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