L.A. Unable to Clear All Brush, Fire Chief Says

As wildfires ripped through homes in Riverside County, Los Angeles fire officials said Tuesday that thousands of property owners will be responsible for their own fire prevention this season because the city is too overwhelmed to clear brush and trim trees for them.

Armed with an ordinance that requires property owners to clear heavy brush within 200 feet of all structures, the city Fire Department can issue warnings and hire contractors to do the work for landowners who don’t comply.

But this year, with a bumper crop of dry brush and new vegetation that sprouted in the wake of El Nino-powered rains, there is too much work for too few city contractors, Fire Chief William Bamattre said.

City fire commissioners worry that that will leave ample fuel for fires in residential areas.

“I think we’re faced with a real disaster in the coming months if something is not done,” said Commissioner David W. Fleming. “We just don’t have the capability to do this for them.”

Fire officials have issued notices to owners of more than 20,000 parcels this year. Owners of about 11,000 parcels have not complied, Bamattre said.

The department will “triage” the remaining parcels to determine which pose the largest threat, and will use the city’s 10 contractors and solicit the local Conservation Corps or youth groups to handle as much work as possible, he said.

The city can recoup the cost of the work in the property owner’s taxes, Bamattre said, and can charge another $454 in fees for owners who fail to comply.

Despite the flurry of notices and contract work, owners of at least 2,000 parcels will be left to clear the brush on their own, officials said.

Owners who have already received notices may be legally liable for any fire damage to neighbors’ property, officials said. Last year, nearly half of the 16,000 parcels that received notices never complied.

Word of the rising workload comes as the Fire Department is struggling to revamp its helicopter fleet as part of its review of a March 23 crash that killed four people.

A report to be presented to the City Council’s Public Safety Committee recommends that the department immediately replace its 25-year-old Bell 205--the same model that was involved in the fatal crash--in order to save money on maintenance costs and allow the purchase of a newer model with more safety equipment.

“Items such as shoulder belts, seat mounts and fuel tanks have all been improved, but the changes have not been ‘grandfathered’ into the older ships,” the report said.