Arnold G. York
Too close for comfort
It was too close for comfort. There were times when this fire looked so much like the 1993 Topanga-Malibu fire, which took out nearly 300 homes, that my palms kept getting sweaty. There was also the knowledge in the back of my head that it can happen again, you can get burnt out more than once.
Most of us go through life believing bad things only happen to other people; that is, until they happen to you. Denial is probably part of being human. First, you deny it can happen to you and then, even after it happens, you immediately start forgetting it happened. The fear, the pain, the sleepless nights, the sweaty palms begin to recede and you begin again to focus on the good life in Malibu. It may be a bit of idiocy, but it’s necessary for survival, otherwise we’d all be headed out of here. It’s sort of like the pain of childbirth. If women could remember that pain, with all its intensity, the human race would probably end, so forgetting is positive and necessary for life to go on.
But forgetting the pain doesn’t mean we have to go blindly into the future. There are lessons to be learned from this fire. True, we were better equipped and better prepared than in the past, but we were also damn lucky this time, and next time we might not be so lucky.
On the positive side, the coordination among the various fire departments, the special strike forces, the Los Angeles County Sheriff and County Fire Departments, the CHP, the City of Malibu and the other governmental bodies and agencies, and Pepperdine University was so much better than in the past. The County Fire Department conducts a post mortem after every major fire to evaluate lessons learned. They did it after the 1993 fire, except it apparently didn’t just end up as a volume on someone’s bookshelf. They put those lessons learned into policy and new strategies, and trained and equipped accordingly. And we’re all the better for it with homes saved and deaths that didn’t happen.
They also shut down the town, and as uncomfortable as that was and as difficult as it made life for all of us, it gave them maximum flexibility and ability to move men and equipment around. I’ve been through enough fires to know that fighting fire is a bit like a chess game. The fire and the wind have minds of their own. Fire officials try to outguess it and pre-position firefighters and equipment, but the fire and wind don’t always oblige and once fire starts moving, turning from a fire into a conflagration, as it did in Orange and San Diego counties, there is little that can be done other than trying to protect people and homes, and let the fire burn itself out.
I know for some people that idea is hard to take. We live in a time of the myth of technology: Technology can solve everything and with it comes all the conspiracy theories that if bad things happen, it must be because someone tied our hands and wouldn’t let us use the technology. I was talking to a friend who is very high up in aviation fire circles. He said those big water tanker airplanes are good to use in up to about 30 mph winds, maybe a little higher if the wind is steady. Taking those big water droppers into a canyon, and getting low enough and slow enough to hit the target, takes skill, practice and a great deal of luck. Air running through canyons is kind of like fast flowing river water. There are rapids, and a plane down low could get sucked into the ground or into the canyon sides. This is why in certain areas you can get only a helicopter in and out. They can work closer and in higher winds-but they carry less.
That’s where luck comes. If the wind quiets down or is steady long enough to get on top of the fire, firefighters can control it. If not, the fire calls the shots as it did when it came roaring down Malibu Canyon and took out Malibu Presbyterian Church and Castle Kashan, and a number of homes.
There are some personal lessons learned from this fire:
Pack your valuables (most of all your computer and papers with all the family financial information) into the auto and be ready to go.
Some people feel that staying is the best chance for house survival, but I always felt it’s easier to build a new house than to grow a new skin.
Accept the reality that fire is part of life in Southern California and especially in Malibu.
That means that Edison has to do something about poles and wiring that can’t stand up to unpredictable winds and climate.
That means that Charter Cable has to anticipate part of their infrastructure is going to burn out and they need some backup.
That means the city has to be up on its Web site and its radio every hour on the hour with news updates. We updated The Malibu Times Web site every two hours, even more often where we could (thanks to a dedicated, hard-working staff).
Have a battery-powered radio because often, for many, that’s the only way you can receive information
Clear your dead brush-and that’s not just advice for homeowners. This includes all the government agencies that own parkland and hang onto this illusion that letting things grow wild and burn is a naturally “good” phenomenon.
Lastly, pray for soft winds and good luck because, if there is one thing I know for sure, it’s that fire is arbitrary and fickle and you can do everything right and still be wrong, while the guy next door isn’t touched.