Gentle readers, my apologies for including some erroneous information in my last column. Commenting on the catastrophic fire that destroyed much of Pacific Palisades last week, I wrote the following:
The Los Angeles Fire Department is excellent, and when red-flag conditions occur as they did last week, the department redeploys resources into areas most vulnerable to wildfires. Pacific Palisades is but one of those areas, with others scattered across a wide expanse of the city in the Hollywood Hills and the fringes of the San Fernando Valley.
I lived in Pacific Palisades for many years and frequently passed by the two Los Angeles Fire Department stations that serve the area, Stations 23 and 69, both of which are on Sunset Boulevard. Station 23, near the intersection of Sunset and Pacific Coast Highway, houses an engine, an ambulance, and a brush-patrol rig, i.e., a four-wheel-drive pickup equipped with hoses and a small water tank. Station 69, in the center of the Palisades, houses two engines, a ladder truck, and an ambulance.
When I lived in the area, it was common to see three or four additional engines from elsewhere in the city parked at both stations on days of extreme fire danger, known as “red flag” days. When I wrote last week that on the day the Palisades fire broke out, the LAFD had “redeployed resources into areas most vulnerable to wildfires,” I did not know, and could not have imagined, that Pacific Palisades was not among the areas receiving reinforcements.
And yet, as the Los Angeles Times reported Monday, that’s what happened. From the Times story:
Fire officials chose not to order the firefighters to remain on duty for a second shift last Tuesday as the winds were building — which would have doubled the personnel on hand — and staffed just five of more than 40 engines that are available to aid in battling wildfires, according to the records obtained by The Times, as well as interviews with LAFD officials and former chiefs with knowledge of city operations.
None of the five extra engines was sent to Pacific Palisades until the fire was out of control.
The Palisades fire broke out on the morning of Jan. 7 in brush near the Palisades Highlands neighborhood, about four miles from the closest fire station, Station 23. WatchDuty.org has a timeline of the fire, the first entry of which was posted at 10:33 a.m.: “Resources are responding to a reported vegetation fire with smoke visible on the Temescal Canyon camera.”
At 10:50, WatchDuty reported: “The fire is approx 10 acres in heavy fuel, aligned with the wind with a potential for 200 acres in 20 minutes, Structures are immediately threatened - per copter at scene.”
It's clear that by the time Station 23's engine company arrived, the fire was beyond their ability to control it. Fire Station 69, with its two engines and a ladder truck, is six miles from the Highlands, more than a ten-minute drive even when running code three.
The next-closest fire station to the Highlands is Station 19, which houses a single engine and an ambulance. It’s more than ten miles away. Beyond that is Station 37, near the UCLA campus, with its two engines, a ladder truck, and an ambulance. It’s almost 13 miles away.
At 11:29, WatchDuty reported: “The fire is now estimated at approx 200 acres and is currently bumping the area of Chastain Parkway E & Calle Brittany - per Radio Traffic.” At 11:43, they posted this: “Evacuation Orders have been requested for the fire area all the way down to the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) - per radio traffic. Exact parameters have not been stated at this time. Additionally the fire has spotted across Palisades Dr and is on both sides of the road - per radio traffic.”
In short, the fire grew far faster than firefighters could be sent to put it out, and we all know what happened later: nine people were killed (with more likely to be discovered later), and a thriving, almost idyllic seaside community was reduced to ashes.
We can only speculate on what effect a few extra fire companies might have had when the Palisades fire broke out last Tuesday. Had sufficient resources been in place, as they would have been in years past, the fire might have been quickly extinguished. For some reason, steps that were routinely taken when I lived in Pacific Palisades 20 years ago weren’t taken when they were most needed last week. Who in the Fire Department or the Los Angeles city government will stand up and tell us why?
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