THE SOUTHLAND FIRESTORM : Disaster Countered by Displays of Courage : Impact: Life is disrupted even for those outside rings of fire. Blazes take emotional toll throughout region.

In a year during which Southern California has braced for civil unrest, an unexpected conflagration Wednesday forced thousands of residents to cope with falling ash, power outages, blocked roads and the nagging sense that, in so many ways, we reside on combustible terrain.

Across the fire-ringed region, telephone lines were saturated, freeway off-ramps were closed, bus lines were rerouted, train service was delayed and schools were converted into emergency shelters. But, as thick, acrid smoke obscured the sun, casting an eerie yellow pall on the Los Angeles sprawl, life also was disrupted in more subtle ways.

“It’s been an unsettling summer,” lamented Karenann Pousard, co-owner of the Fantastic French Fry, a restaurant that opened last Friday in trendy Old Pasadena. “This is one more tension to have to go through, but hopefully we’ll see a warmer human spirit come out of the adversity.”

At Pasadena’s Crown City Hardware, a short distance from the fire zone, manager Ron Robertson sold four hoses, 12 nozzles, three pairs of goggles, two pairs of safety glasses and about 1,500 dust masks--more than he usually sells in a year. At the Pasadena Superior Courthouse, a clerk said that eight to 10 jurors had called in, asking to be excused because of the disaster.

Los Angeles animal shelters, along with Little Tujunga’s Wildlife Waystation, placed their veterinary staffs on alert to aid evacuated pets and livestock. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of Los Angeles warned patients to keep their medications nearby and avoid exercising outdoors. In Malibu, dozens of hearty surfers plunged into the ocean, taking advantage of summer-like temperatures and wind-swept waves.

“I like things shaken up a bit,” said Jim Carruth, a 38-year-old technical illustrator, sitting at an ash-covered table at a deserted outdoor cafe in Pasadena. “It drives people out of their comfortable realities.”

Worried that the acidic dust would damage their solar telescope--known as a triple-beam coelostat--officials at the Griffith Observatory decided not to open the facility’s dome. At the Downtown Car Wash, luxury sedans streamed in. “Some of the finer cars have come in,” said manager Monte Peterson. “But the average Joes haven’t made it yet.”

Nothing, though, compared to the outpouring of emotion at KABC-TV, where switchboards lit up when live news coverage preempted the soap opera stalwart, “All My Children.”

“Oh, honey, are you kidding?” asked an operator at the station, which decided to air the program at 1 a.m. for die-hard fans. “This is nothing to play with. They feel sorry for the people caught in the fire, but they still want their soaps.”

The emotional impact of Wednesday’s disaster should not be quickly dismissed, said Robert R. Butterworth, co-director of Contemporary Psychology Associates Inc., a Los Angeles counseling and research organization that treats victims of earthquakes and violent trauma.

With riots and floods in the last 18 months, plus the Reginald O. Denny beating trial and the Rodney G. King civil rights trial, “we’ve had a lot of bad breaks,” Butterworth said. “We just took a deep sigh of relief--and now this. In a sense, we’re like a boxer with weak knees, holding on to the ropes.”

In Thousand Oaks, some firefighters spent the day playing golf at the Los Robles Golf Course, where witnesses Tuesday had reported spotting an arsonist setting a blaze not far from the 16th hole.

The occasion was a benefit tournament, scheduled weeks ago, for two Los Angeles County firefighters critically injured in August battling a wildfire in Altadena Canyon. The event, organized by an official at the department’s Malibu training center, was expected to draw more than 160 golfers--almost all firefighters--each of whom paid $100 to attend.

But, in the end, at least half failed to show up, summoned away by the current emergency. “There’s an irony in that, I guess,” said organizer Bob Ramstead.

One of the two firefighters injured in the August blaze, 19-year-old Gabe Larios, was on hand, the skin grafts on his severely burned face protected by a clear plastic mask with holes for his eyes, nose and mouth. He was greeted warmly by his colleagues, most of whom had the day off and expected to be called into action by nightfall.

The day was generally festive on the pastoral course, which is so buffered by greenery that it was possible to briefly forget that flames were raging just a few miles away. But, as word circulated that several firefighters had been injured in Eaton Canyon, the mood turned somber.

“It’s unfortunate, but your job involves a certain amount of risk,” said Glenn Taulbee, a Los Angeles County firefighter. “We can’t call every shot.”

In Escondido, a few hardy foursomes stood their ground at the Eagle Crest Golf Course even as flames came within a few dozen yards of the back nine and helicopters from the state Department of Forestry dipped down to scoop water from the course’s water hazards.

“The safest place to be in a fire is in the middle of a golf course,” said assistant pro Bill Hughes. “Green grass doesn’t burn. Most of the guys just stayed home, but a few decided to play anyway.”

Southern California Edison reported that 138,000 customers lost power, mostly in Altadena, Thousand Oaks, Laguna Beach and Yucaipa. In most cases, electric poles burned down, although officials cut power to some areas to avoid an additional fire hazard, said Kevin Kelley, a spokesman for the utility.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power reported 10,800 customers without electricity, most of them in the San Fernando Valley. Extra emergency crews were dispatched to repair the damage, which was caused primarily by high winds, spokeswoman Debra Fass said.

The Southern California Gas Co. shut off service in Altadena and Laguna Beach. Pacific Bell issued a statewide advisory, asking all Californians to limit calls to the burn areas, where circuits were often overloaded.

Metrolink train service between Moorpark and Los Angeles was canceled in the morning because flames from a brush fire in the Chatsworth area moved too close to the tracks. Stranded commuters were taken by bus to their destination, said Metrolink spokesman Peter Hidalgo.

At least six Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus lines--mostly around Altadena and Pasadena--were affected by the fires. Pacific Coast Highway, between Kanan Dume and Malibu Canyon roads, was closed. The California Highway Patrol also urged motorists to stay off the Foothill (210) Freeway, especially in the Altadena area, where heavy smoke snarled traffic and forced officers to shut numerous northbound off-ramps.

“People are just stopping and looking,” said CHP spokesman Glen Dominguez. “It hasn’t been that big of a problem, but we just want to remind them to keep their windows rolled up--you don’t want those hot embers inside your vehicle.”

Few places were impacted more than Old Pasadena, where white ash rained from a gray sky above Colorado Boulevard. Normally packed outdoor restaurants were virtually deserted, and breakfast business was down 50% at the Pasadena Baking Company restaurant, where manager Douglas Castillo was worried about flickering lights and uncertain electrical power.

“It was very, very eerie,” he said of the brush fires and falling ash. “I’m not scared, but it is killing my business.”

Marion James, 56, described the fires as being “like doomsday.” She said she awoke at 7 a.m. to see embers coming through her windows as fierce Santa Ana winds hurled trash cans down the street and stripped palm trees of their fronds.

“I’ve been here all my life, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” she said while waiting at a bus stop on Colorado Boulevard. She left her Pasadena home to take a bus to “where the good air is,” she said.

Will Dunham, 32, was headed to his gym Wednesday morning when he stopped on Colorado Boulevard and scanned the mountains where he has explored hiking trails and old gold mines since his childhood. “It’s pretty freaky,” he said. “It’s very bizarre. It’s got a real weird vibe to it.”

The ominous gray canopy over Colorado Boulevard did offer a bonus to a film crew shooting exteriors for an American Playhouse production.

“It’s the film business,” said Robert W. McCarty, the best boy grip. “We don’t stop for logical things. We like it when it’s gray. We get to control the light.”

Fire Phone Numbers

Red Cross Hot Line: (818) 799-0841

Asthma & Allergy Foundation of L.A.: (800) 624-0044

For referrals to physicians.

Wildlife Way Station: (818) 899-5201

For advice on animal care and safety.

West Valley Animal Shelter: (818) 882-8800

East Valley Animal Shelter: (818) 764-7061