Angeles Forest Dwellers Ignore Order to Evacuate

Some cabin dwellers in the Angeles National Forest are defying an order from park managers to evacuate immediately because of extreme fire danger, creating a tense standoff as the wildfire season approaches. Although the vast forest is mostly open space and campgrounds, it is also home to 500 cabins, many of them owned by residents who have lived there for years. Under the evacuation order, people in 120 of the cabins had to clear out by last Sunday because officials said the risk of a wildfire was so great that they doubted they could safely rescue the residents in case of a major blaze. It's the first time that forest officials have issued such a sweeping evacuation order — a sign, they say, of an unprecedented fire danger when Santa Ana winds arrive in October. But residents like Larry Bartlett are refusing to go....