Looking Back

As CV Weekly reaches its 10th anniversary, it looks back at the significant stories covered over the last decade.

By Mary O’KEEFE

Ten years ago the foothill communities were dealing with the Station Fire, which filled the skies over the Angeles National Forest and surrounding areas with flames and smoke.

Prior to Aug. 26, the beginning of the Station Fire, residents in the area knew they were living in an area surrounded by dry vegetation at a high risk for fire. A walk with U.S. Forest fire service personnel in the first part of August found the floor of the forest was a carpet of dry vegetation. Two residents realized being proactive was the best way to help their neighbors prepare for the possibility of upcoming fire.

Resident Kim Mattersteig organized a community meeting to talk about the need to prepare for a possible evacuation in the Briggs Terrace area, which has only one way in and out. The meeting was held at the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station community room to a standing room only crowd. After that Mattersteig worked with fire and law enforcement to organize an evacuation drill for Briggs Terrace, again a well-received exercise.

Resident Roger Young was at that meeting at the Sheriff’s Station. There he announced the formation of the CV Fire Safe Council. The CVFSC had been in effect a year before the Station Fire, its inaugural meeting held in August 2008. The Council reached out to work with community leaders, members of the ANF and J. Lopez, captain LA County Fire.

Young, who had been in the area during the Mill Fire in 1975, knew if there were another fire there needed to be a source for information for residents. The CVFSC has continued its efforts to educate and prepare residents for future fires and has been awarded many grants to further these goals.

“We have been successful in winning over $50,000 in grants over the last 10 years and continue to work on mediating fire hazards for the community, specifically Briggs Terrace,” Young said.

The Station Fire was started by an arsonist; however, the investigation still has not identified a suspect/suspects. One of the issues that is of concern during and after the Station Fire was the response by the U.S. Forest Service, including aerial water drops.

In a panel inquiry brought by Representatives Adam Schiff, Brad Sherman and Judy Chu, and then-Representatives Buck McKeon and David Dreier, U.S. Forest Service fire officials were questioned as to when water drops were ordered.

The incident commander at the beginning of the fire was Division Chief Will Spyrison (now retired). The commander had requested aircraft about midnight on
Aug. 27 for arrival by 7 a.m.

“I knew I [had to] have the aircraft by 7 in the morning [because] between 7 and 9 was the window of opportunity that would make a difference,” Spyrison said.

“So you think if you had gotten the aircraft there by 7 in the morning it would have made a difference and [the fire would not have gotten out of control]?” Schiff asked.

“Yes. If it was possible to have them there at 7…” Spyrison began then added, “You can play the what if game … it is hard to say. In my career I have not seen aircraft at 7 in the morning but there was that sense of urgency.”

The question soon became what did dispatch do with the request. According to Spyrison and Jody Norton, forest supervisor, the dispatcher was told to hold onto that request.

“Ten years ago, we faced the largest wildfire in the history of Los Angeles County” said Rep. Schiff. “The Station Fire spread rapidly through the Angeles National Forest and, in the frenzied days that followed, two firefighters lost their lives in the battle to contain the blaze and 90 homes were destroyed. Once the fire was contained and we assessed the damage, I became concerned, along with other members of our community, that a policy in effect at the time preventing night flights by firefighting aircraft meant we lost precious hours in the first moments of the fire.

“We’ll never know for certain, but a Government Accountability Office study that I secured along with my colleagues found that night flights might have helped contain the fire before it rampaged out of control. Following that finding and advocacy by members of Congress and others from our community, the forest service updated its policies to augment their night flying capabilities.

“As climate change increases the frequency and severity of California’s wildfires, we must constantly evaluate and strengthen our lines of defense to best protect our communities.”

“It’s been 10 years since the Station Fire and I still remember receiving the news of our fallen firefighters, Captain Tedmund Hall and Firefighter Specialist Arnie Quinones. I remain committed to honoring their memory by supporting our fire department,” said LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “Over the past decade, LA County Fire has made many meaningful changes in how we combat wildfires. We have instituted nighttime aerial reconnaissance and mapping and have implemented flying aircrafts for water drops at night as well. Collaboration with partner agencies has increased, which has strengthening our situational awareness while fighting wildfires. Most importantly, we have a better understanding that fighting fires is not confined to one season – we are on alert year-round. I’m confident that our expert firefighters have the resources and the expertise to tackle wildfires in the future.”

Wildfires are still a risk even in the area of the Station Fire as new vegetation has grown from the ashes. To help prevent wildfire, LA County and Glendale fire departments have been in neighborhoods conducting abatement checks.

“The biggest thing [residents can do] when getting into fire season with the Santa Ana winds [coming] is to clean up things next to your house,” said Bat. Chief Rob Gaylord, LACoFD Station 82.

He added that cleaning up loose leaves and rain gutters goes a long way to help harden a house against fire.

Winds provide an additional concern. When there are winds, embers can travel several miles. Whether a house is at the base of a forested area, like Angeles National Forest, or several miles down from the mountain clearing property of dried vegetation and shrubs is important.

“Just because you are a few blocks away [from the forest] doesn’t mean you are immune from wildfires,” he said.

He suggested residents take time to walk around their houses to see what could be a possible hazard, like shrubs and what firefighters call ladder fuels – live or dried vegetation that fire can climb up, like low hanging tree limbs.

For information on the CV Fire Safe Council visit cvfiresafecouncil.org.