{"id":12748,"date":"2013-04-25T17:00:52","date_gmt":"2013-04-26T00:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/?p=12748"},"modified":"2013-04-25T22:01:13","modified_gmt":"2013-04-26T05:01:13","slug":"a-look-back-at-the-sierra-madre-fire-of-2008-are-we-ready-if-it-happens-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sierramadrenews.net\/?p=12748","title":{"rendered":"A Look Back Five Years After the Sierra Madre Fire of 2008 – Are We Ready If It Happens Again?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Taken about 3:15pm, shortly after the fire started, from AM\/PM at Santa Anita and Foothill. Copyright 2008, Bill Coburn, click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n

Posted 4\/25\/13 – <\/em>Santa Anita Fire: Facts and Background<\/strong><\/p>\n

Saturday, April 26th<\/sup>, 2008, started out like many other spring days in Sierra Madre.\u00a0 Blue skies, a high of 80 degrees expected, and multiple community activities scheduled.\u00a0 The City was going to hold dedication ceremonies for its first new park in thirty years, Goldberg Park<\/a><\/strong> in honor of long-time residents Milton and Harriet Goldberg that morning.\u00a0 Later in the day, at Memorial Park, the now defunct Community Arts Commission was going to hold a Jazz Festival featuring live music.\u00a0 Little did folks who planned to attend both events realize as they left the first one, that the second one would never take place.<\/p>\n

The Jazz Festival was cancelled because a fire, dubbed the Santa Anita Fire by state and federal fire officials, broke out at about 3pm in the mountains above Sierra Madre.\u00a0 The fire burned for several days, ultimately burning 584 acres at the time of its containment on May 1st.\u00a0 Two hundred thirty eight acres were in the Angeles National Forest, and three hundred forty six acres were within the corporate boundaries of Sierra Madre.\u00a0 Five minor injuries were reported, and at one point 1,055 firefighters were assigned to the fire.\u00a0\u00a0 Just after midnight on Sunday morning the 28th, the City Council, under the leadership of Mayor Kurt Zimmerman, had an emergency meeting to declare the City to be in a state of emergency, freeing up resources from outside agencies to assist in fighting the fire.<\/p>\n

Two Red Cross shelters were set up.\u00a0\u00a0Approximately 1000 people were evacuated from Oak Crest Drive across Carter Avenue to East Mira Monte Avenue, continuing down<\/p>\n

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Copyright 2008, Bill Coburn, click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n

Mountain Trail Avenue, across Grandview Avenue to Santa Anita Avenue.\u00a0\u00a0A wedding party of 45 people and four pets were helicoptered out from Sturtevant Camp, it took five helicopter trips to move them all.<\/p>\n

The people of Sierra Madre banded together as a community to help each other and the emergency personnel fighting the fire, controlling traffic, and keeping out looters (there was a false report that houses in the evacuation area were robbed).<\/p>\n

In the end, only one small non-residential structure was destroyed, and the people of Sierra Madre had a new sense of community and appreciation for one another and emergency personnel.\u00a0\u00a0 To view our coverage of the 2008 Sierra Madre fire (officially named the Santa Anita Fire by incident command personnel),\u00a0click here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sierra Madre Fire Department<\/strong><\/p>\n

In recognition of their efforts, the entire Sierra Madre Fire Department was named Grand Marshal of the 2008 4th of July Parade.<\/p>\n

I asked Fire Chief Steve Heydorff to assist with this article, and he was kind enough to do so.<\/p>\n

SMNN:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>How has the Fire Department improved its preparedness for the next fire?<\/em>
\nChief Heydorff:<\/strong>\u00a0Our Fire Department has changed a lot in the last five years; the most significant change being that we now have 24-hour staffing of both the RA and fire engine. Our 24-hour manning at the station has also improved our response time to the scene of any fire.<\/p>\n

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Copyright 2008, Bill Coburn, click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n

The addition of full-time paid Captains is just one aspect in the Fire Department\u2019s increase in preparedness. The other aspects are more training hours for both firefighters and officers; and we have received a new fire engine since the Santa Anita Fire. Communication is always the number one complaint on any after action review of a fire; community donations, like the radios from Rotary, help at a time when we were very low on new digital radios.\u00a0 (Editor\u2019s Note:\u00a0click here<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to view our coverage of the radio donation).<\/p>\n

Thanks to increased training and the change in staffing models we have improved from an ISO rating of class IV to a class III. However, the City still has the same levels of reciprocity as it did five years ago – mutual aid.<\/p>\n

One of the most important aspects of any fire is finance. The fire’s out, the engines go home, the firefighters pat each other on the back and have great stories for the rest of their careers. Now the work of the Fire Chief and the City\u2019s Finance Director begins; and after 16 long months of filling out forms, finding and talking to the \u201cright\u201d person, the incident finally closes. Like every job, the job\u2019s not done until the paperwork done.<\/p>\n

SMNN:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>What is your most vivid memory of the fire, during the fire?<\/em>
\nChief Heydorff:<\/strong>\u00a0The way the fire would lay down during the day and then race up the hill during the night. The fire would give you hope at the end of the day and then disappointment every morning.<\/p>\n

SMNN:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>What is your most vivid memory of the fire, relating to community reaction to the fire?<\/em>
\nChief Heydorff:<\/strong>\u00a0The kindness and openness our residents showed to the engine companies that were here from out of town. I had comments from engine captains commenting on how friendly our city is.<\/p>\n

SMNN:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>What was your proudest moment during and\/or after the fire?<\/em>
\nChief Heydorff:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Working with Team 3, a type 2 federal overhead team, I was amazed at the amount of resources that were available to Sierra Madre. We had equipment from Area C, the State (CAL-fire) and the federal government, United States Forest Service.<\/p>\n

SMPD<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the big parts of the fire was the need to evacuate people, and control traffic in the fire area, as lookie-loos came from all over. \u00a0Chief Larry Giannone was a Captain at the time, under then Chief Marilyn Diaz, and was in charge of operations for the PD. \u00a0We asked the Chief if he’d help with this article…<\/p>\n

SMNN:<\/strong>\u00a0What unanticipated \u00a0issues did you encounter during the fire and what has been done to overcome them in the event of the next fire?<\/em>
\nChief Giannone:<\/strong>\u00a0Unanticipated issues were just the lack of dealing with this type of event, especially since we had not had a fire of its magnitude for many years. \u00a0People that had worked in the city during the last fire had moved on or retired. \u00a0So for many of the staff this was something new. \u00a0For the PD Staff and outside agencies that had arrived to assist us the biggest unanticipated issue was the “sternness” of many who refused to leave their homes when evacuations were taking place. \u00a0It would seem that one’s life would outweigh the loss of property. \u00a0There are many different opinions out there, many of us just took it for granted that people would leave. \u00a0We had to quickly adjust our game plan to respect the wishes of others.<\/p>\n

The fire moved quickly and the length of the event was also unanticipated. \u00a0We are better prepared now in dealing with this by knowing upfront that this type of event is going to be long and we need to spread our resources out and that is somewhat hard to do when they want to come to work immediately to help, because that is what we are sworn to do.<\/p>\n

SMNN:\u00a0<\/strong>How are we better prepared to face a major fire from a PD standpoint then we were in 2008?<\/em>
\nChief Giannone:\u00a0 <\/strong>Better prepared just comes with experience. \u00a0As I mention above a lot of the experience from the past was gone. \u00a0City Staff in 2008 is still here and if it happened tomorrow we would know that these are long term events and we need to plan for it accordingly. \u00a0Outside resources would be called in immediately and personnel would be spread out and scheduled so people were not here for days and working past their capacity. \u00a0We also know that we need a very large area to stage personnel and equipment and that is also something that would take place immediately instead of days later. \u00a0We have to have a unified command center where everyone can be. \u00a0We have improved our communication equipment as a result of lessons learned. \u00a0 I have worked our fire, was in charge of \u00a0some of the outside resources for the Station Fire, and just recently assisted with the fire in Monrovia. \u00a0You learn from each of these types of events what works and what doesn’t and you go home at night just hoping it does not happen to your community again.<\/p>\n

SMNN:\u00a0<\/strong>What is your most vivid memory of the fire, during the fire?<\/em><\/p>\n

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Shot taken with zoom lens from Montecito and Auburn, Apr. 27, 2008. Copyright Bill Coburn<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/em>
\nChief Giannone:\u00a0<\/strong>My most vivid memory of the fire was the first night, after a very long day, sitting in the city yards and watching the flames roll across the hillsides. \u00a0Watching Mother Nature take over for something we were having difficulty controlling was a very eery sight and the anticipation of what the end result was going to be for our community never left my mind.<\/p>\n

SMNN:\u00a0<\/strong>What is your most vivid memory of the fire, relating to community reaction to the fire?<\/em>
\nChief Giannone:\u00a0<\/strong>My most vivid memory when it came down to the community reaction was how the community opened it’s doors and businesses to the hundreds of fire fighters and police officers that responded to the situation. \u00a0The overwhelming response from the community to feed the personnel and offer them a warm bed if need be was truly a community pulling together. And let us not forget our volunteers who came to call of need and were there by our sides supporting us in many different ways.<\/p>\n

SMNN:\u00a0<\/strong>What was your proudest moment during and\/or after the fire?<\/em>
\nChief Giannone:\u00a0<\/strong>The proudest moment during the fire was seeing not only the police department, but all the other city departments, stand together during that long week to get things done, while tragedy moved across our hillsides. \u00a0Unknown to many, City Staff was working around the clock behind the scenes to bring some sense of security and normalization to the community. \u00a0Many of us did not go home for days. \u00a0You also have to thank the outside agencies that responded without question to help our community. \u00a0Police and fire personnel from around the San Gabriel Valley protected our community and it was a proud moment to see the different uniforms in the community committed to the same goal of keeping the community safe. \u00a0No homes were lost and no people were injured or killed. \u00a0We all have to take a moment to realize how successful we were in our efforts.<\/p>\n

The Cost of the Fire<\/strong><\/p>\n

I contacted City Manager Elaine Aguilar and requested financial information and some personal memories, and received back the following:<\/p>\n

SMNN:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>What was the total cost of the fire to the City?\u00a0 Is it paid off?\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>
\nThe total cost of the fire was $2.8 million, of which the City\u2019s share was 59% or $1.6 million. It took 16 months, but thanks to the diligent work of staff, we were able to receive federal and state grants to cover about 80% of the City\u2019s share.<\/p>\n

SMNN:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>How much money was donated to the Community Foundation fund (set up to help with the cost of the fire), and how was it used?\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>
\nJust over $10,000 was donated to the Community Foundation \u2013 this was used to offset the City\u2019s remaining costs for the fire.<\/p>\n

SMNN:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>What issues for the City did you see in the last fire, and how have they been addressed?<\/em>
\nElaine:<\/strong>\u00a0Everyone responded exactly as we could have hoped and as they were trained to do \u2013 we handled this event heroically. One major thing we made sure to address was that our staff worked too many consecutive hours \u2013 we couldn\u2019t get them to go home and rest. We have since gotten stricter when the EOC opens with time keeping and rotating staff 12 hours on, 12 hours off to ensure our staff is getting adequate rest.<\/p>\n

SMNN:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>What is your most vivid memory of the fire, during the fire?<\/em>
\nElaine:<\/strong>\u00a0The image of the banner over Baldwin \u2013 looking up the mountain and seeing the outline of the mountain engulfed in flames.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>SMNN:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>What is your most vivid memory of the fire, relating to community reaction to the fire?<\/em>
\nElaine:<\/strong>\u00a0How much the residents cared and were involved \u2013 to the point of going out and buying coffee for the first responders.<\/p>\n

SMNN:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>What was your proudest moment during and\/or after the fire?<\/em>
\nElaine:<\/strong>\u00a0Seeing all of the City staff from all the departments coming together to work as a team.<\/p>\n

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City Communication Response to the Fire<\/strong><\/p>\n

Elisa Cox (then known as Elisa Weaver) was the Public Information Officer during the fire, and she and other members of staff that also served as PIO were instrumental in getting the word out through the various media, including SierraMadreNews.Net.\u00a0 I asked her if she\u2019d help with this article, asking questions about communications and her personal recollections, and here\u2019s what I got back:<\/p>\n

SMNN:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>How much better prepared are we to communicate to people during the next fire?\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Copyright 2008, Bill Coburn<\/p><\/div>\n

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The City was very prepared and commended multiple times for its communication with the residents during the fire. Our greatest changes or enhancements over the past five years include the launch of AM-1630, the City\u2019s Emergency Radio Station, the expansion of the City\u2019s eBlasts notifications, and the explosion of social media \u2013 Facebook and Twitter have become excellent sources for extending information quickly.<\/p>\n

SMNN:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Will press releases be posted on the City website, as well?\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>
\nGenerally, all our press releases are posted on the City website. However, in an emergency like a major wildfire or earthquake, the priority goes to eBlasts, Facebook and Twitter as they are the quickest way of communicating with the public we have at this time. If we cannot post press releases on the website, there is generally a note on the website to visit the City\u2019s Facebook page for the latest information.<\/p>\n

SMNN:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Are we better prepared to utilize SMTV3 than we were?\u00a0<\/em>
\nWe have not greatly updated the technology with SMTV3 since the Santa Anita Fire. The City still utilizes this resource to post slides with emergency information and, (assuming) an emergency does not affect our television infrastructure, we are equipped to air live from the Council Chambers.<\/p>\n

SMNN:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>What is your most vivid memory of the fire, during the fire?<\/em>
\nElisa:<\/strong>\u00a0I was in my office (on a Saturday) finishing up some paperwork for the Goldberg Park planting we had that morning and stepped outside to check on the Jazz Festival the former Community Arts Commission was hosting, I looked up and saw flames on the mountain. I had the distinct thought, \u201cWe\u2019re not going home any time soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

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PIO Elisa Weaver (Cox) with then Congressman Dreier addressing press from Sierra Vista Park, Copyright 2008, Bill Coburn<\/p><\/div>\n

SMNN:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>What is your most vivid memory of the fire, relating to community reaction to the fire?<\/em>
\nElisa:<\/strong>\u00a0Everyone was pitching in. Commissioners showed up to see how they could help out; friends-of-friends were helping people they barely, (if at all) knew, pack up and evacuate homes. Lifeguard staff came in on their own to help make sandwiches, and residents all over the place were posting signs of thanks and appreciation. It always amazes me how much we come together as a community in times of trouble.<\/p>\n

SMNN:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>What was your proudest moment during and\/or after the fire?<\/em>
\nElisa:\u00a0<\/strong>After Team 3 took over command of the Fire, Team 3\u2019s PIO Team requested that the City\u2019s PIO team stay in place because we had such a great grass roots communication system set up. The PIO Leader told us that he had not worked with a locality whose information team had been so prepared and effective in reaching the local residents.<\/p>\n

Mt. Wilson Trail Race Postponed<\/strong>
\nThe Mt. Wilson Trail Race of 2008 (the 100 year anniversary of the first running of the race) was postponed. \u00a0It was scheduled for May 24th, and thanks to what Trail Race Chair Pete Siberell described as a \u201cherculean effort\u201d by Charlie Bell, Pete Siberell, Gary Hilliard, John Grace, Pete McNulty, Mark Gage, and Mark Hacker\u00a0and a crew of volunteers, the race was still going to take place (see our May 17th<\/sup>\u00a0coverage announcing that the race was on<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, with photos of the trail just after the fire and the volunteers working on the trail, as well as a detailed accounting of the work that was done and by whom), until a freak May rain storm on the 22nd<\/sup>\u00a0 caused the trail to be, as Siberell describes it \u201cextremely rutted and uneven due to the water running over it and dumping debris everywhere. It was in bad shape and extremely unsafe for both race participants and trail volunteers like Sierra Madre Search & Rescue, the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts.\u201d<\/p>\n

I asked Pete to share his recollections of the fire as regards the Trail Race for this article, and here\u2019s what he had to say\u2026 \u201cAs I recall it, the MWTR Committee was working hard to get the race ready for Saturday, May 24, as our world was turned upside down with the fire, which pretty much destroyed the one-mile stretch going up the mountain from the trailhead.\u00a0 We recruited a number of crews to work day and night to clear the trail of all the dirt, brush, trees and other detritus that fell on it during the fire.\u00a0\u00a0 And much of the trail had burning embers still on the trail\u00a0weeks<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0after the blaze was put out.\u00a0 The trail looked like a<\/p>\n

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Hard to tell from this angle, but that patch of smoke was probably 3' tall. May 6th, 6 days after the flames were pretty much gone from this area. Copyright 2008, Bill Coburn<\/p><\/div>\n

deserted, dark moonscape, and all the trail workers would come back off the mountain looking like Pennsylvania miners coming off their shifts.<\/p>\n

It was really a herculean effort, and I was so proud of our group of selfless and enthusiastic volunteers (along with Forestry Department staff and even prisoners from the California correctional system!).\u00a0 We would be putting on a Mt. Wilson Trail Race unlike any other, over terrain that would be completely foreign to our runners.\u00a0 But we were ready to go.<\/p>\n

And then the rains hit\u00a0<\/strong>(Editor\u2019s Note: the rain and mudslides hit on the afternoon of May 22nd<\/sup>,\u00a0see our coverage of the mudslides here<\/a><\/strong>).<\/em>\u00a0 We were expecting some rain and were actually looking forward to it softening up the trail for the race.\u00a0 But not damaging the trail the way it did, essentially cancelling all our hard work.\u00a0 Thankfully, the rain and mudslides did not wash out any sections of the trail.\u00a0 But the trail was extremely rutted and uneven due to the water running over it and dumping debris everywhere.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It was in bad shape and extremely unsafe for both race participants and trail volunteers like Sierra Madre Search & Rescue, the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts.<\/p>\n

I remember getting a call from Community Services Department Director Michelle Keith after the hard rain hit, saying we could not run the race on the day it was scheduled \u2013 too dangerous, particularly with the chance of more rain and the trail washing out.\u00a0 Clearly, there was no time for even my super volunteers to get the trail ready, but we could postpone the race a week or two, as long as repairs got done.\u00a0 Naturally, I was eager to reschedule it as soon as possible.\u00a0 City staff would not be available to work the next Saturday, but they would two Saturdays later.\u00a0 We settled rescheduling the race for Saturday, June 7, although I was worried we might still not have the manpower or time to get the job done.<\/p>\n

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Volunteers working to repair the Trail Copyright 2008, Bill Coburn<\/p><\/div>\n

But we did.\u00a0\u00a0 There had to be 40 to 50 men and women who we recruited, working like hell for two weeks to make the trail ready.\u00a0 I remember the city staff doing whatever it could to make sure it had our back.\u00a0 And it did.\u00a0 The job got done!<\/p>\n

Runners coming off the mountain the day of the race on June 7, 2008 came back to giant vertical banners hung in Kersting Court, listing every Sierra Madre Volunteer Fire Fighter and thanking each one.\u00a0 All proceeds from the popular post-race beer garden were given to the Santa Anita Fire Fund.\u00a0 Needless to say, it was a most memorable MWTR for everyone, and not just because it was the 100th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary.\u00a0 It was because we fought like hell with Mother Nature to put this wonderful community tradition on!\u201d<\/p>\n

Public Works Response to Fire and Mud Prevention Follow-up<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bruce Inman, Director of Public Works, also contributed to the article:<\/p>\n

SMNN: <\/em><\/strong>Which was the bigger challenge for Public Works, the fire or the preparation for mudslides?\u00a0<\/em>
\nBruce:\u00a0<\/strong>The fire didn\u2019t present a huge challenge for Public Works; Public Works role in a fire is largely one of assisting with logistics.<\/p>\n

SMNN: <\/em><\/strong>How much mud was hauled away the following season?<\/em>
\nBruce:\u00a0<\/strong>Tons and tons, cubic yards and cubic yards, trucks and truck\u2026 in other words, a lot. Although we do not have exact numbers, we conservatively have estimated 840 cubic yards or about 100 truckloads.<\/p>\n

SMNN: <\/em><\/strong>How many homes ended up being evacuated for mud?<\/em><\/em>
\nBruce:\u00a0<\/strong>The City does not have a record of the number of homes evacuated.<\/p>\n

SMNN: <\/em><\/strong>What was the cost to the City to prepare for mud?\u00a0<\/em><\/em>
\nBruce:\u00a0<\/strong>The cost to prepare for the mud was over $500,000. Much of that came to the City in the form of a federal grant from USDA\/Natural Resources Conservation Service.<\/p>\n

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Mudslides in the canyon, May 22, 2008, a result of the fire. Copyright 2008, Bill Coburn<\/p><\/div>\n

SMNN: <\/em><\/strong>What issues for Public Works did you see, and how have they been addressed?<\/em>
\nBruce:\u00a0<\/strong>Public Work\u2019s biggest issue was the limitation on physical access to the mudflow-prone areas of the City, which hampered us in the amount of personnel and equipment we could bring to bear on cleaning up.<\/p>\n

SMNN: <\/em><\/strong>What is your most vivid memory of the events?<\/em>
\nBruce:<\/strong>\u00a0My most vivid memory was to be interviewed by a major TV News Network on Christmas Eve 2008 following the issuance of a mandatory evacuation notice for that night.\u00a0\u00a0(Editor\u2019s Note: If I remember correctly, steady rain was predicted for Christmas day 2008, but Sierra Madre remained relatively dry all day).<\/em><\/p>\n

On\u00a0May 6th<\/a><\/strong>, May 10<\/a>th<\/a><\/sup><\/strong>, 16th and 31st<\/sup>\u00a0of 2008, I was able to take photos on the Mt. Wilson Trail, even though for some of that time the trail was closed.\u00a0 The trail had burned most of the way to First Water, but there was very little damage along the trail from that point up to Orchard Camp.\u00a0 But up to first water, there was almost complete devastation, with much of the hillside looking more like a moonscape than a hillside on planet Earth.\u00a0 The other day, April 21st, 2013, I took my camera up on the trail with me, with some of the pictures I had taken in May of 2008, that I had emailed to my cell phone, so that I could try to recreate as closely as possible the photos from 2008, giving us a comparison of what the trail looked like then and now.\u00a0 This video shows then and now photos, one right after the other.<\/p>\n