Natural Hazards Observer
| September 2004 | Volume XXIX | Number 1 |
The Southern California Fire Siege
The Southern California fire siege that began on October 21 and continued though November 7, 2003, was the most devastating fire event in our state's history. On reflection, the impact of the event seems unreal.
- 739,597 acres burned
- 24 deaths
- Five counties involved in the federal disaster declaration (Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura)
- 15,631 total personnel assigned (not including the hundreds of individuals assigned to emergency operations centers and volunteers)
- Upwards of $4 billion in damages
To those unfamiliar with California, this may seem surprising since popular images in the media are typically of our tourist areas. Those familiar with California are not so surprised. The Governor's Blue Ribbon Fire Commission Report released in April 2004 put it succinctly: "California is a fire-prone state." The report goes on to remind us that Southern California has the highest population in the U.S. residing in a fire-prone wildland/urban interface.
While past events such as the Oakland Hills Fire in 1991 and the 1993 Southern California fires have resulted in many positive changes to our emergency management and mutual aid systems, we still have much to do to decrease the vulnerability of those residing in our wildland/urban interface. Indeed, the Blue Ribbon Commission issued 33 findings and 51 recommendations in five areas of concern.
- Jurisdictional and operational barriers
- Training
- Interstate regional mutual aid systems
- Local building, planning, and land use regulations, brush clearance and fuel mitigation
- Communications, interoperability, information technology, and public outreach
Our work is cut out for us. The most challenging tasks will likely be enacting building codes, adjusting land use regulations, and ensuring that brush clearance and fuel mitigation activities are implemented and maintained.
The Past as Prelude
The response to the 2003 fire siege did not begin in October, but in the previous months and years. Following the Oakland Hills Fire of 1991 the California legislature enacted the Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) to manage response to multiagency and multijurisdictional emergencies. Based on the Incident Command System (ICS), SEMS has unified emergency response across the state and is often touted as a national model.
The 1993 Southern California fires resulted in changes to building codes throughout the region. As you drive around housing constructed or remodeled since 1993, you will see fire-resistant roofs, fire-resistant wall materials, and dual pane windows. In some areas you will also see fire-resistant materials used in patio covers and fencing as well as green belts that can serve as natural fire breaks. Where such practices were in place before the 2003 fires, their positive impact was quite noticeable. Enactment of the strictest codes is often not an easy decision, but most of our local communities have been moving in this direction. This is even truer following last fall's devastating fires.
Adaptability-MAST and MASG
MAST
The implementation of system, program, and policy changes are typical following any large-scale disaster. Agencies, organizations, and individuals demonstrate a great deal of creativity and adaptability before and during events as well. The long-term drought affecting the West spurred a bark beetle infestation in the San Bernardino and Cleveland National Forests. At present, over fifteen million trees are dead or dying due to this infestation. This prompted federal, state, and local response and emergency management agencies to come to terms with a potential conflagration impacting upwards of 100,000 people.
The creative solution to addressing this multijurisdictional and multifaceted problem was the creation of the Mountain Area Safety Taskforce (MAST, or FAST-Forest Area Safety Taskforce-in San Diego County). MAST is organized on an ICS model, but that merely represents the more formal aspect of the effort. By tying citizen groups like Fire Safe Councils together with the collective efforts of federal, state, local, and private agencies to focus on the preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation aspects of the problem, MAST has become a very effective response to a very complex problem.
Interestingly, MAST has no authority in and of itself. Participants come together either in one of the MAST sections (e.g., Planning and Intelligence) or the Multiagency Coordination group to identify problems and to leverage individual program activities to solve them. A sample of the agencies involved indicates not only the complex nature of the problem, but also the high level of dedication to solving the problem in a unified manner.
- The U.S. Forest Service
- The Natural Resource Conservation Service
- County and local agencies, including fire, law enforcement, emergency management, and public works
- Fire Safe Councils
- State agencies, including the Office of Emergency Services (OES), Caltrans, and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
Another positive aspect of MAST is the incorporation of private entities. Because dead trees can fall on transmission lines and initiate fires, power companies are potential contributors to the wildfire problem. Both Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric have joined with MAST to coordinate their extensive tree removal programs (well over $50 million expended) and assist private homeowners with tree removal along service lines. MAST agencies focus tree removal efforts in hazardous areas identified in blocks to effectively leverage individual program responsibilities. The same is true along identified evacuation routes.
MAST stands as a great example of how, when faced with a potential problem, agencies, the community, and private industry can come together to create and implement unique solutions. Although it operates in a recognizable "system framework," MAST is essentially a creative problem solving body. By integrating preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation-the disaster cycle-into a single effort, MAST demonstrates how effective creative collaboration can be.
MASG
Another great example of adaptability is the creation of the Multiagency Support Group (MASG). The MASG arose from the urging of the Forest Service and the OES to identify postfire hazards and rehabilitation and mitigation needs, as well as coordinate interagency program activities to maximize effectiveness. Simply put, the MASG was an attempt to extend interagency coordination from the response phase into the recovery period. By operating at an informal level outside of "normal" recovery operations, the MASG was able to identify the need for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to clear debris basins in the burn area, utilize the capabilities of the U.S. Geological Survey to identify debris flow probabilities and correlate them with Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps, and assist the state of California with the identification of mitigation priorities.
When policy problems were identified as roadblocks, agency representatives were able to turn to their respective agencies for solutions. Even though the incorporation of local government concerns into the MASG could be improved, it is a unique and positive approach to interagency coordination as well as to response and recovery integration. Indeed, the Blue Ribbon Commission hails it as great example of interagency integration in the context of the National Incident Management System.
Conclusion
California's vulnerability to fires is well demonstrated. While past events have prompted us to lower risk and revise our emergency management systems, we still have improvements to make. This was clearly demonstrated in the 2003 Southern California firestorms. System changes alone are not enough to lower risk. Individual homeowners, communities, and agencies at all levels of government will be challenged to find new and creative ways to address the problem. Adaptability as demonstrated in the pre- and postfire environment is a testament to the creativity and sense of purpose of the individuals and agencies involved. When coupled with individual action and system changes, these efforts will help us break our devastating fire cycle.
Stephen Sellers
State of California, Governor's Office of
Emergency Services, Southern Region
Internet Resources
http://www.oes.ca.gov/
The Governor's Blue Ribbon Fire Commission Report is available here.
http://www.calmast.org/mast/public/index.html
More information about MAST is available here.