Point of View
Do We Need a Permit for Fire Season?
By Joann Deutch
Jul 6, 2008 - 8:50:46 AM

Some places have hurricane season, others have a rainy season.  Us?  We have fire season.  With the Fourth of July coming up - game’s on!  In the last few years there has been a serious fire in the hills within shouting distance of my house. It’s great for the photo ops, interesting to watch the tanker helicopters dashing back and forth to the local reservoirs, and great sunsets; nonetheless, it’s seriously creepy.

   Firefighters are on full alert over the Fourth of July weekend.  They expect some bozo behavior with good reason.  Most fires in the hills start with stupid moves by people who must have misplaced some of their IQ points earlier in the day along with their good judgment. 
   I was visiting with Chief Ranger Walt Young of the MRCA (Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority) who told me that each ranger is also a qualified firefighter.  I was surprised, but I knew these guys in the Smokey the Bear hats are seriously trained professionals. They’ll usually have either a B.A., B.S., or higher in natural resources, land use planning, environmental studies, geography, biology, landscape architecture … you get the point.
   To deal with this year’s threat of wildfires, the MRCA has brand spanking new firefighting equipment that is unique to our needs, and the envy of other fire-fighting units for its ability to reach fires in remote locations. This Class 3 fire truck can travel off-road.  You know those dusty trails all over the mountains?  This fire truck can travel on them, and can shoot water from its 500 gallon tank while moving.  This puppy seems to bring a twinkle to the eyes of all the rangers at HQ.
   For the last several years we have seen white vans loaded with LAFD Battalion Chiefs cruising through our neighborhood.  What are they doing?  Training and making contingency plans for what apparently is the distinct possibility that we will have wildfires.  On the one hand it’s nice to know they are prepared, but on the other hand it’s off-putting to know it’s such a real threat.  A call to the fire station with news of smoke brings the engines running!
   The locals know “the season” has started when the LA Fire Department sends its engines out to cruise the hillside residential areas leaving those pesky notices to clear the property.  Lucky us!  This usually means forking over $500-$1,000 to get rid of “indigenous vegetation” within 200 feet of our houses.  Following on the heels of these notices, migrant hillside clearance crews show up, and charge whatever they think you’ll pay.  If you don’t clear your property, the city will help by doing it themselves, and billing you union wages for the privilege.  We may grouse about it, but we know that this is part of the responsibility of living in the hills.
   The LAFD department reminds us that these hillside fires can travel 2-3 mph, and faster if the Santa Ana’s are blowing, which always seems to be the case.  So, plan ahead. Know your escape route, leave early, pitch all the flammable stuff into the pool, draw your drapes, close the windows, leave the Barricade Gel out where the firefighters can find it and remember to leave them milk and cookies for when they are saving your house from going up in smoke.