Let's talk about response and prevention.

California & Hawaii Hotlist Questions and Discussion
#1

My experience is mostly outside of actual fire fighting mostly doing defensible space and fuels reductions. My observations watching the sandalwood video was that the first engine on scene was overwhelmed even though they got there fairly quickly and had resources enroute still. I think that setting up structure protection should have been immediately started instead of suppressing the trash fire.

Now for the other side. We have many years of fire history in wui to look back though yet we still keep seeing communities that have brush abutting backyards of entire neighborhoods, I know communities are taking steps to create fire breaks around themselves in some areas but there isn’t nearly enough doing it. As far as individual property that comes down to me, you, and our neighbors. I can’t tell you what to do with your land.

I just want to know others professional or citizen views.

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#2

I was not there and did not hear the ROC or Size UP. I only saw it second or third hand through video. I did not see what the company officer saw and what his thought process was at that time. I do believe they thought they were taking the appropriate action. I mean no disrespect to anyone, but sitting in that left seat is not an easy job. A lot of factors come into play in decision making : Years on the job, Call volume,
fire types, training etc., etc., etc., and so much more.

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#3

Best structure defense most of the time is put the fire out.

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#4

IMHO…

As a wild-land (semi-retired) fire fighter with many years on a T-3 engine… I can only say that the first unit in would give the ROC and make the call for additional resources. In this case, as in many when high winds are involved, you can try and attempt a hose lay but most of the time you just need to stay out of the way and figure out point protection. That being said, in this case knocking down the trash fire may have been the only viable option until more units arrived at scene, been debriefed quickly, and then deployed. With the captain being committed to the radio, I would assume it would have been prudent to not commit his crew to the brush. (And who knows what the crew strength was at that time.)

As a DIVS of more than 20 years… As far as fire in the interface, you can do all the clearing and cutting you want, but if there is ANYTHING receptive for firebrands near the structure, it is susceptible. I have seen houses in the middle of cleared fields go up because of that. Then there is structure-to-structure fire spread in the WUI that, on a windy day, not a whole heck of a lot is going to stop it with debris, vegetation, structural composition, open vents, and ad-infinitum, that is going to deter fire behavior. (As demonstrated in Paradise,CA where the structures were burned but many trees survived.) And the Stone House, which stood near 70, everything but the stone burned!

As a home owner in the WUI…I have bare dirt for 30 feet in all directions around my house. I have pruned and thinned in all directions beyond that. I have sprinklers on the house. I have sprinklers around the perimeter. I am working on vent shutters at the moment. However I do have a conventional wood frame house with ground floor decking but do have a composition roof. I have a whole-house generator and am working on getting a tank and pump and hose etc. I will not leave my place when the time comes. However, I may not be here at the time. Then there is my neighbor the hoarder…( No explanation needed.)

So, when it all comes down to it, as my wife would say, “It’s a Crap shoot!”. Like Redding and Santa Rosa, and other non- interface towns and cities, just about everything is flammable. In a wind, in a hail of fire brands, on a hot dry day (or night), when the s___t hits the fan, get out of the way.

So these are my thoughts for now. Give me a few more glasses of wine and I could babble on.

I no longer do line work. It’s just too nuts out there. But a lot of that is just my age and mortality showing. I breath a sigh of relief when the first rains come. Then have another beer…

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#5

Can anyone link the video mentioned? Thanks

#6

It’s in this thread.

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