Firefighters Criticize Governor

State and local firefighters and chiefs who gathered Tuesday to discuss last year’s wildfires blasted Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, saying he has not done enough to provide the equipment and staffing needed to battle a fire disaster.

The criticism came during a special California Senate hearing in San Bernardino to discuss the progress made since last October’s fires and ways to reduce the threat of out-of-control blazes in the state’s increasingly populated mountains and hillsides.

“We feel the administration has not heard our voices,” said Corona Fire Chief Michael L. Warren, president of the California Fire Chiefs Assn.

Sen. Nell Soto (D-Ontario), who was host of the hearing that drew about 100 people to San Bernardino City Hall, promised to arrange a meeting with the governor at which firefighters could raise their concerns.

“We are going to make them hear our voices,” Soto said.

But Dale Geldert, head of the state’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said Schwarzenegger was committed to helping firefighters and would provide resources. He said budget problems had hampered the governor’s efforts.

“It’s just a matter of time,” he told the panel. “We can work this out.”

Geldert, who was appointed by Schwarzenegger three months ago, said that in May the governor provided 10 refurbished fire engines, 90 firefighters, 54 prisoners and an additional helicopter to battle blazes in San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties.

But many of the fire officials who spoke at the hearing complained that most of the 48 suggestions of a blue-ribbon commission appointed by Schwarzenegger had been not been implemented. Soto said the governor vetoed five bills in the last year intended to implement some of the panel’s key recommendations.

Darrel Crane, president of the San Bernardino County Professional Firefighters, local 935, suggested that Soto and other lawmakers continue to press the governor to adopt the remaining recommendations.

“Let’s find out what he will sign and put it on his desk,” Crane said.

One of the bills vetoed by Schwarzenegger would have used federal funds to purchase 150 fire engines.

San Bernardino Fire Chief Larry Pitzer said last year’s Old fire in the San Bernardino Mountains was a deadly and fast-moving fire that burned in three directions. By 5 p.m. on the first day, he said, firefighters had deployed 100 engines but would have been more successful if they had had 150 engines on the scene.

He also urged Soto to pressure the governor’s office to adopt the commission’s recommendations.

Last year’s fires, fueled by dry brush and beetle-infested timber and propelled by Santa Ana winds, killed 24 people, destroyed 3,361 homes and burned 739,597 acres. Several local cities and San Bernardino County have since adopted new building codes to make new homes more fire-resistant.

Most of the fire officials at the hearing agreed that vegetation near homes posed the biggest threat to wooded neighborhoods. They called for renewed efforts to educate homeowners about clearing vegetation before the next fire. Other officials suggested that the state adopt building codes for fire-prone homes in mountain and foothill areas.

State and local agencies have removed about 750,000 dead or dying trees from the San Bernardino Mountains, but fire officials say the threat of devastating fires has not been greatly reduced.

“It will happen again, and we have no one to blame but ourselves,” said Bob Wolf, president of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Firefighters Assn.

On Monday, San Bernardino County officials tested a new warning system that will automatically telephone thousands of mountain and foothill residents at the same time.

Residents will hear a recording explaining evacuation procedures.