The wildland/urban interface is burning, again – this time in January.
Destructive wildfires are raging around Los Angeles, decimating the suburban neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades, Pasadena, Altadena and Sylmar, with additional fires igniting overnight. The current stats, as of publication:
- The Palisades Fire has burned over 17,000 acres across both Los Angeles County and the City of Los Angeles; the Eaton Fire has consumed over 10,000 acres around Pasadena and Altadena; and the Hurst fire has scorched nearly 600 acres around Sylmar.
- Two deaths confirmed related to the Eaton Fire.
- Sustained winds over 60 mph with gusts around 100 mph fanning the flames relentlessly.
- Over 130,000 residents forced to evacuate.
- Over 2,000 homes and businesses destroyed.
- 1.1 million without power.
- Zero containment at all three fires.
In a thorough press conference Wednesday morning, two fire chiefs and a public works official painted a vivid picture for those not experiencing the devastation firsthand. Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said, “These fires are stretching fire department resources to their maximum limits.” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said that, at the time, aircraft were down due to high winds and that “all of the residents in Los Angeles County are in danger.” City public works representatives reported the hydrant system was repeatedly running dry due to overuse.
System capacity
In an unrelated story from 2024 that certainly relates to the current city fire department system capacity, the Los Angeles mayor approved cutting the fire department budget by $17.6 million in 2024, with only the “Streets” department taking a bigger reduction.
LAFD Fire Chief Kristin Crowley wrote in a Dec. 4, 2024, memo: “The reduction ... has severely limited the department’s capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires.” The mayor responded on Wednesday evening, stating the budget cuts did not impact the LAFD’s response to these particular fires.
As it relates to system capacity, for the first time in 19 years, the City of Los Angeles called back all off-duty personnel. Los Angeles county and city fire departments were working a unified command. The unified command was working to transition command to CAL FIRE around 9 a.m. CT on Jan. 8. Hundreds of firefighters were working the scenes, and the unified command had requested 50 strike teams from the state. Normally, each strike team brings five engines and about 20 firefighters. That’s right, they’ve requested 250 engines and 1,000 firefighters.
Many county and city departments are part of the current firefight. In an interview with Fox News, Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin called the Palisades Fire the “worst case scenario,” adding that the area “looked like an apocalypse and is definitely the worst fire in Pasadena history.” Citing an example of why there was zero containment and how the winds play in, the chief said, “the fires are spreading so rapidly. By the time our crews stretch hoselines, the fire is already three houses down from where they started.”
Video from the scene shows roads clogged with abandoned cars that look like jam-packed salmon trying to swim upstream. Fire department dozers pushed abandoned cars out of the way to allow firefighting equipment to get through.
Lahaina comparisons
I’m sure many of you see the comparison to the 2023 Lahaina fire. The pictures and videos coming out of Los Angeles are eerily reminiscent of Lahaina. The wind-driven Lahaina fire burned over 2,700 acres, resulted in 102 deaths and destroyed more than 2,200 structures. Residents were forced to run into the ocean to avoid approaching flames.
For Los Angeles residents, the fires have moved so fast that the best people can do is run – simply evacuate by any means necessary. News outlets reported evacuees suffering burns showing up at shelters looking for treatment, and shelter.
At zero containment and over 1,000 structures already lost, the Los Angeles fires may rival these structural statistics. Let’s pray there are no additional deaths. Only time will tell.
Federal support
Of political interest, President Joe Biden was in Los Angeles to announce two new national monuments but was unable to do so due to the fire. The president met with California Governor Gavin Newsom for a briefing at a firehouse in Santa Monica. The president quickly approved the governor’s request for a federal disaster declaration.
In addition to that declaration, President Biden directed the Department of Defense to provide firefighting resources to California. Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters Wednesday that the, “U.S. was sending 10 Navy helicopters with water buckets.” Singh said the Pentagon is working closely with the California National Guard, which is adding two Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems, while the Nevada National Guard is readying two of their own Systems. Singh further said, “The president has directed this department to bolster whatever California needs.”
It’s not just fires
In 2024, the west coast of Florida took a tough triple-punch in the gut from Hurricanes Debby (Aug. 3), Helene (Sept. 26) and Milton (Oct. 9). Southern portions of Florida’s west coast (the Fort Myers/Naples area) had just fully recovered from Hurricane Ian that devastated Fort Myers Beach in September 2022. While the Fort Myers area did see storm surge in the 2024 hurricanes, the immediate area was spared from significant damage. Areas farther north from Sarasota to Clearwater Beach saw unprecedented damage.
Florida is certainly no stranger to hurricanes, with the last similar but less costly punch 20 years prior (2004): Hurricanes Charlie (Aug. 9), Francis (Sept. 5), Ivan (Sept. 16) and Jeane (Sept. 26). The differences between storm damage in 2004 and 2024 were stark.
Total damage in Florida during the entire 2004 hurricane season totaled more than $45 billion, with 100 hurricane-related deaths. In 2024, total damage in Florida is still being assessed, but at the time of this writing, estimates are over $200 billion, with the death toll at more than 150.
When will problems identified finally become lessons learned?
Fire departments find themselves on the front line of every type of disaster. Sometimes our firehouses or our own providers’ homes have been lost along with others in the community. We warn, we help evacuate, then we fight the fires or floods and begin picking up the pieces. From a holistic perspective, it sure seems like the definition of insanity – doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
The cries of climate change and interface creep seem to have momentary impact through a code or zoning change that is later overturned by a future elected official. Successes in fire protection codes (think sprinklers and NFPA codes) repeatedly meet resistance from lobbyists and builders seeking to maximize profits and expedite processes. Efforts to reduce impacts on wetlands or to force defensible space construction in the WUI are met with state-specific code confusion and local cries of infringement on property rights.
I believe it will really take a grassroots effort, in this case by the fire department, to finally achieve lessons learned.
Smarter and smarter building
As humans, we have a seemingly insatiable desire to be one with nature. We build in the trees or for the view or proximity to water. In many cases, we build without regard for available infrastructure or protection systems and despite repeated gloom and doom admonitions. I’m certainly guilty as charged over the years. Let me explain, as it speaks to the grassroots effort I mentioned.
In West Virginia, my wife and I built a log home on the western slope of a 3,000-foot mountain. We had a great well supply; however, the closest hydrant was about five miles away, so I built a quarter-acre 12-foot-deep pond next to the house. We built in the woods. I took down five acres of “explosive” black pine trees, which, along with the draftable pond, created a several-hundred-foot defensible space around the home. After six years on that mountain, the winters were our nemesis.
Since we moved to Florida, we have built two homes. The first one was located on a lake in the center of the state at an elevation of 90 feet above sea level. The home was built of block with a metal roof. It had a “seawall” and sat over 20 feet above the lake. When we moved to the west coast of Florida, we built a new block home with a concrete tile roof, located 19 miles inland, not on a lake and at an elevation of 65 feet above sea level. We chose a new home community that had aluminum fencing (instead of vinyl or wood) and a robust construction standard. We made sure we added hurricane shutters and a generator.
The eye of Hurricane Milton came over our house. With 120-mph winds and having just received 17 inches of rain from Hurricane Debby, I would be lying if I said the anxiety wasn’t high. We had no damage as a result of the storm – no insurance claims, no damage from flying fence parts, no roof damage from asphalt shingles separating.
What did we do right?
- We created defensible spaces with a remote draft site;
- We did not build in a flood zone or anywhere near water;
- We built a new home, which was required to be built to “Miami hurricane standards”;
- We made sure our elevation was survivable; and
- We added residential fire sprinklers, even though the state does not require it, and the builder did not offer it.
Were we part of the problem? Sure. “We” keep encroaching on open spaces in our unquenchable thirst to be near it all, whatever that is.
Are we part of the solution? Absolutely. We may not be able to influence that unquenchable thirst to build, but we sure as hell can set the example in the choices we make, as homeowners and community servants.
Final thoughts
As long as we continue to stick our collective heads in the sand about coastal plain and WUI building, we will continue to have disasters like today (and last year, and the year before, etc.). The president will continue to approve disaster declarations. People will continue to die; homes, property and businesses will continue to be destroyed; and insanity will have won.
Get involved, and let your voice be heard. Your budget might be the next one cut.
