California’s 2017 Wildfire Season Provides Lessons for Future

When it comes to saving homes and lives when fire breaks out, it often pays to compare fire responses and learn from others. California had an historic fire season last year. But the lives and homes lost, also provide valuable lessons for the future.

The Thomas Fire broke out last December, eventually charring more than 280,000 acres in and around Ventura. Two people died in the fire. The Tubbs Fire Complex broke out in Northern California northeast of San Francisco last October. This event, involving thousands of small fires which grew into 18 separate large fires, consumed more than 36,000 acres in Napa and Sonoma Counties. A total of 43 deaths were attributed to the fires.

With those fires still fresh in fire professionals’ minds, what lessons can be learned from California’s devastation?

Compared to Colorado, California has much more extensive resources, which is understandable in a state with 31 million residents. But Calfire officials say that their firefighting fleet, the largest in the world, also has the advantage of variety, with a wide range of aircraft possessing different abilities.

Smaller aircraft carry smaller loads of water or retardant, but they provide maneuverability that can’t be achieved with larger aircraft, such as DC 10’s or 747’s. Larger aircraft provide capabilities of dropping greater amounts of retardant, up to 11,000 gallons.

Then there’s the difference in how each state deals with defensible space. In certain California jurisdictions, it’s mandatory for property owners to clear around buildings. Failing to do so carries fines or even tax liens.

Annually, California issues more than 16,000 notices warning property owners to clear up flammable brush or face the consequences. Colorado doesn’t have any such laws governing property ownership; in most Colorado counties, they’re considered recommendations.

While both states, Colorado and California, have considerable mountainous, steep terrain in which fires can burn, they can rely on the skills of a wide variety of firefighters.

California, though, tops Colorado when it comes to its use of inmate firefighting crews. Those crews are formed when correctional officials conduct programs allowing prisoners nearing release dates to undergo training to be part of special hand crews.

California has nearly 200 such inmate crews ready to go this season, totaling thousands of willing workers. Colorado’s use of inmate crews is more limited, with just three such crews on tap throughout the state. Even on a per capita basis, California has inmate crew resources seven times as large as Colorado.

Meanwhile, even within California, what went right and wrong provide lessons from which Colorado can learn. In the Tubbs Fires in Northern California, PGE delayed turning off power to the stricken area, which allowed downed lines to spark thousands of additional small fires.

The utility has faced heavy criticism for its inaction, although it’s unclear if the lines belonged to PGE or were those of other providers.

Just a few months later, in Southern California, utilities were proactive in turning off power to affected areas early in the firefight. With the Thomas Fire raging in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, utility providers turned off parts of the power grid in advance of the flames’ path.

Still, that action had unforeseen impact on pumps needed to get groundwater to help in fighting the fires.

Another major lesson was provided by county officials’ choices in when they notified residents of evacuations in the fires affecting Sonoma and Napa counties last October. Those notifications weren’t issued until after midnight, several hours after the hurricane force winds cranked up.

The winds downed lines, sparking fires. But by the time some alerts were issued, residents were sleeping. Also, the fire reached cell phone towers, which fell to the flames. That cut off communication to many residents reliant on cell service.

California’s fire agency learned from its own experience. When the Thomas fire broke out two months later, early warnings were provided to residents around 8:30 pm that evacuations might be issued later. The strategic option now will be considered in any fire response in California moving forward.

Additionally, California structures its state agencies to follow many of the same protocols, so there’s a high degree of inter-agency cooperation and cross-training useful for when a major fire event happens. For example, during emergencies, state public information officers from other agencies, whether they’re usually tasked with transportation or agriculture, often take up positions in the field headquarters providing support services for the Office of Emergency Management.

Taking the measure of past firefights in California and elsewhere may be the best teaching tool for Colorado fire agencies looking to improve strategies in the future.