Speaker 1: Fire Command Team at the Palli States Fire. Hey, guys
and see, so this is I. I was asked if
we could bring some more starlings here.
Speaker 2: So We've brought some more stillings here, and I'm just
here with the team and they're going to provide a
briefing of the Palisads fire.
Speaker 1: So please go ahead. All right, Well, good evening. My
name is Christian Litz.
Speaker 3: I'm with La County Fire, cooperating with a partnership with
cal Fire Team two, and I'm operating.
Speaker 1: Section chief on this Pali States fire.
Speaker 3: So Palisads fire, I'll just go We've been here since
the beginning of the fire on Tuesday. We were looking
at extreme damaging winds, erratic fire behavior coming through and
blowing in from about midway on this map and blowing
all the way down to the coastline there.
Speaker 1: When did that? So when's that starts?
Speaker 2: Just to frame of the thing for people, like I said,
I assume people like it's like great to get the
story from Like basically it's like a straight shooter, yep,
and and like you know, uh and so like how
did it start?
Speaker 1: And uh, you know, and and then maybe after how
did it start?
Speaker 2: Then like what are some of the things that can
be done to prevent it in the future.
Speaker 1: But but how did it start out? Like, what's the
what's the story? So honestly, we don't know yet. It's
still an investigation.
Speaker 3: We don't know how it started, okay, but because of
the wind honestly just allowed it to outpace anything possible.
Speaker 1: The winds are so strong.
Speaker 3: Air resources which we use to keep it small ineffective, okay,
So it blew at.
Speaker 1: Record break It grew at record breaking pace.
Speaker 3: Research put themselves probably in a bigger danger that they've
ever done, saved as many structures. But you can see
it started about here with the wind and pushed it
straight through the palisades, and it allowed it to grow lowry.
As the wind slowed down, it allowed it to grow
back go back the other way. But now the wind
came back out of the north and blew down again.
So we have several wins. Shift resources are all around
trying to.
Speaker 1: Both structure defence, which is down along the coast where
the structor is more heavy.
Speaker 3: Do you have communities all along the top that we've
just been working as hard as we can from beginning
to now without any stop, any rest resources working thirty
six forty eight hours at times just because of the
need of the of what we had to do. Right now,
the fire is looking good. We still have heat all
around the prim we still have resources all over and
try to secure those ages, edges, make sure that there
is limited the potential for any kind of growth.
Speaker 1: So we're still out there, but the activity.
Speaker 3: Is way down and then with these winds over the
next couple of days.
Speaker 1: Honestly, this fire we have to watch it and give
you it.
Speaker 3: But it's going to blow down at least most of
it into its own self. But any new fire it's
going to do the same thing. We have the winds
that's going to push it. It's not as strong as
it was on Tuesday, but there is still going to
be movements. So we're ste keeping all the resources available
and we're ready to actually not only respond to where
the fire is now any new fires that start we're
able to respond and help.
Speaker 1: Okay, so is so fires are currently under control.
Speaker 3: This fire, we're not calling it control, but there is
lying around almost all of it, okay much almost all
of it, but resources we're still working. So about the
excitement is about ten percent of the fire where the
things are there, but ninety percent of the work is
done after those planes are gone, and we have to
secure the as esse you ever watch a campfire where
the wind comes in and it's out, then the wind
comes in it blows embers.
Speaker 1: Sure, same thing can happen.
Speaker 3: We have to keep pushing and pushing and pushing deeper
and deeper and stay around all these homes and Montanito
firm wood.
Speaker 1: All the way up.
Speaker 2: When you when you like full the barriers to self
the fire going is do you just you clear the
brush and and the trees, and like what what actions
do you take around the perimeter that So.
Speaker 3: Along the premer we call it cutting line, we use those,
but really what we're doing is taking everything out down
to bare minimals flop so there will be a path
of dirt from where the line is exactly building a
fire break along the edge of the black so there's
nothing left to burn. So the only danger at that
point was if the wind blows a number over that line.
So we have to build it appropriately big enough to
secure that to stop that from happening, and then push
it into the block to take all the heat away.
Speaker 1: So it gives us a bigger buffer as much as possible.
How big is a firebreak needs to be. It depends
on the side of the fuel.
Speaker 3: If you look at the textbook size of the fuel, it's
anything that we see and it's different for terrain size
of fuel everything like that. Usually it's a couple of
times one and a half times the size of the fuel.
Speaker 1: But we have fuel in the pang Canyon area, the
Palace area. There hasn't been fire there in sixty years.
Speaker 2: So you're, wow, fifteen very quite a rare fire, correct,
Like it's a half century fired?
Speaker 3: Is something absolutely the last major fires that have really
pushed through to Pangas ninety three, ninety six, But there
is there's part of these hillsides that there hasn't been
recorded fire in sixty years.
Speaker 1: Okay, wow, all right? And other things that like would.
Speaker 2: Be like like I think what a lot of people
have careous about is like what things can be done
in the future to ensure that houses are less susceptible
to burning down. I mean it's like like like as
we rebuild for the future, because it's like there's one
thing about like past recriminations and all that, but like
we can't go we can't rewind the clock. But what
we can do is say, like, in the future, what
what should we do to minimize the probability that you know,
people's homes and businesses will burn down?
Speaker 1: Yeah, great question, and that's that's really what we want.
Speaker 3: So history as fire, as fire prevention gets better, we
we do better at safety structures. So when you look
at the La County webs site, LA City has references
out there as well.
Speaker 1: We call it. You always hear the term defensible space.
That is the biggest thing to save structures, so and
hardening your home.
Speaker 3: So defensible space will start there that is basically clear
and brush as low as possible to about one hundred
feet is well our minimum standards.
Speaker 1: Say one hundred feet away.
Speaker 2: You can you.
Speaker 3: Start at tempting, but you limit it out about one
hundred feet is the best, okay. So then when it
hits there, you're basically building that hundred foot buffer of
fuel breaks around your home.
Speaker 2: So like no kindling for a hundred feet, correct, that
sounds that sounds pretty sensible.
Speaker 3: It is, And then you hardening your home we call
hardness is don't stack firewood right right?
Speaker 1: Firewood really a big.
Speaker 3: Part of when we lose structures on a typical maybe
not one hundred mile winds, but a typical Is there
something by the house fire yep, wood furniture, something like that,
and it could burnt up and gets into the attic
and then we lose the house. Or it gets in
the porch system. Right, you might have a wood deck
and it goes out and it just allows the flame
to go into the house. So a lot of times
we talked about our ember cast that gets.
Speaker 1: In the embers.
Speaker 3: So you put screens around every opening, so you have
vents on your house, put screens, very small screens so
the air can get through there, but embers good sized
members that will actually.
Speaker 1: Catch house, yeah, get in there. Okay, So there's stuff
like that.
Speaker 3: Move everything break from your house, say, and the vegetation
in this area is astonishing beautiful and we understand.
Speaker 2: That, but well, yeah, everything you have to do for
I mean, I haven't like some things, like some of
the issues with firebreaks were like there's like some endangered
like plant or something, and then we can't do a firebreak.
Well that's an issue, like like like is there stuff
that would be helpful from a regulatory reform standpoint that
would help with fire prevention in the future.
Speaker 3: Well, La County. I mean we do have standards we
got in certain areas. We actually have these lists of
residences like this.
Speaker 1: Is what we have to get in. Okay. I think
it's just an awareness.
Speaker 3: So when people good and bad about the bad thing,
is this happened the good thing, Maybe it'll bring a
greater awareness that there is a way to help defend
your homes.
Speaker 1: There is a way to help this from stop happening
in the future. Yeah.
Speaker 3: Uh and that defensible space, building that and building.
Speaker 1: Those that's that's the way to do it. As far
as uh, well, I guess things.
Speaker 2: I guess people are like obviously, we definitely want to
give people a sense of hope for the future and
if the things get rebuilt that their house is.
Speaker 1: Not going to go down again. It's like a reasonable thing.
Speaker 2: So it's so it's like like if there are things
that should we should push for from a regulatory or
fall standpoint, this would be good to know, you know,
and and uh.
Speaker 3: Yeah, clearance space, okay, building building material right, we could
we can.
Speaker 1: Now these are newer things.
Speaker 3: So now the up to the standards of building construction
codes have been brought and have changed over the years.
Speaker 1: So maybe when their house was built, they weren't there.
Speaker 3: Now we have new the new codes, there's going to
be certain fire return material There's gonna be certain things
that they can do. If you look a lot concrete
buildings don't burn. So there's some of these people that
have built their concrete in the middle and it's right
on the middle of the black all around and nothing
was done, but they didn't burn because of the building material.
Speaker 1: You can't built you can't burn concrete, correct, So yeah,
flat and return materials, the ceiling concrete is gonna be okay, yes,
but great things.
Speaker 3: They have other materials out there now that will definitely help.
Speaker 2: Like what I think people just like I'm not hopeful
that this video can be like helpful to people, you know,
like what what should people do differently, Like if it's
a steeling concrete, you say, there's some new materials like
like like synthetic materials or what there's stuff.
Speaker 1: That they put into the materials to.
Speaker 3: Be able to help my partner over here.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, you know.
Speaker 3: Anyways, they just wanted to kind of point something out.
Back in nineteen sixty two, we had a fire. It
was called the bel air fire that burned from this
area to be kind of the same.
Speaker 1: Burn pattern, Okay, and then after that fire.
Speaker 3: That's when they basically the city of hands they out
lot would shape groups.
Speaker 1: So people outlined, Yeah, I mean, that's what I mean,
that's what I'm exactly partners saying. There's a roof made
of kindling.
Speaker 3: Right, so we update the abilities the fire sanders a
fire mentioned standard. Sure, and then then that's up to
you and the people out there that are a little
more into the architecture and to find some something that
actually could be potentially more fire safety.
Speaker 1: Sure, you know, and maybe the silver lying around the
gray cloud is that that happen.
Speaker 3: Maybe we'll live in a safer fire zone or an
area where there's prone to fires, safer type of structures.
Speaker 1: That's kind of what we're hoping to come out of this,
you know, as that's maybe one of the very small
but good things. All right, sounds good.
Speaker 2: Well, I mean, do you have any any guidance for
for people like if there's like obviously steel and concrete
and are not going to burn, but like the other
the new synthetics that you think would read better than
like or besides steeling concrete.
Speaker 1: Is there anything else?
Speaker 2: I you know, I really am not an export or
stones that actually, okay, it's pretty hard to.
Speaker 1: Boon stone steal and concrete. That there's some stuff out there. Yeah,
we're about putting it out.
Speaker 2: But yeah, I think that there some some people will
come together and find something.
Speaker 1: But yeah, there's certainly some stuff out there. All right,
sounds good? All right?
Speaker 2: Everyone? So all right? What about what about water availability?
It was water availability. I understand that was like not
an issue in Malbury?
Speaker 1: Is that correct?
Speaker 3: Water?
Speaker 1: Yeah, so there was water. We have several reservoirs that
and knows that we use a lot.
Speaker 3: Now just an example, if we have one building burning,
we could flow a thousand gallons a minute on that
one building.
Speaker 1: With the hose legs that we put in the stopping you.
Speaker 3: Can imagine one thousand gallons per house we can do. Right, So,
the amount of water we're flowing, there really is no
water system that's going to keep that pace. So we
have to bring in water tenders, which are these big
tank water tanks that you know, twenty five hundred and
three thousand gallon trucks, and they'll come in. That's what
we have to do to over to compensate, so they
park out there to do it. DWTP did a great job.
They brought in big water trucks for us, right and
we use them as basically mobile hydrants, all right, Right,
and then we have our own agency as well that
has water tenors.
Speaker 1: Okay, I am I saying?
Speaker 2: Is that that like along the maybe correct if I'm wrong?
Along in Malaboya along the coast, there was no shortage
of water in the Palistage. There was a shortage of
water at a certain point or is that not?
Speaker 3: Well, we were just we were flowing just an amount
of amount of water that the system couldn't overbre veried
just because of how much water these firefighters were utilizing.
Speaker 2: Okay, all right, that was good, all right, thanks guys,