Closed-door meeting with county fire officials reported by residents violated Brown Act, legal experts advise ECM

By Nadin Abbott and Miriam Raftery

March 19, 2013 (Julian)—At a March 14 meeting of the Julian-Cuyamaca Fire District Board  to discuss the possibility of joining the County Fire Authority and dissolving the community’s volunteer fire district due to financial shortfalls in the emergency medical services side of the ledger, Fire Captain James Stowers made a surprise announcement.

March 12, 2013 (Ramona)--Vice-Chairwoman Dianne Jacob and Supervisor Ron Roberts will join disaster response experts at the Ramona Air Field today to urge the federal government to recognize that the Ramona Air Traffic Control Tower is a critical asset during county disasters, especially fires.

The Cal Fire Air Attack Base at the Ramona Air Field responds to an average of 450 calls per year and protects more than 1.7 million acres, including U.S. Forest Service land. The base played a key role in fighting the 2003 and 2007 wildfires. The county, along with Cal Fire, has made significant technology investments and upgrades to aircraft that fly from Ramona.       

In response to sequestration, the Federal Aviation Administration is proposing to close air traffic control towers deemed not crucial to the national interest. The County has learned that the Ramona Airport ATCT, operated under a FAA contract with Serco Inc., is targeted for closure. 

By Miriam Raftery

March 4, 2013 (Julian) – Julian’s all-volunteer fire department, faced with a budget crunch, is weighing a proposal to turn over firefighting responsibilities to the County Fire Authority. But some residents are voicing fears that they could wind up burned.

Dozens of firefighters and property owners packed into the Julian Town Hall Thursday night.  Many expressed concerns that out-of-town firefighters would not be familiar with rural areas and  may not find homes in a firestorm.  Relying on firefighters far away would also mean longer response times to fight fires in this historic mountain community.

February 27, 2013 (Palomar) --If you see smoke across San Diego's north inland areas, don't worry. The Cleveland National Forest is conducting burning operations this week on the northeastern side of Palomar Mountain along the Aguanga Ridge/Palomar Divide Road this week.  The Forest Service is burning fuels that have been piled as a result of fuel treatments in the area.

February 24, 2013 (Descanso)--If a disastrous event overwhelms or delays the community’s professional response, Community Emergency Response Tea.m. (CERT) members can assist others by applying the basic response and organizational skills that they learned during training.  These skills can help save and sustain lives following a disaster until professional help arrives.

The CERT training will be held in Descanso at the Town Hall on March 8-9 and March 14-16.  The classes themselves are free. 

January 26, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – Cal Fire’s San Diego unit welcomed 66 new members to its ranks in a special badge pinning ceremony this morning at Cal Fire’s facilities on Jamacha Road in El Cajon.  The new Cal Fire members are firefighters from the San Miguel Fire Protection District, which entered into a cooperative agreement with Cal Fire starting December 31, 2012. 

“The transition creates a new generation of cooperation, through a reduction of redundant staff positions while maintaining firefighter staffing at all 8 Fire Stations,” a press release issued by San Miguel Fire District states.

January 22, 2013 (El Cajon)--CAL FIRE/San Diego will be burning approximately 100 acres in the Corte Madera Ranch area near the community of Pine Valley. The burn will take place tomorrow 1/23/2013 from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. as part of a Vegetation Management Program. Smoke will be visible in many parts of East County.

By Miriam Raftery

December 20, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – in a unanimous decision, the California Public Uitlities Commission (CPUC) denied San Diego Gas & Electric  and Southern Califiornia Gas Company’s proposed Wildfire Expense Balancing Account (WEBA).  SDG&E had sought to charge ratepayers for its uninsured liability costs for wildfires caused by the utility’s lines, both for future fires and the 2007 firestorms that ravaged San Diego County. Click here for the formal decision.

“This is a huge win for San Diego County residents -- and for common sense,” said Supervisor Dianne Jacob. “SDG&E’s proposal to charge ratepayers for fires the utility largely helped cause would have been a grave injustice to ratepayers and victims of the 2007 firestorms. Sempra Energy and SDG&E continue to make healthy profits and last year dished out hefty bonuses to their top executives,” she added. “The idea that SDG&E cannot afford these costs is nonsense – and I’m glad state regulators appeared to see it the same way.”

By Miriam Raftery

December 19, 2012 (San Diego) – Why did the California Public Utilities Commission fail to notify parties that it plans to hear a drastically revised alternate decision at tomorrow’s meeting on SDG&E’s proposed Wildfire Expense Balancing Account (WEBA)? 

The new version, written by Commissioner Timothy Simon,  would allow SDG&E to charge ratepayers not only for certain uninsured costs of future wildfires caused by its lines, but also appears to now include the 2007 wildfires as well—a shift that has outraged fire survivors. (See pages 23 and 28 at link above.) The draft contains numerous other changes from an earlier alternate decision penned by Simon, as well as a separate alternate decision penned previously by Commissioner Maribeth Bushey, as ECM reported earlier.    

Former City Attorney Mike Aguirre, representing fire victim Ruth Henricks,  sent an e-mail tonight to the CPUC objecting to any discussion or consideration of the new alternative decision on grounds that it violates the Brown Act due to failure to give proper notice, as well as collective concurrence outside a properly noticed meeting.  He also alleges violation of due process.

December 6, 2012 (San Diego's East County)--County Supervisor Dianne Jacob is again asking the California Public Utilities Commission to reject an attempt by San Diego Gas & Electric to bill its customers for the uninsured cost of the region’s 2007 wildfires and any future wildfire caused by the utility.

“I remain outraged at SDG&E’s incessant attempt to slap ratepayers with a massive invoice for the 2007 wildfires that scorched hundreds of thousands of acres in rural San Diego County,” Jacob wrote today in a letter to CPUC President Michael Peevey. “The notion that SDG&E cannot afford the costs of these fires is nonsense.”

Donations needed to repair trailer for winter

November 26, 2012 (Jacumba) – Kiwanis Clubs in Campo and Crest have joined forces to assist a family with a two-year-old child.  The family, who lost their home in the Shockey Fire, has been living in a temporary arrangement but was able to purchase a fifth-wheel trailer thanks to community donations.

More funds are needed, however, since the trailer needs “much repairs and appliances” before the family can call it home this winter in an area tha receives snow, says Lorrie Ostrander of Jacumba, who has been coordinating relief efforts for the fire victims. 

The California Public Utilities Commission has announced that its November 29 meeting agenda in San Francisco will include SDG&E’s proposed Wildfire Expense Balancing Account (WEBA), the utility’s proposal to charge ratepayers for uninsured costs of wildfires. 

But the Mussey Grade Road Alliance, a Ramona citizens group, has filed a request asking the commission to move the meeting to San Diego.

November 19, 2012 (Jamul) -- –Cal Fire resources will be conducting a small prescribed burn in the  Rancho Jamul area  near the community of Jamul. This burn is scheduled to take place tomorrow, November 20, between 8 a.m. and lasting until 4:00 p.m. 

Cal Fire plans to burn approximately 80 acres. Smoke will be visible along highway 94 and other East County areas.

By Nadin Abbott

November 3, 2012 (San Diego) -- The East Coast has been battered by Hurricane Sandy, which caused dramatic damage. Many of us in sunny San Diego may believe our only major risks are earthquakes and wildfires. But our region is not immune to hurricanes. The first recorded major hurricane to hit San Diego County was 1858. Then in 1976, Hurricane Kathleen reduced I-8 to rubble, washed out a railway and destroyed a bridge in San Diego’s East County, causing major flooding as far east as Ocotillo in Imperial County. View photos of Hurricane Kathleen's damage from a book written by a CalTrans engineer.

Wikipedia lists several tropical storms and hurricanes that damaged Southern California and Arizona. Moreover, with climate change,storm tracks are slowly moving north from Mexico, so we are at increased risk. Regardless, you should be ready for a disaster. Government authorities have warned for years that people need to be ready to be on their own for 72 hours. This is a general civil defense recommendation not limited to the United States.