The Orange County Fire Authority has released a 128-page report (large 8Mb file) about the devasting Freeway Fire that started November 15, 2008 in southern California and destroyed 203 homes in Orange County, including the communities of Yorba Linda and Anaheim Hills.
The Orange County Register has an excellent article on the report, but here are some excerpts outlining some of the key issues from their account:
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The major recommendations include improving radio communications, training crews in battling house fires near wildland areas, working with local water agencies to identify and rectify weaknesses in water systems, and developing a rapid-mobilization plan in large-scale emergency situations.
Nearly 18 months after the Santiago fire raced through Orange County’s canyons, tight economic times have forced the Fire Authority to postpone several major recommendations after that fire, including replacing its part-time hand crew with a full-time crew and adding a fourth firefighter to wildland engines to meet federal standards. The same recommendations were echoed in the Freeway Complex review.
The plan was to pinch off the fire early. But hundreds of gallons of water destined to be dropped by helicopters on the fire had to be diverted and dropped on a Corona fire engine crew that had been overrun by flames after going off-road to try to fight the flames. The Corona crew’s decision placed them in a “dangerous position,” between the fast-moving fire and unburned brush, the report said. The crew was saved, but flames raced west toward Yorba Linda, throwing embers more than a mile in front of the fire.
Off-duty Fire Authority crews were mounting their own defenses, hijacking three engines and heading to the firefight, creating serious safety and accountability issues. Command staff scrambling for extra engines to send to the firefight spent up to 12 hours trying to find the maverick engines, the report said. “These firefighters are heroes,” Fire Authority union President Joe Kerr said. “These firefighters came in off-duty to try to do everything they could to save homes. A lot of homes were saved because of them. You’re not going to find more dedication than that.”
“We take crew accountability very seriously,” Concepcion said. “We want to make sure this never happens again.” The involved firefighters have been interviewed but were not disciplined, Kerr said.
Two strike teams – a total of 10 fire engines – were ordered by Battalion Chief Rick Reeder to stage at Station 53 on East La Palma in Yorba Linda to get ahead of the fire. “In my mind, what was burning in Corona was already done,” Reeder said. “It was not the piece to worry about.”
Strike team leaders ignored Reeder’s order, self-dispatching instead to Corona, the report said. With the original order unfilled, strike teams did not arrive into Yorba Linda until 11 a.m. – nearly 2 hours later. The first Yorba Linda house was already burning. Command officers have a “certain amount of latitude,” Concepcion said. “They must have thought there was something more pressing in Corona,” he said.
Fire stations were emptied to fight the Laguna fire in 1993, but entire OCFA battalions were left fully staffed during the Freeway Complex fire, officials said. “We had two fires burning close to each other, and we didn’t know what caused them,” Concepcion said. Extra strike teams were ordered from other counties, but it took time for them to arrive.
