Poway fire chief warns of more destruction

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Poway:

Kevin Hitchcock, division chief of the Poway Fire Department, was touring the city in his SUV, jotting down the addresses of the opulent homes on the front line of the fire that he estimates has charred between 150 and 200 residences. Blackened buildings and houses engulfed in flames whizzed by.

‘We’re not putting out the fire; we’re just saving as many homes as we can,’ Hitchcock said.

As the radio crackled with dispatchers calling out one burning location after another, a voice announced that an elderly woman, confined to her bed, was trapped in her burning home. Hitchcock picked up his radio and calmly ordered an engine to rescue her.

Then a call came in of a house gas line burning. ‘Nothing we can do, we’ve got them everywhere,’ he said.

The situation is so dire, Hitchcock’s firefighters are only getting four hours to rest, after shifts as long as 36 hours. He had asked the region central fire commanders for 20 strike teams, each with five engines, but he only received six.

The town of 37 square miles and 48,000 residents is now at risk of losing even more homes. The blaze has traveled from the northeast corner of Poway, cutting diagonally in a southwesterly direction. In the early evening, the challenge was preventing the encroaching fire from crossing one of the town’s major thoroughfares, Espola Road.

One thing is certain, Hitchcock said: Many more of Poway’s exclusive mansions will burn unless more resources are provided.

-- Joel Rubin