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A LONG WEEK AT THE OFFICE CANYON HIGH ALUM RACES CARS, MOTHER NATURE IN HECTIC 7 DAYS.


Byline: Tim Haddock haddock: see cod.
haddock

Valuable North American food fish (Melanogrammus aeglefinus, family Gadidae). A bottom-dweller that feeds on invertebrates and fishes, it resembles the cod, with its chin barbel (fleshy feeler) and two anal and three dorsal
 Staff Writer

SAUGUS - The past week-and-a-half has been seemingly seem·ing  
adj.
Apparent; ostensible.

n.
Outward appearance; semblance.



seeming·ly adv.
 never-ending for Scott Steele Scott Steele is a footballer, who has previously played for Woking, Airdrie, Kingstonian, and Walton & Hersham. He now plays for Bisley F.C. where he is finishing his footballing career as a midfielder/striker. References
  • Bisleyfc.com http://www.bisleyfc.
.

After competing in the final off-road race of the Pro-1600 Shoot-Out Series in Barstow, Steele was assigned to fight the Williams fire burning in the Angeles National Forest The Angeles National Forest (ANF) was established by executive order on December 20, 1892 as the San Gabriel Timberland Reserve. It covers over 2,600 km² (650,000 acres) and is located in the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles County, just north of the metropolitan area of Los  near Glendora.

The Canyon High graduate is a firefighter for the Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities.  Fire Department. He also drives a 1600-class car for a team that includes his older brother and fellow Canyon High graduate Brian Steele, and his brother-in-law Tevon Murachanaian, a Saugus High graduate.

The three team members entered the final event of the Shoot-Out Series with a chance to win the championship. But an accident at the midway point of the race knocked them from contention.

The accident only added to Scott Steele's workload in what amounted to a wild stretch of days.

``It's been a busy week,'' the 35-year-old said. ``(Thursday) was the first day I've had to come home and catch my breath:''

Thursday (Sept. 19): Scott Steele and some of his team members drove out to Barstow to pre-run the off-road course on motorcycles. They also prepared the car by measuring fuel intakes and inspecting the car for maintenance and performance.

``We went over the car with a fine-toothed comb fine-tooth comb   or fine-toothed comb
n.
1. A comb with teeth set close together.

2. A method of searching or investigating in minute detail:
,'' he said.

Friday (Sept. 20): Pre-race inspection took up most of the day. The team also set up the pit area for the race and did more pre-runs on the course.

``We had a shot at the championship and we wanted to pre-run a lot,'' Scott Steele said. ``We didn't have any problems with the car. It ran fantastic.''

Saturday (Sept. 21): Race day. Organizers held a drivers' meeting in the morning and went over the details of the course. The race had 41 entrants, the smallest turnout in the three-race Shoot-Out Series but a good draw for any off-road event.

The plan for the team was that Scott would drive the first four laps, then give way to Murachanaian for the final four.

``We're not the quickest car, but when we're consistent we don't have any problems,'' said Brian Steele, who was working in the pits during the race. ``Scott ran four perfect laps.''

When the team switched drivers, trouble followed. Murachanaian got about 5 miles into his first loop when he hit a hole in the course at 70 mph. The impact of hitting the hole knocked the driver and the rider in the car nearly unconscious.

After 6 more miles, Scott Steele replaced Murachanaian as the driver in the car.

``I had time to get a glass of water, grab my helmet and get back in the car,'' Scott Steele said.

Brian Steele took over driving duties on last lap of the race and the car finished fifth, good for third in overall points.

Sunday (Sept. 22): The Pro-1600 Shoot-Out Series held its end-of-the- season banquet at a Ramada ra·ma·da  
n. Southwestern U.S.
1.
a. An open or semienclosed shelter roofed with brush or branches, designed especially to provide shade.

b. An open porch or breezeway.

2.
 Inn in Barstow in the morning. Scott Steele then was off to his home in Saugus.

Meanwhile, the Williams fire erupted in the foothills overlooking o·ver·look  
tr.v. o·ver·looked, o·ver·look·ing, o·ver·looks
1.
a. To look over or at from a higher place.

b.
 Glendora and Azusa in the San Gabriel Mountains San Gabriel Mountains, S Calif., E and NE of Los Angeles, running c.50 mi (80 km) westward from Cajon Pass. San Antonio Peak (10,080 ft/3,072 m) is the highest of the range. Citrus fruits are raised on the southern foothills. . Almost every firefighting 1. firefighting - What sysadmins have to do to correct sudden operational problems. An opposite of hacking. "Been hacking your new newsreader?" "No, a power glitch hosed the network and I spent the whole afternoon fighting fires."
2.
 unit in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region,  was dispatched to fight the fire.

Monday (Sept. 23): Scott Steele arrived to work at his Beverly Hills firehouse and signed up to be part of a strike team to fight the Williams fire. He left on what would be a three-day assignment protecting homes along the Mountain Avenue portion of Glendora.

``We were assigned to areas that were in imminent danger,'' Steele said. ``We were not there to fight the fire but to protect structures.''

By the time Steele and the other units arrived, the fire had destroyed several buildings in the Angeles National Forest. But Steele said the fire stopped short of the areas they were assigned to protect.

After spending the day taking precautionary pre·cau·tion·ar·y   also pre·cau·tion·al
adj.
Of, relating to, or constituting a precaution: taking precautionary measures; gave precautionary advice.

Adj. 1.
 measures to protect the homes and structures in the area, Steele and other firefighters made a makeshift campsite in one of the resident's yards.

In the middle of the night, one of Steele's commanders woke him up. Apparently, a 600-pound bear had wandered out of the forest and into the yard where the firefighters were sleeping.

Tuesday (Sept. 24): The fire raged out of control for the third consecutive day. Steele and his units still were protecting structures in the area.

``The fire burned a horseshoe horseshoe, narrow plate, commonly of iron or steel, shaped to fit a horse's hoof and attached to the hoof by nailing it to the inner edge of the horny wall of the hoof.  around the whole area where we were,'' Steele said.

No structures burned in their area. No bears visited them that night, either.

Wednesday (Sept. 25): More of the same for Steele and the firefighters: No firefighting but plenty of precaution. The fire continued to rage out of control, with at best a reported 10 percent containment. The cities of Claremont, Glendora and La Verne La Verne (lə vûrn), city (1990 pop. 30,897), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles; inc. 1906. La Verne, which began as a citrus-processing center, now has varied manufacturing, including electronic components, apparel, hand  declared states of emergency, and the fire showed little signs of dying out.

Steele and the crews that were assigned to the area in Glendora were sent home Wednesday night.

On Saturday, Steele returned to his Beverly Hills firehouse. He expected a regular work day and said he would be surprised if we was sent out to fight the Williams fire again. But he also expected there would be a sign- up sheet to be on a strike team to handle any emergencies.

Be assured his name will be on it.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Pro 1600 driver Scott Steele participated in an off-road race and fought the Williams fire in the Angeles National Forest in the same seven-day span.
COPYRIGHT 2002 Daily News
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2002, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Publication:Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
Date:Sep 29, 2002
Words:908
Previous Article:WILLS EVOKES MEMORIES.
Next Article:TRAP-SHOOTING TRADITION CONTINUES.



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