Blazes put fire officials on alert
Cal Fire-San Diego firefighter Andrew Russell, left, and Cpt. Angel Hendrie spend their 12th day on the road fighting fires and mopping up the remnants of the Sage fire in Santa Clarita.
With Santa Clarita’s 1,100-acre Sage fire about 92% extinguished, and just weeks after containment of the 5,400-acre San Gabriel Complex fire, those who fight flames in La Cañada are urging vigilance in what appears to be an early fire season.
Stephanie English, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Fire Department, said Monday about 700 county crew members were still battling the Sage blaze, which caused the evacuation of some 2,000 residents from their homes.
English said the area’s continued drought conditions, worsened by an especially weak El Niño weather pattern, coupled with high temperatures and intense winds create “a perfect storm” for potential fires in areas like La Cañada, where residences often interface with wildland forest areas populated by dry chaparral.
“There’s a lot of fire activity and this is relatively early for the fires we’re getting,” the spokeswoman said. “[The foothills area] has already been hit from the east and the west, and La Cañada is no different — it has the same kinds of fuels and brush and dry conditions.”
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Cal Fire-San Diego firefighter Cpt. Angel Hendrie spends her 12th day on the road fighting fires and mopping up the remnants of the Sage fire in Santa Clarita.
So far this year, the fire department has received 23 calls regarding fires occurring inside La Cañada’s city limits, including seven structure fires, seven mobile property fires, four instances of vegetation fire, two outside rubbish fires and three incidents that fall into the category “other.”
To minimize risk, local fire station crews inspected vulnerable residential areas around town to make sure dry brush has been cleared and potentially dangerous tree limbs have been removed. Capt. Brian Kane of La Cañada’s Fire Station No. 82 said La Cañada’s homes are now 100% compliant.
“Most people are fearful here, especially in the wake of the (2009) Station fire,” Kane said. “Everyone here is definitely on a heightened level of awareness based on where they live, in conjunction with the weather and the drought.”
Kane identified homes abutting the Angeles National Forest to the north, as well as residences and urban spaces along the San Rafael hills to the south as being the most susceptible to fire and the places where prevention and emergency response efforts should be increased.
Rachel Young, director of horticulture and garden operations at Descanso Gardens, said county crews have already routinely removed potential fire hazards from the 150-acre property, and special deep watering is being done to help protect certain at-risk species.
“Our first concern is our historical buildings and facilities. Those are the places most likely to have ignition sources,” Young said, adding that building inspections have also been done.
Kent Allmon, director of facilities at Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, said Tuesday his team is naturally more on guard during summer months and completed brush clearance across the school’s 41 acres in preparation for summer school.
Allmon said school officials maintain constant communication with the sheriff’s and county fire department, adding that the latter occasionally performs training activities on campus. To stay updated with local emergencies that might be happening in the vicinity, Allmon signed up for the cellphone app Pulse Point, which keeps users up to date on local emergency calls.
English recommends residents stay informed by signing up for services that notify them when red flag weather patterns or local incidents might be occurring in their area.
One way is to sign up to receive real-time alerts from the free notification service Nixle.com, which can be done via cellphone by text-messaging one’s ZIP code to 888777. Emergency agencies, including L.A. County Fire, are also using Twitter and Facebook to inform locals of happenings in the area.
English recommended residents acquaint themselves with Ready! Set! Go!, a program managed by the International Assn of Fire Chiefs and accessible online at wildlandfirersg.org, which walks users through fire preparation and offers tips for creating an evacuation plan.
“It’s really critical for La Cañada residents to take a look at what’s happening near them,” she said.
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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com
Twitter: @SaraCardine
