So the fire actually did reach the Olive View Medical Center. I just saw a report from the parking area outside the hospital. Frightening story, actually.

So those winds did drive the fire from where I was watching the fire on TV last night, across a series of canyons towards the medical center around 2 am. Outlying bungalows used as office space burned down as the flames approached the main hospital. The reporter was standing next to an LA City ambulance that was totally burnt out--just an empty, black metal shell. And the roof of the main hospital actually caught on fire last night.

Apparently at least some patients were in the process of being evacuated when the main power went out. At that point, reportedly two emergency generators failed so there was no power in the hospital. I assume that only the battery-powered emergency lights, probably mostly just over the exit doors, and flashlights was all the light they had. Staff had to manually assist those patients on ventilators. The generators were eventually brought back on line, but it sounds like it took at least a couple hours to fix them. That must've been a stressful night in the hospital.

Well, some heads will probably roll over those generators, but the incident just goes to show that Murphy is on the prowl and just being in a building with multiple generator backup is no guarantee of having power when you need it the most--like in the dark hours of night with a fire raging just outside.