O.C. Sends Fire Help, Keeps Vigil

In the only county untouched by the region’s raging wildfires, firefighters on Monday kept a wary eye on dry hillsides and worried about their luck running out.

At the Orange County Fire Authority’s Station 53 in Yorba Linda, firefighters skipped their daily training and fire prevention routines and focused mainly on being ready.

“You really don’t want to do anything in case you have to go,” said Doug Gjersvold, 50, who has 29 years of experience as a firefighter. “If we have a fire up here, we’re the lone wolves for the first 15 minutes until we get support.”

Maybe longer.

With hundreds of thousands of acres ablaze throughout Southern California and firefighting resources spread thin, Orange County has given generously to help surrounding fire agencies. That means Orange County has fewer firefighters available if wildfires strike close to home.

Since last week, the county Fire Authority has dispatched 130 of its 760 firefighters and 35 fire engines to fight blazes in San Bernardino and San Diego counties. City fire departments in the county, from Laguna Beach to Huntington Beach, contributed 20 fire engines and 130 firefighters and other staff.

Local fire stations continue to be fully staffed, officials said, with employees on overtime and reserve equipment.

The local stations are prepared for most emergencies, they said -- but with neighboring counties overwhelmed and some of its own firefighting power gone, Orange County is more vulnerable.

“We wouldn’t have much help if something broke here. We would be on our own for a while,” said county Fire Authority Capt. Stephen Miller. “We are keeping our fingers crossed.”

San Diego fire officials have said their strength was depleted when fires broke out over the weekend because so many of their own resources had been deployed elsewhere in earlier fires.

It is a dilemma for many Southern California fire departments during fire season, officials said. Through the state, agencies are bound by a mutual-aid agreement. The state Office of Emergency Services coordinates the deployment of resources from various fire agencies, and local departments contribute what they can. And they do it gladly, even at their own peril, officials said Monday.

“We know what it is like to be the beneficiary of mutual aid,” said Jeff LaTendresse, a fire battalion chief in Laguna Beach, which 10 years ago this week lost 265 homes to wildfires. Firefighters from all over the state came to the city’s aid.

This time around, the city sent two fire engines and six firefighters, half its citywide deployment, to San Diego and San Bernardino counties. One crew was relieved by another Laguna Beach team early Monday, and another was scheduled to be relieved later in the day. The crews had battled fires nonstop since they left early Friday, LaTendresse said.

The department also reinforced local staffing using overtime and keeping 20 firefighters on duty instead of the normal 12. The department has a force of 36 firefighters who normally rotate through three shifts. Three reserve fire engines also were readied for action.

“We have to pay back our dues,” LaTendresse said.

Because of the added vulnerability, it was even more important that everyone in the county be more vigilant about the risk of wildfires and arsonists, officials said. The arsonist who started the Laguna Beach fire a decade ago was never caught. Some of the blazes in San Bernardino County are believed to have been deliberately set.

Local police and firefighters have stepped up patrol of wilderness areas, said Miller of the Orange County Fire Authority. Departments are prepared to respond with overwhelming force to reports of fire.

On Sunday and Monday, the Orange County Fire Authority put out three brush fires in San Clemente within minutes by deploying overwhelming force.

The department sent a water-dropping helicopter, 15 fire engines, 70 firefighters and two bulldozers to one fire Monday afternoon. The blaze was extinguished within 12 minutes after burning an acre without any damage to structures.

Back at Station 53 in Yorba Linda, firefighters know how lucky they have been so far. Dubbed “The Rock” because of the rocky terrain that surrounds it, the station offers an umbrella of protection for the busy Riverside Freeway, a commercial and industrial zone and the city’s easternmost subdivision, which backs up to wild lands. Over a ridge lies Chino Hills State Park.

Last November, Santa Ana winds gusted up to 35 mph and pushed a blaze on Yorba Linda’s Blue Gum Drive into the park, chewing up more than 500 acres but no homes.

“You know the young guys are chomping at the bit to get into the action,” said county Fire Authority Capt. Jeff Nisbet, a 33-year veteran. “But after so many years of doing this, you just know it’s not going to be good.”