A Note to Canyon Folk

Well, as you may have read on the News Page of the Pack Station site, cabin #78 was burned down. No, it didn't burn down. The cabin's owner, Daniel Kish, did a really stupid thing and burned the cabin down. He had been repeatedly warned that the faulty stovepipe installation was dangerous, that he was lucky the cabin hadn't burned already. Yet he insisted on giving the stove a chance, which put all the other cabins and human lives in jeopardy. He gambled and lost. Daniel knew that the cabin wall could combust, yet he failed locate his fire extinguisher in advance of lighting the fire; he didn't remove the explosives from the premises; he didn't even keep an eye on the warmth of the wall, so that he might douse the fire in the stove before things got out of control. A lot of people are righteously angry with him.

The Big Santa Anita is a very pretty canyon. However, there are other canyons in the San Gabriels that still have cabins; canyons with perennial streams, waterfalls and lush growth. Yeah, they have electricity and don't have a pack station. But, to look at those canyons they are not much different from ours. I think the true beauty of this canyon is the sense of community.

I liked when Michael Kennedy of the Los Angeles Times announced us as "a kwirky cast of characters". We are an eclectic bunch that somehow manages to get along and care for each other. Outside The Canyon we don't have much in common, but here we are family. And where I come from, family doesn't give up on its own just because they did something stupid. There was no malicious intent to what Daniel did, and think about how he feels now without his beloved cabin. No one needs to tell him how stupid it was. I'll bet every one of us has had some kind of close call with fire, or done something else without thinking that could have been disastrous.

I don't want to see the Forest Service deny Daniel a permit because he is blind, or find some "official" reason that he cannot rebuild. It don't want him to get special treatment either. There has been talk that his original permit may not have been in order, which could prevent him from rebuilding. But we all know how slow that process is and it may not be Daniel's fault that he hadn't signed a permit. Dr. Bill White, benefactor of Lizzie's Trail Inn in Sierra Madre, and Glen Owens of cabin #62 & the Big Santa Anita Historical Society, are already talking about getting funds to help him rebuild. I'd like to think they would do that for any of us, or at least for the sake of preservation. Besides, I doubt Daniel wants any charity.

I think Daniel needs to take some responsibility, though. One person said it best that he has acted like a teenager: "Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it; why'd you do it?" "I don't know". He said that he was told about other bad stove installations in The Canyon, and that they hadn't burned. That's no excuse for lighting his own. He is also being very defensive because of his blind equality cause, and that may come across as nonchalance. I think mostly he is embarassed. If Daniel is allowed to rebuild the cabin, it is my opinion that he needs to admit that blindness has its handicaps, and that special attention should be given to his needs for the safety of everyone. If he promised to take a different approach from now on, and asked for help from the cabin community, I'm sure that all of you good people would be behind him 100 percent.

As for the contractor that installed the stovepipe, it's no secret that it was Dan Ames of Sierra Madre. He's not some fly-by-night kinda guy and probably feels worse than anyone. Many of you may know him as the man who often helped Kim Kelley with the Pack Station. He rode up to Sturtevant's with her on Friday's, he patrolled your cabins when Kim's knees prevented her from doing so, he rebuilt the tack room on the barn when a horse took it out; and when Kim finally decided to erase all memory of Xoxa, and took down the sign that said We Um Attaxxum Pack Station, it was Dan that took it upon himself to put up a sign that says Adams' Pack Station. He too has a great affection for this canyon and respect for it's history.

My first feelings about rebuilding were "That's not right. Who wants a new cabin in here?" But then I thought about other cabins. Cabin #51 is only 30 years old, #99 is only 20 years old, and so much wood was replaced on #130 fifteen years ago that it is practically new. Every time I pass that sad little chimney of cabin #112 I wish it had been rebuilt after it burned down. I also considered techniques for distressing the wood prior to assembly in order to give an aged look. I am now in favor of rebuilding cabin #78 and would love for Daniel to stay here with us.