Malibu fell short of resembling a ghost town during the wake of last week’s fires, as almost 1,500 a replaced approximately 1,500 Malibu evacuees. The result: a coastal hometown converted to a firefighter’s city-its priciest section stationed in the air.
“We built a small city for every firefighter to have what they need. If we know we’re going to be somewhere for several days, then we set up camp,” Logistics Fire Officer Jose Lopez said in an interview during last week’s fire, as he stood under beating helicopters in an almost indistinguishable Malibu Courthouse parking lot, complete with makeshift trailers, tables and outhouses scattered between fire engines.
The number of firefighters assigned to Malibu grew from 200 to 700 on Oct. 21, and to more than 1,446 by Monday afternoon, as the Santa Ana winds drove fires across thousands of acres.
Fourteen helicopters and two winged aircraft fought the hottest core of Malibu wildfires from above.
The helicopters, the most manageable aircraft, dominated the airborne Malibu firefighting scene.
“They were using anything they could get that was manageable in the wind,” said Michael Jarvis, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. “[Helicopters] are easier to operate. They can also get into canyons tighter. You can’t drop S2s through there.”
S2s, most commonly known as Super Scoopers, are also incredibly maneuverable, said Tony Morris of the Wildfire Research Network, explaining why they were the only air tankers in Malibu. They hold 1,600 gallons and reload in 12 seconds. Los Angeles County owns two.
The largest and newest air tanker to date, the DC-10, dwarfs the Super Scooper, boasting a holding capacity of 12,000 gallons.
“The DC-10 is a new technology,” said Daniel Berlant, state fire spokesman. “Our department is the first department to contract with this equipment.”
The Dec. 12, 2006 issue of The Malibu Times featured debate surrounding the DC-10, which is now under a three-year contract with the state of California. Although 10 times larger than most fire fighting aircraft, critics argue that bigger is not always better.
“Because of its size, it’s limited. It can’t get as close to the fire as the S2s. It’s quality over quantity,” Jarvis said.
DC-10s cannot maneuver as easily through rough terrain, explaining why it never reached Malibu.
Morris added that although it costs the state $26,000 per hour to operate a DC-10 or $5 million for a September through January season, price of operations are well worth it.
“Just one saved Malibu house would pay for the contract,” Morris said.
The DC-10 saved zero Malibu homes this week, as California fire officials reserved its massive 12,000 gallons for Victorville on Sunday and Lake Arrowhead on Monday.
The types, sizes and levels of aircraft used throughout Southern California vary widely, from a Grumman S-2T, an air tanker that holds 1,200 gallons of fire retardant, to an Erickson S2, a helicopter holding 2,400 gallons.
“Different aircraft are used in different waves of attack on the fire,” Morris said.
Retardant-holding aircraft are not commonly used in Malibu.
“L.A. County prefers to drop water,” Morris said. “Some people don’t like retardant to be dropped on houses, cars, vegetation.”
Water is better for the environment, “but it may not be as effective,” Jarvis said.
Most helicopters in Malibu used Bambi Buckets, plastic buckets hanging from the bottom of the helicopter. Buckets scoop water from a still water source, such as the reservoir at Pepperdine University’s Alumni Park, then open, pouring thousands of gallons above the fire. Helicopters constructed to hold water in their bellies also refilled at Pepperdine, where engine hoses supplied them, Berlant said.
The Fire Hawk, a Los Angeles County Fire Helicopter, is arguably one of the most versatile machines. Equipped with night vision, it is able to operate 24 hours per day dodging power lines, trees and other obvious hazards.
In addition to the high-tech air equipment, 14 hand crews, 247 fire engines, two bulldozers and four water tenders made up the Malibu ground crew.
Type 1 hand crews worked around the clock, meeting the fire on foot, cutting brush away. Type 2 crews, made up largely of California inmates, followed closely behind with shovels, making sure “unburned fuel”-dry, flammable grasses-sat separate from charred grasses or “burnt fuel,” preventing re-ignition.
“They have to make sure burned fuel is next to dirt, then unburned fuel,” Fire Information Officer Ken Schaefer said.
Fire engines are reserved for trying to save burning structures. Ideally, wind calculations, not blazing rooftops, dictate where a fire engine moves next.
“Ideally we like to get engines to the structure before the fire gets there,” Schaefer said. “We have hose-lines out so that they’re ready.”
Nine pre-designated facilities allied with the firefighter’s “city,” notably Pepperdine University. Not only did Alumni Park transform into a helicopter-landing base or “heilspot,” Firestone Fieldhouse became a barracks, housing firefighters exhausted from 12-hour workdays or nights. Day operations worked from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., while night operations labored from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The city of firefighters stationed in Malibu was as diverse as the city itself. Three separate L.A. County teams came together, with engines from cities as far away as Monterey Park, Arcadia and Garden Grove, and teams from Northern California and Orange County also joined the fight, guided only by each person’s designated job.
“There are times you’re so stressed that a little thing will piss you off,” Lopez said. “It makes it easier to work with teams you recognize.”