Santa Clarita Valley History In Pictures
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Soledad Division Headquarters, County Forestry Dept.
Newhall, California


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Soledad Division Headquarters of the Los Angeles County Forestry Department at 1457 San Fernando Road in Newhall.

According to Brunner's 1940 history, this structure was erected during the winter of 1928.

Between 1948 and 1954, the County Department of Forester and Fire Warden, Fish and Game and Fire Protection Districts consolidated to become the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

As for 1457 San Fernando Road, the address was renumbered in the 1950s and renamed in 2008. In the 1950s this building was replaced with what's now Fire Station 73 on the north side of this same property (roughly where the photographer is standing), which current address is 24875 Railroad Ave.


From Fire Capt. Paul Peppard, Fire Station 73-B, Battalion 6, Los Angeles County Fire Department (2014):

The Los Angeles County Fire Department was born from the State's Forest Protection Act of 1905 out of a need to protect our watershed (read: drinking water). The County Board of Supervisors appointed the County Fish and Game Warden to the additional position of Fire Warden. This soon evolved into the Los Angeles County Department of Forester and Fire Warden, a title our fire chief still holds today.

Our initial focus was the wildland areas of the county, with rapid growth occurring in that realm in the early 1920s. At the same time, unincorporated townships were sprouting up throughout the county, so it fell on the Forester and Fire Warden to provide fire protection to these communities, which was accomplished by establishing "fire protection districts" to levy taxes to fund fire protection. So the county fire department became two different "departments" under one roof: the Forestry Department and the Fire Protection Districts — Forestry for the wildland and districts for the towns. (Newhall Fire Protection District actually formed in 1953, so we technically had two different "departments" operating out of one station: E73 for the wildland and E273 for the township.)

It wasn't until 1954 that the two "departments" merged and became the Los Angeles County Fire Department.


FD2801: 19200 dpi jpeg from jpeg courtesy of Fire Capt. Paul Peppard, Station 73, Los Angeles County Fire Department, 2014.
EARLY L.A. COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT, SCV

Agency Description 1940
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LACoFD-USFS 1923

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1928 Fire (Forestry) Station, Newhall

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1928 Fire (Forestry) Station, Newhall

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Pumper & 1928 Soledad Div. HQ, Newhall

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Asst. Chief's 1929 Buick, Newhall

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1933 Pumper, Newhall

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Asst. Warden's 1937 Chevy Carryall, Newhall

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Station 73 Dedication 7/1958

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Station 73 Newhall 1970s

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Station 73 Newhall 2008

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