Mt. Wilson Safe!

Science people have been waiting and biting their knuckles over this, as photos like the one above circulated. The smoke in the above picture, though, is not from the actual wildfire; it's from purposely-set backfires, intended to remove potential fuel before the wildfire reaches the facility.

The result?

Chief Powers expressed his absolute confidence that they will save the Observatory. He said that while it may have appeared over the last day or so that the Observatory was being neglected, that they never lost sight of the importance of Mount Wilson's preservation and it is now their highest priority. He flew up to the mountain yesterday, was delighted with what he found and knew they could achieve success here.

Via The Planetary Society Blog; click over for the full story. YAY!