Calif. firefighters suggest response improvements

By Aaron Burgin
The Press Enterprise

FALLBROOK, Calif. — The response to recent Southern California wildfires was much improved but more resources and planning are still needed to deal with fires in the future, state and area firefighters told a congressional panel Monday in Fallbrook.

The hearing's purpose was to gather information about the response to the wildfires and report to Congress, which would determine what role the federal government could play in bolstering firefighting efforts, the panel said.

The Domestic Policy Subcommittee Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing held at the Fallbrook Public Utilities District was moderated by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, and Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Carlsbad, and chaired by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio.

Fire officials and the congressional panel agreed that while the response to the October wildfires was a vast improvement over the response to wildfires of 2003, there is still work to be done.

"This was a 99 percent perfectly fought fire and a 100 percent textbook-fought fire," Issa said of the efforts. "We are here to find ways we can continue to improve."

Availability
Monday's testimony focused on San Diego County, the region hardest hit by the wildfires that burned more than 500,000 acres and destroyed 2,233 homes in Southern California.

Kucinich said San Diego County's fire response had been bolstered in the years after the 2003 Cedar Fire. The county spent almost $130 million to purchase two helicopters, improve its emergency communications system, remove 417,000 dead, dying and diseased trees, and implement a reverse-911 system.

But the need for more resources was a clear theme among the speakers, who said firefighters were fortunate no fires occurred in Northern California during the October wildfires.

"Imagine, had there been only four additional fires in Northern California," Kucinich said. "There would not have been sufficient resources to respond to them all."

Panelists discussed the possibility of a fire department for San Diego County, where historically a number of smaller fire-protection districts have handled firefighting efforts. They also discussed the need for improved brush clearance and fire prevention in state and federally managed lands, which make up 51 percent of the county.

Several panelists stressed the need for more agencies to purchase more fire engines exclusively for fighting wildfires - a recommendation of the state Blue Ribbon Fire Commission following the 2003 wildfires.

"It is the least-expensive and most-effective recommendation," said Jeffrey Bowman, former chief of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

Local Vs. Regional
Bowman said the blue ribbon panel recommended the state Office of Emergency Services purchase 150 engines.

Only 19 have been purchased, none of which were used during the 2007 wildfires, Bowman said.

The lack of resources was evident in San Diego, said San Diego Fire-Rescue Chief Tracy Jarman, who said the county's lack of firefighting resources placed a strain on her agency.

The chief said she would consider not deploying her forces to county areas during the next major wildfires because of that strain.

Jarman said the county would benefit from consolidating many of its districts, a plan that has been studied by the San Diego County Local Agency Formation Commission since 2005.

"Other fire agencies and local governmental jurisdictions need to step up and share the responsibility of helping resolve the regional issues," Jarman said.

While several panelists agreed with Jarman, others said the structure of the agency was not as important as the funding and resources available to the agency.

California Department of Forestry Director Ruben Grijalva, who cited Riverside and Los Angeles counties as successful fire-department models, said the key with both was the funding.

"Both invest a significant amount of money for their fire protection," Grijalva said.