By Anne S. Fege, Ph.D., M.B.A., wildfire ecologist and educator, and retired Forest Supervisor of the Cleveland National Forest
 

By Miriam Raftery

November 1, 2009 (San Diego) – San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) has agreed to pay $14.3 million to the state to settle claims that its poor maintenance caused the 2007 Witch Creek, Rice, and Guejito fires, plus an extra $400,000 in reimbursement to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). SDG&E did not admit causing the fires, but did issue an apology for obstructing investigators seeking causes of the fires.

Cox Cable agreed to pay the state $2 million. “We believe that our line was properly maintained and intact prior to the Santa Ana winds in 2007, and did not cause the Guejito fire,” a Cox statement read. The PUC will decide after a public hearing in San Diego whether to approve the proposed settlement, which would be paid from company profits, not ratepayers.

Some community leaders expressed dissatisfaction at the news.  “It seems to be business as usual for SDG&E,” observed Donna Tisdale, Boulevard Planning Group chair. “Get caught lying, cheating, or failing to comply, refuse to admit guilt, give a half-assed apology, and write a big fat check that never reaches the impacted/damaged communities.”

Photos by Monica Zech

October 15, 2009 ) -- In La Mesa today, city leaders, fire department chiefs and staff from El Cajon, La Mesa, and Lemon Grove, gathered for the official signing of a Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement (JPA). This agreement will create a shared management team to coordinate fire and emergency medical services, firefighter training, fire prevention, emergency planning, and community preparedness.

October 14, 2009 – It's safe to light a campfire again, state fire officials have determined.  Today, CAL FIRE lifted its no-burn proclamation due to an improvement in fire conditions, including increased relative humidity and higher fuel moisture, as well as increased availability of fire protection resources.

AB 666 WOULD HAVE REQUIRED COUNTIES TO ENSURE THAT FIREFIGHTING SERVICES EXIST BEFORE APPROVING NEW BUILDING SUBDIVISIONS

October 13, 2009 (Sacramento)--Governor Arnold Scharzenegger has vetoed legislation by Assemblymember Dave Jones (D-Sacramento) to require counties to ensure that adequate fire protection exists before approving new subdivisions in high fire hazard areas.

“I am very disappointed that the Governor chose to ignore the safety of firefighters and residents in very high risk areas,” said Jones, a candidate for state Insurance Commissioner. “My bill simply required counties to make sure there is adequate local fire protection before approving new subdivisions in high fire risk areas. This legislation would have avoided putting the lives of firefighters and the lives and property of homeowners at risk.”

October 5, 2009 (Alpine) – On Thursday, over 250 school children will join firefighters, tribal representatives, Smokey the Bear and Sparky the firedog from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. for hands-on learning about the importance of fire safety. The event, held at Viejas Recreation Center in Alpine, is being held in conjunction with National Fire Prevention Week.

EDITOR'S UPDATE:  ECM no longer recommends AlertSanDiego.  While the service does provide timely notification of emergencies targeted by zip codes, we have received complaints of SPAM, political mail and excessing mailings sent to subscribers of that service.

September 29, 2009 12:20 p.m. (Spring Valley)-- A small brush fire has been reported at 1502 Ramona Avenue in Spring Valley, Incident Protection Network reported at 11:26 a.m. The fire was reportedly heading uphill toward a home.

A dispatcher at Heartland Fire informed East County Magazine that the fire is not considered a threat and that all but one engine has been dismissed.

Had this fire posed a regional threat, our Viejas wildfire alert service would have been activated. If you are not yet signed up for these free alerts, you can subscribe using the button on the top right of our website.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Tracy Emblem

September 28, 2009 5:40 p.m. (Escondido) -- A brush fire reported at 5:05 p.m. today at Bear Valley Parkway and San Pasqual Road has burned three to four acres, CAL-FIRE spokesperson Denise Kessel informed East County Magazine.

According to Incident Reporting Network, homes are in danger and air support was requested by Escondido Fire.

State Fire Experts Urge Adoption of Emergency Response Initiative (ERI) 

By Miriam Raftery

September 23, 2009 (San Diego) - With major wildfires burning in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties and red flag warnings locally due to high fire danger, State Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) chaired a joint legislative committee hearing on emergency management in San Diego today. Fire chiefs and legislators presented grim warnings that California’s fire and emergency preparedness has been stretched too thin by budget cuts, placing area residents in jeopardy. Here are a few samples of the dire concerns raised:

”It’s October. The winds are kicking up, and we are really challenged…There are blackouts, brownouts, and reduced strike teams.“ – San Diego Fire Chief Tracy Jarmon

“Our members, they’ve all said that constraints of the budgets at state and county levels are wearing our firefighters out.” – Lou Paulson, President, California Professional Firefighers

“The system is stressed…There is zero margin for error…50 engines have dropped off the grid since the Cedar Fire…San Francisco ran out of engines. There are brownouts and blackouts at fire districts around the state…We handled the Station Fire in Los Angeles because it was the only fire…Heaven forbid if we had had three or four fires in Southern California and they were wind-driven.” – Chief Sheldon Gilbert, Co-Chair, Governor’s Blue Ribbon Task Force and Fire Chief, Alameda County

“Our fire prevention budget is shamefully low..Firefighting costs have increased 100% in the last five years…I want to see more put in at the front end.” – Senator Christine Kehoe

The Burn Institute Senior Smoke Alarm Program is for people 55 and over who own their own homes. All smoke alarms, batteries and maintenance direction are provided by The Burn Institute for the program – free of charge.

If a senior is a renter, The Burns Institute will, at the renter’s request, call the owner on behalf of the renter to advocate and let the landlord know that it is his or her legal responsibility to maintain all smoke alarm equipment.

September 21, 2009 (San Diego) – The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning cautioning Southern California residents of “explosive fire growth potential” due to a combination of strong winds and low humidity, which will be in effect from 9 a.m. Tuesday through 9 p.m. Thursday due to gusty winds and low humidity. The red flag warning includes inland, mountain and desert areas in San Diego's East County.

 HOMES BURN, EVACUATION CENTERS OPEN IN TEMECULA AS FIRE SWELLS TO 348 ACRES

September 16, 2009 (San Diego)—A fire that began early this evening has been contained at a half acre near Doane Pond on Palomar Mountain. Nine engines, four crews, three helicopters, two air tankers and tha Martin Mars were dispatched initially.

As of 10:30 p.m., a single engine remains at the scene for the night, the U.S. Forest Service has confirmed.
 

On September 12, 2009, the San Miguel Fire District will host our 4th Annual “Safe and Sound” Fire Expo. The event will be held at the Rancho San Diego Towne Center/YMCA, 2891 Jamacha Rd. El Cajon 92019, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.