Fear of 1964 fires looms

Buck Wargo

GLENDALE -- As cleanup from last week’s fire in the San Rafael Hills

continues, firefighters are worried Glendale could see a repeat of the

devastating 1964 fires.

A little more than 500 acres of brush burned last week -- some of the

same brush that hadn’t burned in 35 years.

In March 1964, more than 9,000 acres of brush were blackened by

wind-whipped flames during two separate fires.

The 1964 fire destroyed 34 homes and damaged 27 others in Whiting

Woods, Verdugo Woodlands, Chevy Chase Canyon and Glenoaks Canyons. Homes

in Eagle Rock were also destroyed.

Most of the acreage that burned last week was uninhabitable. The

exceptions were areas of the Verdugo Woodlands next to the Glendale (2)

Freeway. The Glendale Police Department lost its shooting range and

equipment now valued at $418,000.

Amateur climatologist Bob Gregg warned of the dangers of another 1964

fire in a Dec. 6 News-Press historical piece. when commenting for a

history story of the 1960s published Dec. 6 in the News-Press.

“It is a tremendous threat that we live with,” said Glendale Assistant

Fire Chief Chris Gray. “It is something we need to be concerned about and

do everything we can to protect property. The city continues to prepare

for that eventuality.”

That threat is a worry for many hillside residents, said Oakmont Woods

resident Max Hobbs. He said many feared that last week’s fire would come

into their neighborhood through flying embers.

“You don’t know what will happen in the hillsides when the wind is

blowing,” Hobbs said. “Any time something like this happens, it is in the

back of your mind.”

There have been plenty of changes since the 1964 fire that give

firefighters a better chance of controlling such a blaze, Gray said.

Technology has improved and the availability of aircraft has made a

difference. Fire departments also have a more sophisticated mutual aid

system to respond to emergencies in neighboring communities.

Windy conditions, however, are what ultimately determine the outcome

of fires and that factor hasn’t changed over time, Gray said.

“We are still vulnerable. You can’t look past fires in chaparral

areas. It is part of the natural life cycle, and you add the human

element of homes encroaching in those areas. It is the single greatest

threat in the community.”

Glendale has taken an aggressive stance on clearing brush since the

1990 College Hills fire. An ordinance gives the city the ability to cite

people who don’t maintain brush on their property.

One Los Encinos Avenue resident, Charles Hooker, whose home and yard

sustained about $10,000 to $15,000 in damage from the fire, complained

Monday that the Glendale Fire Department did not heed his calls about a

neighboring property owner failing to clear heavy brush from undeveloped

land.

“My biggest gripe is that they are not enforcing the cleanup,” Hooker

said.

Gray said he is sure there are some areas that should have been

cleared have not been but added the city is working closely with property

owners to solve the problem .

In February, Glendale announced it is seeking a $87,000 federal grant

to clear brush from fire hazard areas in the San Rafael Hills and Verdugo

Mountains over the next two years. The plan called for using goats to eat

brush and creating greenbelts where brush and trees will be removed with

chain saws and cutters.

Glendale has yet to obtain the grant for clearing brush, but Doug

Nickles, the city’s urban fire forester, said it did not impact last

week’s fire. It can make a difference, however, in the future, he said.

“It is above and beyond what has been allocated in the past. We are

trying to be proactive and take extra steps with this funding,” Nickles

said.

Firefighters from Glendale and neighboring cities will be honored

today at a reception at Descanso Gardens.

Attention has turned this week to dealing with the potential for

flooding caused by the loss of brush.

Glendale plans to start reseeding grasses this week and bring in hay

to absorb water and prevent mudslides. The fires of 1964 triggered the

floods of 1969.

Gray said most of the attention will be along hillsides on the west

side of the Glendale (2) Freeway where homes, the Glendale Sports Complex

and the Park Manor Reservoir that supplies drinking water are located.

It is a difficult balance to keep brush down so fires don’t spread but

still have enough vegetation to prevent mudslides, Gray said.

Residents have been encouraged to grow plants that are fire-resistant,

Gray said.

FIRE PREVENTION ORDINANCE

* Requires dead grasses and weeds be mowed within 100 feet of any

building and within 10 feet of a wooden fence or a roadway.

* Weeds and grasses used for cover for mudslides can’t be higher than

18 inches.

* Trees should also be cleared within 5 feet of a roof top and not be

within 10 feet of a chimney.

* Dead limbs and trees must be removed.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Firefighter appreciation reception.

WHEN: 2 p.m. today

WHERE: Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Drive, La CanadaFlintridge.

SPONSORS: Descanso Gardens and Assemblyman Jack Scott (D-Montrose).