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Congressional panel grills local
officials on recent wildfires
By Miriam Raftery
The Alpine Sun
SAN DIEGO — U.S. Senator Diane
Feinstein (D-CA) chaired a Senate Interior Appropriations
Subcommittee hearing in San Diego on Tuesday, Nov. 27 to
investigate prevention, impact and disaster relief efforts
related to the October 2007 wildfires. Senator Wayne Allard
(R-CO) and Congressman Bob Filner (D-San Diego) also
participated in the inquiry into local, state and federal
officials’ actions.
In San Diego, the Witch, Harris and Poomacha fires
scorched 338,140 acres, destroyed 1,532 homes and killed eight
people. Civic leaders drew praise for improvements such as
disaster relief efforts, implementation of reverse 9-1-1
evacuation procedures. But considerable controversy emerged over
City and County actions after the 2003 Cedar and Paradise fires
to improve fire protection during record hot, dry conditions.
“I deeply believe that San Diego has to change the size
of its fire resources,” said Feinstein, who leveled sharp
criticism at City and County officials. “People have to
understand that there will eventually be loss of life on a
massive scale if nothing happens.”
Feinstein has introduced the Fire Safe Community Act
(S. 2390), which provides grants to help cities and counties
implement fire-safe building codes and train local fire
department on emerging technologies in fire hazard areas. The
Senator has also sent letters to state and federal officials
seeking answers to questions over response to the California
fires.
San Diego Fire Chief Tracy Harman testified that her
department lacked resources needed for rapid response time to
save more homes. In Rancho Bernardo, where over 350 homes
burned, just one fire station protected 24 square miles. The
national standard for accreditation is one station for every
nine miles. San Diego needs at least 22 more fire stations to
meet that standard.
City leaders blamed voters for failing to pass a bond
initiative, which would have increased fire protection funds.
But former San Diego Fire Chief Jeff Bowman told the
panel he resigned in “abject frustration” because repeated
recommendations were ignored, including pleas for more fire
stations and engines. Bowman urged City leaders to tell the
public how existing funds are spent and provide “leadership” to
educate voters on the critical need for funds.
Governor Schwarzenegger’s Blue Ribbon commission
recommended 150 new fire engines be provided to protect
California cities. But only 19 have been ordered — and none
delivered. The Governor vetoed four measures which would have
funded new fire equipment.
Bowman also criticized San Diego County officials.
“This is the largest urban area without a County Fire
Department,” he said. “Someone should be held accountable for
that. My recommendation to the County Board of Supervisors is
they buy 50 fire engines and disperse them throughout the
County.”
East County’s Supervisor Dianne Jacob, who supports
consolidation to create a County Fire Department, did not
testify. But in an e-mailed response, she stated that Phase I
would call for a single agency to provide “fire and emergency
medical services to more than half of the entire County — more
than 1.4 million acres, including about 950,000 acres served
only by volunteer fire departments.”
But Supervisor Bill Horn, in a newspaper editorial last
week, said consolidation would mean “closing stations, removing
resources and negatively impacting volunteer firefighters in
North County. It was our volunteers who proved last month that
they know their territories better than anyone,” he observed,
adding that consolidation would cost $24 million or more.
“Nearly every fire agency in the 5th District does not support
the LAFCO consolidation, and I will not support it, either.”
Since the Cedar Fire, the county has spent $130 million
to better protect the region. Those funds included purchase of
two county-owned firefighting helicopters and 20 new
firefighting vehicles, plus contracts with 18 fire agencies in
the unincorporated area to keep season fire stations open
year-round. Other improvements include communications upgrades,
reverse 9-1-1, a renovated Emergency Operations Center, removal
of dead and diseased trees, strengthening building codes to
require fire resistant construction methods, and assuring that
homeowners maintain defensible space around residences.
California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner
testified that 33,000 insurance claims have been filed from the
recent Southern California fires, which caused $2 billion in
property damage. Despite fears that insurance companies may
refuse to insure California homeowners after the fire, only one
company, Allstate, has stopped selling policies in the state.
“Consumer protection laws won’t allow insurers to
increase premiums without permission,” Poizner assured. “My
opinion is there is no need for a premium increase in California
due to the recent fires.”
Eric Larson, executive director of the San Diego Farm
Bureau, testified that 3,000 acres of farmland were lost,
including $42 million in crop losses — a figure that will rise
as irrigation lines and other losses are tallied. Some insurance
policies excluded crop loss from fires. “Many have lost their
livelihoods,” he said, adding that some farmers face “multiple
years without income while trees mature.”
Funds to help farmers are inadequate in California,
where costs of replacing farmlands and crops are high, added
Larson, who noted that irrigated fields serve as firebreaks to
protect nearby homes from damage. He urged that development of
agricultural lands be minimized.
Congressman Filner, whose wife evacuated their home,
called for centralized media in each community to provide
updates on evacuations. “I could not get a straight answer and I
supposedly knew who to call,” he said.
In closing, Feinstein warned that San Diego officials
should expect more catastrophic fires in the future — and take
action to protect homes and lives.
“What happens if you keep building in these areas
without firefighting services?” she asked, noting that when she
was Mayor of San Francisco, half the city’s budget was spent on
police and fire protection. “You can solve these problems,” she
concluded. “Every other county does in the state. Every other
city. People down here have to get involved and stand up.”
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