Measures to Guard Against Disaster Are Put to Test

As wildfires returned Monday to Southern California, officials and homeowners girded for the first major test of the fire-protection measures put in place after the disastrous 1993 fires that burned more than 700 homes.

The biggest change prompted by the 1993 Calabasas/Malibu blaze, which destroyed 284 homes, was the decision by Los Angeles County to lease two airplanes known as Super Scoopers that are equipped to pick up copious quantities of water from reservoirs or the sea and drop it on the flames.

Both of the yellow aircraft were in use Monday and were credited with mitigating the damage from flames that erupted near Calabasas and swept over the Santa Monica Mountains to the ocean in a matter of hours. The planes repeatedly scooped up hundreds of gallons of water from the Pacific Ocean and headed inland to dump their load.

“They are making a very difficult situation a little easier to deal with,” said Sandra Davis, the county’s assistant chief administrative officer. “I think the county is very pleased that they have them right now.”

The county leased the planes for two years before deciding to commit to a long-term agreement earlier this year. Some county officials were concerned that the planes would not fare well in high winds and in steep canyons because of a lack of maneuverability.

In addition, brush regulations--which require homeowners in high-risk areas to keep grass, brush and other vegetation trimmed to three inches high around their homes--have been vigorously enforced since the 1993 blaze, said county Fire Department Capt. Steve Valenzuela. Scofflaws have been cited on occasion and prosecuted.

Last month, after a delay of two years, the County Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted an ordinance requiring automatic interior fire sprinklers in newly constructed or remodeled homes that are in high-risk areas.

The regulations apply to homes in the county’s unincorporated areas and cities within the county borders that agree to adopt the guidelines.

Another change since the 1993 fires involves renovations: Any home improvement that costs 50% or more of the home’s value requires that wooden roofs be replaced with flame-retardant materials, Valenzuela said.

Other measures that would make it even tougher for homeowners to keep wooden roofs on their homes have been thwarted by the powerful wood shake and shingle lobby in Sacramento, according to fire officials.

After the 1993 Malibu blaze, the county Fire Department took the unprecedented step of tutoring homeowners on what equipment to buy and what tactics to use in fighting fires that threaten their homes.

The city of Malibu also has drawn up new maps that detail the city’s many winding roads so firefighters will be better able to traverse the mountainous community.

Malibu officials said that since 1991 they have required the roofs of all new homes to be built with fire-retardant materials, although no regulations have been adopted for homes built before then.

A proposed law expected to reach the Malibu City Council in the next few months also would require homeowners with pools to register with City Hall. The homeowners would post signs on their properties so that firefighters would know where to find extra sources of water.

“Fires are part of the normal cycle of the ecosystem,” said Malibu City Atty. Christi Hogin. “Everybody out here says it’s not a matter of if the fires will come, but when.”

Farther down the coast in Laguna Beach, where a disastrous fire also struck in 1993, officials nervously watched flames in the Lemon Heights section of Orange County and expressed confidence in steps taken after the last big fire.

The city took such comprehensive action after the 1993 fire, which destroyed or damaged 441 homes, that its efforts recently were lauded by the California League of Cities.

Enlisting hundreds of goats to gnaw away dry brush, the city has expanded a firebreak around the city limits. Goats had been used before the fire, but now the animals feed throughout the year to maintain the fuel break, chewing up 700 acres of brush a year.

“They’re beautiful. They work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” said Laguna Beach Fire Chief William Edmundson. “They just keep chomping away.”

In addition, the City Council declared the entire city a severe fire hazard zone, which means that fire-resistant materials are required in construction and that wood roofs have been banned.

Laguna Beach has also invested about $100,000 to outfit fire engines with fire-retardant foam that can be squirted on homes if a fire is threatening or be sprayed on the blaze. The city also has hired three more full-time firefighters and an emergency services coordinator.

This summer, in what some consider a crowning achievement, the Laguna Beach County Water Department completed a 3-million-gallon reservoir in the Top of the World community.

City building codes also are being tightened. For example, wood siding can be used on the outside of homes, but only with dry wall boards underneath.

In addition to the reservoir, more fire hydrants have been installed near open space areas and new water lines now allow different reservoirs to feed to one another or to feed a hydrant from two directions, Edmundson said.

Even as the Lemon Heights fire burned Monday, Laguna Beach residents recalled their own disaster, a blaze that consumed 16,864 acres and left the city in a state of shock.

“I feel a need to get in my car and go to Lemon Heights and hold and hug these people,” said Robert F. Gentry, a former city councilman.

The Lemon Heights fire, critics contend, raises new questions about the logic of building homes in rugged hillside and canyon areas that are susceptible to fires.

“Any time you allow development in high-hazard areas for fires or floods, you are setting yourself up for major losses like we saw today or even loss of life,” said Scott Bollens, a professor of political science at UC Irvine. “It’s not just about environmental concerns. It has to do with public safety and major economic loss.”

The Lemon Heights fire is bound to fuel a controversy about a decision by the Orange County Board of Supervisors and several city councils to resist attempts by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to designate hillside and canyon areas--including Lemon Heights--as “very high fire hazard severity zones.”

Residents and elected officials objected to the designation, fearing it would increase insurance rates and depress property values. In the end, the county and several cities adopted safety regulations similar to the state’s but rejected the “fire hazard severity zone” label.

Fire officials and hillside residents defended the decision Monday, saying that hillside communities are covered by some of the toughest regulations in the state and that adopting the zone designation would have no tangible effect on fire protection efforts.

“A few letters and numbers on a map has no effect on where a fire goes,” said Villa Park Councilman Bob Patchin, who fought the designation.

County officials said the Lemon Heights fire was fueled by wood-shake roofs, which are outlawed in all new developments in Orange County.

“The fire points up the value of our protective measures,” said Ron Novello, the county’s director of building and safety. “We now require roofs to be covered with tile. If the homes in Lemon Heights had tile roofs, I don’t think we would have a problem.”