More aid to combat wildfires is urged

Three months after massive brush fires burned hundreds of homes across Southern California, a blue-ribbon task force on Friday made dozens of recommendations aimed at improving the response to large-scale blazes.

But many of the proposed measures are similar to those made after the devastating wildfires of 2003 -- and many of those were never implemented because there was no money available.

And because the state is in a fiscal crisis, it remains unclear whether the new recommendations will fare any better. Several reports over the last decade have said California needs to increase the number of firefighting aircraft as well as boost the number of firefighters.

Major recommendations in the report include:

* Hiring more firefighters to allow for permanent staffing of three per engine year-round and four per engine during periods of highest risk.

* Improving communications between firefighters of different agencies through the acquisition of satellite and other communication equipment.

* Fund the purchase of 150 new engines by the state Office of Emergency Services.

Los Angeles County Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman said this would allow fire agencies to more quickly and forcefully attack the most active wildfire fronts with a surge of equipment and firefighters.

“What many departments experienced in 2003 and also 2007 was an inability to send additional personnel to fires because there were no more engines to send,” Freeman said. “These engines are very critical, in my experience.”

The report includes a few new proposals, including working with local governments on issues such as how to better plan housing developments in wildfire-prone areas -- and whether they should be built at all.

“This could involve giving them information to let them make decisions about whether to build in the first place,” said Carroll Wills, spokesman for the California Professional Firefighters.

The panel also suggested cutting through red tape to allow local and state governments to better work with the military to deploy resources.

Many of the ideas were first proposed by an earlier commission appointed by the governor in 2003. That panel also called for 150 new fire engines, but as of last summer fewer than two dozen had been bought. Proposals to boost flights of water-dropping choppers and purchase equipment so that agencies could communicate better have also fallen far short.

The price tag associated with the 2003 report exceeded $1 billion.

Fire officials expressed cautious optimism that the latest recommendations would bear fruit, but they acknowledged that the state is in an economic crunch, with services being cut, and that some of the governor’s proposals could go nowhere because of opposition.

Because of the state’s financial crunch, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, could face a $44 million cut.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed a statewide surcharge on homeowners’ insurance to beef up fire protection in areas protected by the forestry department. Many groups say the surcharge would unfairly tax residents who do not live in places vulnerable to wildfires.

It also remains unclear whether revenues from the surcharge would boost existing fire budgets or simply cancel any cuts the governor has in mind.

In a statement, Schwarzenegger expressed support for the panel’s ideas.

“I am pleased that my budget priorities are consistent with many of the recommendations made in this report,” he said.

Terence McHale, public policy director for the union that represents state firefighters, was more optimistic. He said the benefits of the first panel’s recommendations were clearly felt during the 2007 wildfires -- so there was no reason to believe the latest proposals couldn’t bear fruit.

“The greatest improvement was the ability to move equipment and firefighters to where they were needed,” he said. “By the end of the second day of the 2007 siege, we were at levels of firefighters and equipment that it took a week to muster in 2003.”

McHale said he felt there was “a commitment by the governor to make sure the policies of the blue-ribbon commission are implemented.”

Lou Paulson, president of the California Professional Firefighters, said the sense of urgency was greater than ever.

“We’re seeing more ferocious fire activity based on things like climatic changes,” he said. “We’re seeing more dangerous wild land-urban fire activity. This is not going away.”

Still, officials said it was far from guaranteed that the funds would be there to make the recommendations a reality.

“The surcharge is meeting with a lot of concern and resistance, and it needs to be discussed,” Freeman said. “The main thing at this point is, these recommendations need to be kept on the front burner. We need to keep talking about it.”

hector.becerra@latimes.com