Calabasas Brush : Burnoff Vetoed, Firefighters Go to 4-Legged Help

Citing unusually dangerous weather conditions, state forestry officials Tuesday ordered Los Angeles County to halt plans to burn a milelong brush firebreak today and Thursday in Calabasas.

The state action means that the county will have to depend primarily on a time-honored grass-clearance technique: cows.

County fire officials said they will haul water to 300 head of cattle owned by an Agoura rancher so the animals can graze away flammable grass next to the Ventura Freeway. The water will be brought in tanks to the 100-acre, privately owned site to quench the herd’s thirst as it nibbles on the dry brush.

The rancher, along with firefighters, will herd the cattle to the desired spot from the animals’ normal grazing site around Liberty Canyon, about a mile away.

“I’m going to have to concentrate on the cattle. After what the state’s done, it’s all I’ve got,” said Capt. Scott Franklin, head of the county Fire Department’s “prescribed burn” brush-clearance program, after receiving the state’s 30-day suspension order.

The use of controlled fires to thin brush was begun after a 1978 Agoura fire raced through thick brush to the ocean. It killed one man, burned 26,000 acres and destroyed more than 200 homes.

Computers, Forecasts Used

The program uses moisture-measuring instruments, weather forecasts and computer analysis to decide when and where slow-burning fires can be set by firefighters. Franklin had projected that conditions would be favorable for a 2 1/2-hour burning period between 9:30 a.m. and noon today, and again on Thursday.

About 100 men had been assigned to burn the south side of the freeway between Las Virgenes and Mureau roads this morning; the north side of the freeway would have been set ablaze Thursday if weather conditions held up. The area is viewed by officials as a “fire corridor” that in the past has funneled fires starting as far away as Chatsworth into Malibu.

“I’ve been waiting weeks for this type of weather window,” said Franklin, who received the call from state officials calling a halt to the burns at about 6 p.m. “We’ve got a 2,000-foot marine layer due in, and the fuel moisture load is just right. But these guys in Sacramento say it’s too dry. If they want to see it dry, just wait another month.”

The 30-day halt in firebreak burning comes at a time when firefighting resources throughout the state are thinly spread, said Capt. Mike Sowards, a state forestry official in Riverside.

“It’s not uncommon for these fires to get away when it’s out of prescription. The weather now is unpredictable . . . If they are wrong and it gets away, we could end up losing houses out there to something we caused.”

Will Seek Withdrawal of Ban

Franklin said county fire officials will attempt to persuade forestry officials to withdraw the ban in time to burn brush while the temperature is still under 90 degrees and vegetation-moisture levels still measure above 30%.

Meanwhile, the cattle will begin getting supplies of hauled-in water. “We can either bring water in to prevent fires or bring it in later to fight them,” he said.

Rancher Al McLauren said his herd is ready for action. “The grass is dry there. But as long as there’s water there, they’ll stay.”

McLauren said he shares Franklin’s frustration with the state--but for another reason. His four-legged firebreak-makers have been banned by officials from state-owned Agoura parkland that is thick with grass.

“There’s a lot of long-eared jackasses in state government,” McLauren commented.