You Guest It: The California Fires

Like most fire departments, the Harwich Fire Department stands ready to meet the needs of our town. This is in no small part due to the support of the select board, finance committee, administration and the citizens of Harwich. However, there will always be incidents that tax our resources, and there is always the possibility of incidents like the recent fires in California, where no amount of preparation is enough to stop the fire. 

The fires that are currently burning in California are planned for but not common. While Los Angeles plans for these fires, there is no fire department with the resources and capability to stop fires driven by 80 to 100 mph winds. Even though LAFD pre-positioned resources in the area based on the threat of Santa Ana winds, winds they have dealt with before, there are not enough resources to combat four fires being driven by hurricane-force winds. While we have experienced winds similar to these during local storms, the winds were pushing rain, not fire. Imagine the rain in those storms being fire and embers. 

Like most municipalities, Los Angeles has a public water system. Water mains are supplied by wells and reservoirs, providing both domestic water for houses and businesses as well as supplying the hydrants used for fire suppression. Even with one reservoir offline for repairs, I am sure the water system was adequate for most fires LAFD would face. But with hundreds of houses burning and their water system severely damaged, the water system became depleted. There is only so much water it can provide. 

When fires are this big, mutual aid is needed. LAFD and LA County have a robust plan, supported by CalFire, a state forest fire agency similar to our department of conservation and recreation. Additionally interstate resources are also called upon. Because it takes time for them to arrive, these resources are typically used for relief purposes in long-duration fires. As part of this plan, out-of-state vehicles are given a maintenance inspection as they arrive in California. Minor repairs are made and CalFire makes sure they are prepared for the areas they will be deployed to. In some cases, tires are changed to better prepare vehicles for the terrain they will face. These inspections do not include any emissions checks and vehicles aren’t turned back. 

It is the responsibility of the fire chief to prepare the fire department to meet the public safety needs of the community. This responsibility includes working within the financial constraints of the budgetary process established by the community. It is rarely a perfect process, and often priorities have to be balanced by other needs. No department could prepare a budget that would meet the needs of an event like these current fires. It is not that this event was unpredictable. It is just that it is unprecedented in scale and required resources.

On top of the challenges presented by trying to rescue those trapped, evacuate those in the path, and save what property could be saved, LAFD also had to contend with providing information to both the community at risk as well as the media trying to report the story. Clearly the community takes priority, but in many cases the media is the source for this critical information. In several instances throughout this event the words of the LAFD have not been the best message. This is more of a reflection of the demand for information than it is their ability to respond to the fire. 

In the end there will be plenty of time to figure out what went right and what went wrong. Lessons will be learned, and improvements will be made. Until then, let’s support the firefighters engaged in protecting their community against a fire of unprecedented size and strength. Let’s support the thousands of ordinary people driven from their homes, with nothing left to return to. Finally, pray for the lives lost.