsettling two weeks we lived through in early 
September of 2020. Do we really want to put our 
firefighters in this kind of danger intentionally? 
Do we really want to become another Paradise? 

Nancy Beckham, Sierra Madre 

MONSTERS VS. ALIENS: MUTANT PUMPKINS FROM 
OUTER SPACE ON OCTOBER 30 AT SI-ERRA 
MADRE PLAYHOUSE 

As a special Halloween treat, Sierra Madre Playhouse will 
be screening the short film Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant 
Pumpkins from Outer Space on Saturday, October 30, 
2021 every hour on the hour from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. 
Suggested donation: $2.00 adults, $1.00 kids.

 Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer 
Space. Animation. Directed by Pe-ter Ramsey. Written 
by Adam F. Goldberg, Conrad Vernon, Rob Letterman. 
Produced by Latifa Ouaou. From Freeform. (Color, 2009, 
USA, 26 minutes, rated TV-PG) Starring the voices of 
Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Ar-
nett, Kiefer Sutherland, Rainn Wilson. Susan Murphy 

(a.k.a. Ginormica) and the Monsters are now working 
with the U.S. Government as special ops. So when an alien 
presence is detected in Susan's hometown of Modesto, 
California, right before Halloween, the team is dispatched 
to inves-tigate. Everything appears normal, right down to 
the jack-o-lanterns peering out from every doorstep and windowsill. But when Halloween 
arrives, those innocent-looking carved pumpkins reveal themselves for what they really are, 
mutant aliens. The altered pumpkins then start to implement their fiendish plan to take over 
Earth. The Monsters are there to combat the mutant gourds and try to smash their wicked 
scheme. 
Winner- Annie Award.

 Sierra Madre Playhouse is located at 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre, CA 91024. 
Website: http://sierramadreplayhouse.org 

Covid safety protocols in effect on the day of the event will be observed. 

THE MOUNT WILSON 
TRAIL RACE IS 
TODAY!! 

At last, the fabled, fantastic, best 
trail race anywhere is back! I’m 
hoping it’s going to be a beautiful 
day with cool temperatures and 
nobody falls down. Here’s some 
information you already know, 
but there might be somebody 
out there reading the Mountain 
Views News today who doesn’t 
know… 

“The Mount Wilson Trail Race 
is the second oldest trail race 
in California; first held in 1908 
when runners raced to Mt. 
Wilson, rested half an hour, 
then raced back down and only 
a very few intrepid runners 
attempted it. The race was held 
sporadically from 1908 until the 
late 1940’s – early 1950’s when 
it was abandoned completely. 
Organized by a volunteer 
committee and sponsored by 
our fair city, Sierra Madre, 
the current race is 8.6 miles in 
length. The exact course has 
been changed by erosion, fires and earthquakes, but is lovingly maintained by some amazing 
guys who wield shovels, move boulders, avoid the occasional bear, and just generally keep 
the trail in good shape.” That was mostly from the Mt. Wilson Trail Race web page, except 
for that last part about the guys who keep the trail in good shape. 


My best friend and trail race aficionado, John, and I spent many years on Trail Race day 
walking downtown to grab a cup of coffee at Beantown, visit with friends, look at all the 
goodies on display and available for purchase on Kersting Court, be awed and astonished 
by whatever young person was delivering the National Anthem, watch the runners take 
off, occasionally including our daughter, Leah, enjoy the little kids’ races, and hang out till 
the first runners returned in some astonishingly fast time, usually around an hour. John 
is watching the race from heaven, along with Bud and Kevin Switzer, who both ran the 
race with astonishing speed for many years – which brings to mind that great verse from 
Hebrews... 

“Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay 
aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance 
the race that is set before us.” Heb. 12:1 

The scarecrow competition is heating up all over town. And this guy tromping through 
the roses certainly fits the description of a scarecrow: “a scarecrow is an object made to 
resemble a human figure, set up to scare birds away from a field where crops are growing.” 
Also, “an object of baseless fear.” 

We could certainly apply the term “scarecrow” meaning ‘an object of baseless fear’ to an 
awful lot of what is going on in our world currently, but I digress! 

A scarecrow’s meant to scare you, to make you go away,
If you’re a crow and think you’ll steal the seeds that we just planted.
This scarecrow standing in the roses, would make anybody fly away.
His clothes are a fashion nightmare, the colors just plain scary. 
His face a bony skeleton mask with a creepy toothy smile.
The hat he wears does match his coat, but neighbors have a care!
For when the moon is full and bright, like it just might be tonight,
This scarecrow standing in the roses, can cause an awful fright!
For maybe when it’s midnight, he can move and dance and sing,
He might be more than a chubby guy, walking on the roses,
He might just be a living, breathing, terrifying thing! 

More and more pumpkins are appearing just about everywhere you look and there’s 
something about them that just make you smile. Yes, it’s definitely Fall. And if you have 
a few minutes after you watch the Trail Race and want a special treat to start your day 
tomorrow, make these muffins. Easy, fast and delicious… 

Apple Pumpkin Muffins 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Makes 1-1/2 dozenIn a large bowl combine: 

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour2 cups sugar1 tsp. baking soda1 tsp (generous) ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

 In a small bowl combine: 

2 eggs1 cup canned pumpkin
½ cup vegetable oil2 cups peeled, chopped apples (Granny Smith works well here) 

Fold egg mixture into flour mixture just until blended. 

Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake 30-35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before 
removing from pan. Enjoy! 

Watch for scarecrows. You’ll find them where you least expect them to be! 

Have a great week, dear friends and neighbors. Treat yourself to a couple of these muffins 
and enjoy the cooler days and nights. 

“Sunrises & Sunflowers Speak Hope” 
is a great gift for yourself or someone you love! 
Look for it on my book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis 
“A Tablespoon of Love, A Tablespoon of Laughter”
is also available on my Amazon book page.
Emma Gainsworth fans…the new one is almost ready to release on Kindle! 

PLEASE STAY SAFE! 
GET VACCINATED! 

SOCIALLY DISTANCE! 

WEAR A MASK! 

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 
Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com