Statewide Ban to Be Sought on Wood Shingle Roofing : Safety: Assemblyman Roos vows to seek action on the flammable material. Fire officials blame it for much of this year’s destruction.

A key California lawmaker vowed Tuesday to seek a statewide ban on flammable wood roofs after hearing fire officials testify in Glendale about the devastating losses that occurred this year during the state’s worst brush fire season.

So far during 1990, brush fires have destroyed a record 864 structures, including more than 600 in Santa Barbara, Hal Walt, director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, told the Joint Assembly/Senate Committee on Fire, Police, Emergency and Disaster Services.

Fire officials blame much of the destruction on wood shingle roofs.

“In my 29-year career, shake shingle roofs, without a doubt, have contributed more than any other cause” to the rapid spread of fire, said Riverside County Fire Chief Glen Newman.

“I appreciate the consistency of comment,” said Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Mike Roos (D-Los Angeles), the committee’s acting chairman. “There seems to be no wavering. There will be an attempt by one of us on this committee to do something about that next year.”

Two state senators who serve on the committee and were present at the meeting--Alfred Alquist (D-San Jose) and Robert Presley (D-Riverside)--expressed no opinion about the effort to ban wood roofs.

Roos organized the hearing to determine how state lawmakers could help firefighters in the wake of the disastrous fire season. In Southern California alone, he said, brush fires caused three deaths, injured 53 people and blackened more than 22,000 acres this year. “The final tally of property damage may be over $300 million,” he said.

The meeting was held in Glendale, where 64 houses were damaged or destroyed June 27 in a fast-moving brush fire. About half of the houses had wood shingle roofs, Glendale fire officials said.

The wood roof industry has lobbied against banning the material, claiming it has been unjustly targeted by politicians and firefighters. They have also claimed wood roofs can be treated effectively with fire-retardant chemicals. No representatives from the industry attended the meeting.

Some cities, including Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Glendale and now Santa Barbara, prohibit shake roofs on new homes or as replacement roofs.

Glendale Fire Chief John Montenero recently called for a law that would force homeowners to replace existing wood roofs. But a majority of City Council members said they would not impose such a large expense on residents. At Tuesday’s hearing, Montenero urged state legislators to develop a low-interest loan program to help homeowners pay for wood roof replacement.

The Santa Barbara and Glendale fires were ignited by arsonists who remain at large, authorities said. State Fire Marshal James McMullen called for expanded statewide arson investigation and prevention programs, funded by a surcharge on insurance premiums.

After the hearing, however, Roos said the surcharge idea “kind of leaves me cold” because high insurance costs have triggered widespread complaints among Californians.

Roos said he did plan to follow up on a suggestion by fire officials that the National Guard be activated more quickly to assist when a catastrophic fire occurs.

At the end of the hearing, Rob Sharkey, president of the Glenmore Canyon Homeowners Assn., urged the committee to investigate the actions of the Glendale Fire Department in handling the June 27 blaze. In a report released last week, the department said it left Glenmore Canyon, in which more than a dozen houses were destroyed, unprotected for more than two hours while halting the fire’s spread on another front.

But the legislators said such a probe was outside their jurisdiction and urged the association to present their concerns to Glendale city officials.