THE SOUTHLAND FIRESTORM: A SPECIAL REPORT : EYEWITNESS : The Southland Fires

As some of the most devastating brush fires in memory are finally contained and doused, Southern California will begin the bitter chore of adding up the losses. The fires are not the area’s worst in history, nor will they be the last, but the firestorms of the past two weeks are certainly destined for the record books. There were at least 26 fires reported since Oct. 26, and 19 of those are believed to be a result of arson. Here is a preliminary summary of the 17 biggest fires, the damage, and the firefighters and the equipment that were mobilized across the Southland.

OUT OF STATE FIREFIGHTERS--WHERE THEY CAME FROM

More than 3,500 firefighters, including many Indian reservation crews, came from all over the nation to help fight the firestorms in Southern California. Below are some of the states and cities from which they were mobilized:

Arizona Flagstaff Phoenix Including Navajo and Hopi crews

Colorado Colorado Junction Colorado Springs Including the Ute Mountain Warriors

Idaho Boise, including the Bureau of Land Management’s Smoke Jumpers

Montana Billings Missoula Great Falls Including the Rocky Boy Crew

New Mexico Albuquerque, including the Smoky Bear Crew and the Zuni Crew

Oregon Medford Portland Including the Redmond and Zig Zag Crews

South Dakota Rapid City

Texas El Paso

Utah Salt Lake City, including the Flame’n’Go Crew

Washington Spokane

Wyoming Jackson Riverton

SUSPECTED CAUSES

Altadena: Campfire Chatsworth: Arson Laguna: Arson Ortega: Suspicious origin Anaheim Hills: Arson Box Springs: Suspicious origin Winchester: Undetermined Cahuilla: Undetermined Temecula: Undetermined Yucaipa: Downed power line Escondido: Downed power line Ojai: Suspicious origin Santa Paula: Suspicious origin Thousand Oaks: Arson Calabasas/Malibu: Arson Banning: Downed power line Poway: Campfire

CREW DEPLOYMENT

Calabasas/Malibu: 6,100 Altadena: 2,901 Ortega: 1,939 Thousand Oaks: 1,557 Banning: 1,311 Santa Paula: 1,279 Escondido: 996 Winchester: 675 Laguna: 631 Yucaipa: 400 Poway: 312 Ojai: 286 Box Springs: 280 Cahuilla: 120 Temecula: 100 Chatsworth: Unavailable Anaheim Hills: Unavailable

ACRES BURNED

Thousand Oaks: 43,521 Santa Paula: 26,500 Winchester: 25,100 Ortega: 21,384 Escondido: 20,722 Malibu: 17,027 Laguna: 16,682 Banning: 8,680 Altadena: 5,700 Yucaipa: 4,680 Box Springs: 3,500 Cahuilla: 2,500 Chatsworth: 2,000 Ojai: 1,650 Poway: 1,500 Anaheim Hills: 700 Temecula: 500

STRUCTURES LOST

Laguna: 366 Malibu: 350 Altadena: 151 Winchester: 107 Thousand Oaks: 66 Ortega: 52 Poway: 36 Banning: 29 Santa Paula: 8 Escondido: 7 Yucaipa: 5 Anaheim Hills: 2 Ojai: 1 Chatsworth: 0 Box Springs: 0 Cahuilla: 0 Temecula: 0

FIRE CREWS

Local/Office of Emergency Services: 4,298 U.S. Forest Service: 2,016 California Dept. of Forestry: 2,948 U.S. Dept. of the Interior: 352 California Conservation Corps: 154 Private: 83 Total firefighting personnel: 9,851

FIRE ENGINES

Local/Office of Emergency Services: 870 U.S. Forest Service: 62 California Dept. of Forestry: 204 U.S. Dept. of the Interior: 16 Total: 1,152

BULLDOZERS

Local/Office of Emergency Services: 20 U.S. Forest Service: 6 California Dept. of Forestry: 11 Private: 6 Total: 43

HELICOPTERS

Local/Office of Emergency Services: 13 U.S. Forest Service: 5 California Dept. of Forestry: 5 Private: 11 Total: 34

WATER TENDERS

Local/Office of Emergency Services: 16 U.S. Forest Service: 1 Private 6 Total: 23

SUPPORT PERSONNEL

Local/Office of Emergency Services: 88 U.S. Forest Service: 327 California Dept. of Forestry: 235 U.S. Dept. of the Interior: 44 California Conservation Corps: 2 Private: 49 Total: 745

CHRONOLOGY

Southern California witnessed two explosive days of fires. The timeline shows the approximate start time of each fire and when each one came under control, except where noted. Names in parentheses are agency designations.

ESCONDIDO (GUEJITO): 2am, 10/26 - 8am, 11/3 THOUSAND OAKS (GREEN MEADOW): 1:30pm, 10/26 - Contained, not fully controlled ANAHEIM HILLS (STAGECOACH): 11:05pm, 10/27 - 12:00am, 10/28 WINCHESTER (CALIFORNIA): 3:55pm, 10/27 - 5:30am, 11/1 CHATSWORTH (ROCKY): 1:25am - 3:20pm, 10/27 SANTA PAULA (STECKEL): 1:10am, 10/27 - 2am, 11/4 CAHUILLA (TRIBAL): 3:30am, 10/27 - 6pm, 10/28 ALTADENA (KINNELOA): 2:50am, 10/27 - Contained, not fully controlled BOX SPRINGS: 4:30am, 10/27 - 10am, 10/29 YUCAIPA (MILL CREEK): 6:30am, 10/27 - 6pm, 10/29 OJAI (WHEEL): 9:30am, 10/27 - Contained, not fully controlled LAGUNA: 9:55am, 10/27 - 6pm, 10/29 TEMECULA (VAIL): 3:40pm, 10/27 - 10am, 10/29 ORTEGA: 4:30pm, 10/27 - 6pm, 11/3 BANNING (REPPLIER): 8:40am, 11/2 - 5:55am, 11/5 CALABASAS / MALIBU: 9:45am, 11/2 - 80% contained POWAY (OLD COACH): 1:10, 11/2 - 1:45, 11/3

Sources: Multi-Agency Coordination System/Operations Coordination Center; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; National Interagency Fire Center