MARK WALKER - mlwalker@nctimes.com | Posted: Friday, October 9, 2009 9:20 pm
Earlier this month, as hot, dry Santa Ana winds blew through the region, a small brush fire broke out at Rincon Ranch Road and South Mesa Drive in Pauma Valley.
Within minutes, nearly a half-dozen fire engines and a firefighting helicopter descended on the backcountry site.
The fire was quickly contained to less than an acre, and most of the crews and the helicopter turned for home.
"When we get a vegetation fire in a remote area, we start all the engines, the aircraft, the dozers and everything," said Capt. Nick Schuler of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. "It's always easier to cancel them than not to have enough resources when we first get there."
Initial responses to a report of a fire haven't always been that massive. That changed after devastating firestorms tore through the county in 2003 and 2007.
Since those two conflagrations killed 26 people and destroyed 4,150 homes, CalFire officials say San Diego County has improved brush clearance, added dozens of new fire engines and brush rigs and increased staffing from three to four firefighters per engine company.
Fire officials also secured a host of additional aerial resources, including water-dropping Marine Corps helicopters that weren't available in 2003 and that weren't immediately available in the 2007 firefight.
A reverse 911 system has been implemented so authorities can call people to warn them fire is on the way, an early-warning system that wasn't there in 2003 but was used successfully in 2007.
Improvements in communication channels, better mutual aid agreements, enhanced training, and updated mapping of remote areas and "fire trail" access roads also have improved the region's readiness, officials say.
"We have more firemen, more equipment and better training," said Ralph Steinhoff, fire services coordinator for San Diego County, which provided money to rural fire districts to buy 30 new fire engines. "We have better coordination, and we've addressed almost everything that was identified as presenting an opportunity for improvement."
Among the departments that bought newer fire engines and related equipment is the North County Fire Protection District that serves the Fallbrook, Rainbow and Bonsall areas. Spokesman John Buchanan said the department bought a third four-wheel-drive brush rig that allows firefighters to access isolated areas.
"We can go into a lot more rugged terrain now and get to the fire, rather than waiting for the fire to come to us," Buchanan said.
But an effort to streamline local fire resources last year failed. Proposition A would have levied an annual parcel tax of $52 to raise $50 million for rural firefighting and create a regional fire authority comprising the county, 18 cities and rural departments. Voters failed to give it the two-thirds majority needed for passage.
And a report issued in September says the county still spends far less per capita on firefighting resources than Orange and Los Angeles counties.
'Wind events'
No matter how much staffing or additional equipment comes to the region, nothing in modern fire science can stop Santa Ana wind-fueled fires.
"There are simply conditions where we can't stop a blaze from spreading," said CalFire Battalion Chief Ray Chaney. "Look to the recent fires in the Los Angeles area. They have more resources there than anywhere in California, but they can't stop the wind."
The 2003 and 2007 blazes were driven by howling winds that threw embers hundreds of feet into the air, in some instances depositing them as much as a mile away.
"With wind-driven fires, there's just not a lot that we can do," said Battalion Chief Randy Scales of the Julian Fire Protection District. "But we're definitely in better shape than we were. We're in a better position to get a quicker handle on things."
Communication issues that saw some departments unable to talk to others during past fires have been addressed, and what amounted to a handful of helicopters and airplanes a few years ago is now a fleet of federal, state, city, county and military firefighting aircraft.
"That's important, because it gives us a lot more tools to utilize in support of a ground attack," said Chaney, who oversees the Ramona Air Attack Base, where two retardant-dropping airplanes are stationed along with a small plane that serves as his airborne command post. He also oversees the county's helicopter resources, which include two city of San Diego and two San Diego County helicopters.
The military resources now available include more than 20 Miramar Marine Corps Air Station and Camp Pendleton helicopters. The helicopters can fly during high winds if the pilot believes conditions are safe. But if the wind is so strong that aerial drops lack precision, they won't fly, Chaney said.
"It comes down to me asking the pilot how bad the turbulence is and determining if they can be effective. If water or retardant is coming out and blowing sideways, there's no point to continuing," he said.
San Diego Gas & Electric also is contributing to the air war, making a "sky crane" helicopter for construction of its Sunrise Powerlink project available to drop 2,000 gallons of water per trip.
"It's the next best thing to a tanker airplane," Scales said.
Not enough
A report released last month notes some of the improvements, but also criticizes the county for not spending more on fire resources.
The report from the National University Institute for Policy Research found San Diego County spends less per person on fire resources than Orange and Los Angeles counties.
While agencies in Orange County spent $190 per person and Los Angeles County spent $219 per capita, San Diego County agencies spent $153.75 per capita.
The report was co-written by Jeff Bowman, an Escondido resident and former fire chief who often is critical of what he believes are insufficient backcountry resources. It argued that many of the recent changes do little to preserve life and property. The failure of Prop. A didn't help matters, the report said.
"The region has not had the additional funds needed to build the kind of surge capacity that would allow it to rapidly respond with an overwhelming force during the next wildfire event," it said.
County officials have attacked the per capita statistics as comparing "apples and oranges," noting that the two counties to the north are more heavily urbanized and have larger tax bases.
Brush, eyes and ears
While not a high-tech wonder or shiny piece of fire equipment, millions spent in recent years creating "defensible space" around homes and outbuildings is seen as vital because it removes the kind of tinder-dry brush that fueled the 2003 and 2007 fires.
The county also has six teams of 12 to 15 volunteers who roam remote regions during red-flag conditions to act as eyes on the ground, quickly reporting any sightings of smoke or flame. Amateur radio operators also patrol the region during times of high fire danger.
Each spring, firefighters from throughout the county gather for a weeklong training exercise usually conducted on a local Indian reservation. Departments send one to five fire engines and crews, and the combined force conducts a large wildfire simulation exercise.
"It helps reacquaint everybody and streamlines communication techniques, tactics and strategy and helps establish a common terminology," said CalFire Capt. Darryl Pina. "It's just one more way we are doing more to work together."
Trail mapping
San Diego County firefighters soon will have another tool in their arsenal thanks to an ongoing project to map all the known fire trails in the county.
While unsuitable for regular vehicles, the trails can be used by brush rigs, bulldozers and similar equipment to reach remote areas to stop a fire or create a fire break.
The project is being led by Terry Salmon of the UC Cooperative Extension and involves graduate students mapping trails and assessing how passable they are.
"They're trails with fuel breaks that CalFire (the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection) maintains on public and private property," Salmon said.
Driving the project in part have been the retirements of longtime fire officials whose knowledge of those trails might not have been handed down, Salmon said.
"The ultimate goals is that when someone comes in from outside the area, such as a fire captain from Nevada, they can immediately find out where off-road access routes are," he said. "The potential payoff is huge."
The project, which is being conducted in partnership with CalFire, relies on walking and driving the fire trails and using a global positioning system to identify their precise location.
Salmon also has overseen development of the Web site www.wildfirezone.org, which offers extensive information for homeowners to use before, during and after a wildfire.
Call staff writer Mark Walker at 760-740-3529.