By Allison Hoffman
The Associated Press
 AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian Brush burns behind a house in Santa Clarita, Calif., during the wildfires last year. |
SAN DIEGO — A panel reviewing last fall’s deadly Southern California wildfires called Friday for additional personnel and equipment as a means of responding quickly and with overwhelming force before small blazes spread.
In its report, the Blue Ribbon Commission Task Force recommended adding firefighters, fire engines and night-flying helicopters, but it didn’t estimate the cost of the improvements or suggest how to pay for them.
“We didn’t jump into the finance issue _ we just said, ‘Here’s what’s needed,’” said Mike Warren, chairman of the panel of fire chiefs and state officials. “Now it’s up to the Legislature and local governments to figure out the best means to accomplish that.”
One of the panel’s main tasks was to weigh in on the use of military planes and helicopters after criticism that some were left grounded because of bureaucratic rules and inadequate planning.
The report calls on Congress to provide equipment and training for the Defense Department and firefighting organizations, and recommends that a staffer in the state office of emergency services be designated as military liaison.
Nearly 2,200 homes were destroyed in simultaneous wind-driven blazes from north of Los Angeles south to the Mexican border, causing more than $2.2 billion in private insurance claims. Federal, state and local agencies spent about $100 million fighting flames that charred about 800 square miles and killed 10 people.
The state panel was created after California’s 2003 fires, which destroyed more than 3,600 homes, many in the same areas as last year’s blazes.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has included in his budget proposal a 1.25 percent surcharge on residential and commercial property insurance. The surcharge would raise about $100 million to be used to install GPS tracking on fire engines, expanding seasonal firefighting crews and buying 11 new all-weather helicopters for the state firefighting agency.
“I am pleased my budget priorities are consistent with many of the recommendations made in this report,” Schwarzenegger said in a statement.
But Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner’s office on Friday said the proposed surcharge appeared to violate tax provisions in California’s constitution.
“The initiative asks every homeowner, and every business, to pay for an additional risk that is not associated with their own properties,” the opinion read.
The group also endorsed plans to buy new helicopters equipped with night-vision technology for the state firefighting agency and suggested giving old helicopters to local agencies.
State fire officials said they are still studying whether it’s safe for pilots to fly firefighting missions after dark.