With fire season in full force, it was time for Topanga residents to make critical decisions about a forming a community wildfire protection plan (CWPP) that would become effective throughout the Canyon.
Community Wildfire Protection Plans are a federal vehicle for communities to identify priority actions for wildfire prevention and fire safety on private and public lands.
PHOTOS BY ANNEMARIE DONKIN  (L-R) Retired civil engineer Doug Thomas, fire ecologist Marti Witter, retired Topanga postman Rick Davis and Louise Thomas of T-CEP pour over a map of Skyline at the fire safe meeting on October 23 to create a community wildfire protection plan. |
To achieve their goal, community members, park service officials and Station 69 officers met at the Topanga Christian Fellowship Church on Friday, Oct. 23 to create a plan to meet the March 2010 deadline to apply for federal grant money.
Friday's meeting was one in a series of community meetings being held through November–most are in Malibu–organized and endorsed by T-CEP, the County of Los Angeles Fire Department, National Park Service and the Fire Safe Council to implement an effective wildfire protection plan for the approximately 100,000 acres of the Santa Monica Mountains.
Rebecca Goldfarb is a T-CEP neighborhood network team leader and president of the Town Council. She was optimistic about working with state and federal agencies to expand the reach of T-CEP in responding to a fire emergency.
"This is the only way to do it," she said.
According to the National Park Service, communities that organize Fire Safe Councils and participate in the CWPP process are able to qualify for federal funding through the California Fire Safe Council (www.firesafecouncil.org).
What that means for residents is to identify risks, hazards and assets in their neighborhoods (water tanks, swimming pools), coordinate communication, create evacuation plans and decide what projects would qualify for federal grant money, such as brush clearance and removal of non-native trees.
Tracy Katelman, a registered professional forester with ForEverGreen Forestry of Eureka, Calif. (www.forevergreenforestry.com), facilitated the meeting.
 Janice Harman and Rebecca Goldfarb review their fire safety checklist in preparation for a community wildfire protection plan in the Sylvia Park/Hillside area. |
"We're looking forward to working together to identify specific actions that meet your needs, while protecting and restoring the precious habitat of the Santa Monica Mountains," Katelman said. "I want you to leave here with a different perspective."
Also on hand were three local fire safety experts–J. Lopez, Deputy Forester, L.A. County Fire Department, Mike Wilson, Fire Information Officer, National Park Service and Kathryn Kirkpatrick, Fire Management Officer for the National Park Service.
In The Path of Fire
Kirkpatrick said the only natural cause of fire in the Santa Monica Mountains is lightening that, dating back to 1981, accounts for burning less than 100 acres.
The rest were caused by arson, weed whacking, mowing, matches, cooking fires, children, fireworks and accidents. According to the Park Service, downed power lines, destroying approximately 1,900 acres, caused the most devastating fires.
"Most fires are caused by human activity and driven by the wind, so fire season is now year-round," she said. "Your houses are what is out of place here; you have put houses in very strange places."
Defensible Space
Officer J. Lopez reminded the audience how critical it is to consider what risks and hazards surround their homes.
"On hot, windy days, imagine tossing lit matches around your house; that's what embers are like," Lopez said. "Embers can fly up to three miles away; homes that are not prepared properly are at risk. We lose more homes from embers than from flames."
Lopez urged folks to implement simple measures to prevent their houses from burning down due to urban fuels, such as brooms, doormats, patio furniture and hanging plants. He also suggested replacing non-native trees with native oaks.
Katelman urged residents to respond to emergency orders and to get out fast if they call for evacuation, because fire moves at about two miles per hour and it can take more than five hours to get out of the Canyon.
"The national government is not responsible to protect your home because of where you live," Katelman said. "It is your responsibility to make your house safe and survivable and work with the community to help others."
A Woman with a Plan
"Become a king or queen for a day and imagine if you could do anything to make your community fire safe and money was no object. What would it be?" Katelman said as the audience split into workgroups over giant maps of Topanga. "What is on your wish list?"
Groups were asked to identify roads, gates and escape routes on the maps with green highlighter, fuel hazards with red and water sources with blue highlighter.
Natural hazards were defined as areas with lots of fuel, heavy underbrush, pines, eucalyptus, palms and identified with orange highlighters on the maps.
For their wish list, the Fernwood group outlined their priorities as hazardous tree removal, safe zones, street access, the acquisition of smaller, Type III fire engines, a super scooper, education about fire safety, fire danger signs, a prohibition on roadside parking and smoking in Topanga State Park.
The Hillside/Sylvia Park area pushed for safe zones, street access, water tanks, fuel breaks and major tree and brush clearance.
Katelman said the lists would be sent to the CWPP board for review and sent back in January with enough time to qualify for the March application deadline for funds.
More Than Luck
Rebecca Andrews has lived in Topanga for nearly 40 years. The success of the pilot East Hillside CWPP program inspired her to help form a group at West Hillside.
"We have enormous eucalyptus and pepper trees," she said. "But I don't worry terribly where I live, because fire usually goes uphill and I am near the creek."
Retired L.A. City Fireman Tony Shafer agreed with the need to remove non-native trees.
"If one of those palm trees explodes, it is like a freight train, you'll be dead if you are within 100-200 feet of it," he said. He has also tracked wind speeds of 8 mph on the ground and 100 mph on the hilltops. Surviving a wildfire, he said shaking his head, "is mostly luck."
For information on CWPPs, see the California Fire Alliance at www.cafirealliance.org/cwpp/, the Society for American Foresters www.safnet.org/lp/cwppfaq.cfm.
For more information and upcoming meetings, e-mail SantaMonicaMountainsCWPP@gmail.com or call LA County Fire at (818) 890-5783.
