5 P.M. UPDATE: Firefighters have abandoned efforts to rescue the trapped people on Gold Creek Road, deeming the rescue operation too hazardous, at least for now. 

The most incredible news about today's growing fire, which many fire officials fear could get whipped into a massive conflagration this afternoon as winds pick up, was that firefighters were forced to helicopter in over huge shooting flames, fighting against treacherous heavy smoke, to try to rescue an unknown number of total fools who did not leave the evacuated Gold Creek Road area.

It's not about fierce independence at this point. It's about stupid people who live along a long (from the maps, it looks more than 5 miles long), very remote, very winding road, thus causing firefighters with families and good lives to risk their own health and existence -- for another person's fierce independence.

According to KTLA, here's what happened:

"People are apparently trapped in a previously evacuated area near Gold Creek, a few miles north of Lakeview Terrace off Little Tujunga Road, and they are in imminent danger from the Station Fire, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

"Spokesman Steve Whitmore says it is unclear how many people are in the fire-ravaged area, but a sheriff's helicopter crew is attempting to reach them.

"Those people were told to get out two days ago, and now we are putting our people in danger to get them out," Whitmore says.

We don't know yet if the firefighters succeeded, but Godspeed to them, the poor bastards.

InciWeb has a good map showing the edges of the fire, here. It is unknown whether the people who refused to obey the required evacuation are living only along Gold Creek Road, or whether there might also be homes on a twisting, remote branch of Gold Creek called Witherspoon Road.