The blame game starts in Callyfornyuh

[NJFFSA16]

SAN DIEGO (AP) - The Southern California wildfires have been
vanquished, but the second-guessing is in full swing.
Politicians and residents have a lot of questions about how the
wildfires managed to do so much damage, scorching more than 740,000
acres, burning about 3,600 homes and killing 22 people. They were
the most destructive wildfires to ever hit California.
In hard-hit San Diego County, they want to know whether a lack
of coordination and equipment hindered the firefighting effort and
prevented communities from being saved. President Bush, Gov. Gray
Davis and a 1932 state law have all come under criticism.
"There's a distinct amount of anger, fear, confusion and
concern," said San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob.
Unlike other large counties in California, San Diego County does
not have a consolidated fire agency. Instead, more than 50 agencies
serve the county, including small volunteer departments, city crews
and the U.S. Forest Service. But when wildfires hopscotch across
boundary lines, communication and coordination can suffer.
"I think the county should step up to the plate and take
responsibility for fire protection," said Kevin Dubler, fire chief
of the Julian Cuyamaca Fire Protection District.
Jacob has pushed consolidation for years, but said it has been
opposed by many communities, especially rural ones. A county task
force is to issue a report in December, something Jacob hopes will
lead to a combining of county firefighting resources.
The lack of air support at times, and the red tape involved in
putting firefighting planes in the air, have also led to scrutiny.
The first helicopter to spot the big San Diego fire radioed for
backup, but never got it. It was too late in the day and state
rules regulating night-flying prohibited it. Officials and
residents say the rules need changing.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., who lost his home in the fire,
criticized Gov. Gray Davis for not deploying available military
planes. But the Davis administration cited a 1932 law that requires
civilian resources to be exhausted first. Now many say those
restrictions need to be scrapped.
The one helicopter the city of San Diego had on hand was not
used because the city and county let the lease expire and it was
sent to the fires in San Bernardino, earning Mayor Dick Murphy his
share of criticism.
"It's just a matter of which is more important," Murphy said.
"More firefighters? More firetrucks? Or a helicopter? You have
limited resources."
The Board of Supervisors voted Wednesday to create a regional
aerial fire protection district. The county wants to put the
measure before voters by March. The Legislature would also have to
sign off on the idea.
But in the past two decades, most ballot measures that would
have raised money for county fire protection were rejected.
State officials are also pointing fingers at the Bush
administration, saying it was slow to combat the threat posed by
tinder-dry trees killed by a bark beetle infestation. The governor
asked federal emergency officials in April for $430 million to
clear the dead trees, but the request was rejected just as the
wildfires began to spread.
"This finger-pointing is not going to do anybody any good any
more," Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge said in defending the
decision.
The government said it turned down Davis' proposal largely
because Congress had already agreed to provide $43 million this
year for fighting the beetle infestation and the sum seemed
appropriate at the time.
Bruce Cain, director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at
the University of California at Berkeley, said the finger-pointing
between state officials and Washington is "a legacy of the
bitterness that we've had in our politics over the past couple of
years."
It doesn't much matter to Marcia Seiler-Christy, whose daughter,
Christy-Anne Seiler Davis, 42, died in the fires.
"They need to stop blaming each other and learn from what
happened and correct the problem," Seiler-Christy said. "I'm sure
it could have been done better, but I just can't see blaming. It
doesn't help anything."
---
EDITOR'S NOTE - Angie Wagner is the AP's Western regional
writer, based in Las Vegas.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

SAN DIEGO (AP) - A top U.S. Forest Service official defended his
agency's handling of the deadly Cedar Fire, saying the response to
the first call was "large, immediate and very experienced" but
that firefighters were unable to reach the fire's origin without
unduly risking their lives.
Rich Hawkins, the Forest Service's acting chief of firefighting
and aviation for Southern California, said that attempting to use a
winding, sloping, rutted road to get firefighting rigs to the blaze
the night of Oct. 25 while it was still small could have resulted
in "a massive firefighter mortality situation."
Instead, firefighters decided to let the fire burn until it
reached an area more accessible to equipment, Hawkins said Friday.
The Cedar Fire ultimately burned nearly 280,000 acres, destroyed
more than 2,200 homes and killed 14 people. Questions have been
raised about whether authorities were slow to respond or took every
available measure when the fire broke out.
An offer by a San Diego County Sheriff's Department helicopter
pilot to dump water on the fire was refused because of a flight
rule that grounds aircraft as the sun drops below the horizon.
Sheriff's helicopters, with 100-gallon buckets, would not have
made a difference on a fire described as "five football fields of
flame" by about 6:30 p.m., when the helicopter offer was made,
Hawkins said.
The next day, the California Department of Forestry refused help
from Navy helicopters because the pilots lacked state
certifications.
"The problem wasn't about aircraft," Hawkins said. "If we
could have driven to the fire, we could have extinguished it. It
was the roadless nature of the fire's origin that is the story."
Hawkins said that as many as 340 firefighters had responded
within 30 minutes of the first call. But the closest access road to
the fire was a half-mile away and made more treacherous by
darkness.
Firefighters had hoped that wind would remain mild and they
would face a fire of no more than 1,000 acres, which could have
been extinguished, he said.
But they also knew that "if the wind did surface, we wouldn't
have enough firefighters." Once the fire reached an accessible
area, Hawkins said, "We made our best effort."
Hawkins said a preliminary investigation by the Cedar Fire
Initial Attack Fact Finding Team determined that fire crews
responded within two minutes of the first reports, access to the
blaze was severely limited, and evacuations were ordered before the
fire jumped the San Diego River and began racing toward homes.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[Robertsc]

Firemen Don't Have A Chance
When the fire trucks are delayed 40 seconds in traffic, People say:
"It took them 20 minutes to get here."

When the truck races at 40 m.p.h., it's:
"Look at those reckless fools."

When four men struggle with an eight-man ladder:
"They don't even know how to raise a ladder."

When firemen open windows for ventilation to reduce heat in fighting a fire:
"Look at the wrecking crew."

When they open the floor to get at a blaze:
"There goes the axe squad."

If the chief stands back where he can see and direct his men, people say:
"He's afraid to go where he sends his men."

If they lose a building:
"It's a lousy department."

If they make a good "stop" folks say:
"The fire didn't amount to much."

If lots of water is necessary:
"They are doing more damage with water than the flames."

If a fireman gets hurt:
"He was a careless guy."

It a citizen gets hurt:
"It's a crazy department."

If a fireman inspects a citizen's property:
"He's meddling in somebody bgproperties="fixed"'s business."

If he wants a fire hazard correct:
"I'll see the mayor."

If he gets killed and leaves a family destitute:
"That's the chance he took when he joined the fire department."
Author: Unknown
www.RescueHouse.com.