Fire Patrols Stepped Up in Hazard Areas

Dry weather and Santa Ana winds this week have put fire departments on alert for brush fires in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

In the last few days, fire teams have stepped up patrols of high-hazard areas, reviewed strategy and checked out access to tough-to-reach canyons. They have also raised staffing levels in many stations.

Some firefighters are simply waiting around more, with scheduled drills, meetings and inspections canceled to ensure optimum response times, officials said.

In Ventura County, about 50 more firefighters will be on hand today than usual, said Sandi Wells, spokeswoman for the county Fire Department. And dozens more were alerted that they might be called in.

“We have to react immediately,” Wells said. “If we are not ready to react, then we can’t get a handle on the situation.”

A team of Los Angeles firefighters visited former brush-fire trouble spots in the Valley, discussing evacuation strategies and how to save houses in tough spots.

“Any time you live in a place with a prevalence of the most volatile brush known to man, you’ve got to be ready,” said Battalion Chief Chris Kawai, who heads a 22-member strike team of firefighters from across the city that took up watch Tuesday in Porter Ranch.

As fire crews battled blazes in eastern Ventura County and the Santa Clarita Valley on Tuesday, a red-flag alert in northern Los Angeles County--signifying extreme fire danger--was downgraded as winds eased.

Ventura County was also on high alert because of the winds, low humidity, dry brush and the lack of rain.

The region has not seen significant rain since late October, said meteorologist Amy Talmage of WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

Santa Ana winds, which can cause fires to spread more quickly, returned to the area on Sunday.

“We need at least two inches” of rain, Wells said. “That would bring the moisture back up in the living plants. That would definitely help us.”

On Monday, 300 firefighters battled a brush fire near the Antelope Valley Freeway in Agua Dulce that burned 200 acres, but caused no injuries or structural damage.

Early Tuesday, a 600-acre brush fire in Thousand Oaks threatened homes in Westlake Village.

Many of the most important prevention techniques are in the hands of residents and visitors, fire officials said.

Property owners in high-risk fire areas are required to clear grass and brush within 100 feet of structures. The Fire Department sent out nearly 20,000 notices in the spring. This year, 99% of residents complied with the fire hazard reduction program, Wells said.

That effort created a safe zone around their homes, which made firefighters’ jobs easier during Tuesday’s blaze in Thousand Oaks. “Without that, and very aggressive firefighting, we definitely would have had homes that were lost,” she added.

Most area blazes are caused by human carelessness: In 1999, 271 of the 311 fires in Angeles National Forest were caused by people, with the majority the result of accidents.