Nearly 50 firefighters hurried to protect faraway homes from flames over the weekend, but San Bernardino County remained protected just in case a blaze ignited here.That’s because the county’s mutual-aid coordinator had spent 12 straight hours poring over a plan for how many local firefighters can be parceled out while keeping cities and forests here fully guarded.
“We never strip ourselves down so far that we put our own county and residents in jeopardy,” said San Bernardino County Fire Chief Pat Dennen, who sent three strike teams to assist in three fires burning in Southern California.
Dennen dispatched 45 firefighters to the blazes in Yorba Linda, Sylmar and Montecito, but he said he’s drawing the line there.
The county could do without four strike teams, but with possible high winds sweeping through the coming weekend, Dennen wants to keep ample firefighters on hand.
“We need to staff up, because there’s always the possibility we’re going to be on our own,” he said. “We can’t anticipate just one incident; we have to anticipate the second, third, fourth and fifth.”
Nearly 500 firefighters from northern cities such as Fresno, Santa Barbara and Ventura could be parking 125 fire engines in San Bernardino County this weekend as a precautionary measure.
Planning ahead is critical during fire season, which is why fire officials every year have asked the Board of Supervisors for $500,000 to better staff fire engines.
The money pays for a fourth firefighter to jump on each engine in fire-prone areas, such as Devore, Wrightwood and Lucerne Valley. Additional firefighters are also staffed in Grand Terrace, because it’s a central location and can respond to several nearby areas.
“It makes all the difference in the world to have an extra set of hands,” the chief said.
Dennen’s plan and mutual aid were the reasons that fire officials were able to successfully battle 2007’s Grass Valley and Slide fires in the mountains while still helping out on the blaze that burned simultaneously in Malibu.
Within hours of the fires breaking out in Lake Arrowhead and Running Springs, local firefighting agencies had assembled 84 fire engines to attack the flames. That number grew to 142 fire engines – long before agencies outside the county sent help.
“When you see 125 fire engines coming down the road, there’s a system behind that to get it done,” Dennen said.
Written by Stacia Glenn / SB Sun
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