By Tim Thompson. Battalion Chief, MCFD
IN HIS MARIN Voice column (
Marin Independent Journal) of Oct. 28, Marin County Fire Chief Ken Massucco mentioned the strike teams and personnel sent by several local Marin fire departments to fight the Southern California firestorms. Once again, the issue of which house burns and which house survives during a wildfire was made painfully apparent to those of us who were there.
On Oct. 21, the Marin County Fire Department sent personnel and resources, including a strike team of five engines and two leaders.
Our strike team was assigned to the Harris Fire, burning near the communities of Potrero, Jamul, Tecate and Chula Vista. The Santa Ana winds driving the fire were among the strongest recorded in the area, with gusts of more than 80 mph. By the time the strike team arrived around midnight on Oct. 21, the fire had run more than 10 miles and was burning on both sides of Highway 94, killing one civilian, burning over a state fire engine and destroying numerous structures. Four firefighters were burned, two of them critically.
Over the next 48 hours, the fire ran through rural neighborhoods similar to the hills of Marin.
The strike team was given the assignment to access the Honey Springs Road area and "save as many homes as you can." As wescouted out ahead of the engines, we had some tough decisions to make. Based on the extreme fire conditions, we had to be very selective when it came to assigning an engine to make a stand at a house. This was primarily for firefighter safety, but also because we wanted to utilize our limited resources where we had a high probability of success.
As difficult as it was, we drove by houses that homeowners had neglected, where debris was stored under decks, vegetation was growing right up to the house and driveways were overgrown. We selected those structures where the home-owner had taken the time to create defensible space for us.
The battle to get people out and save homes went on through the night and the next day. Each engine company engaged the fire at structures in various levels of fire involvement, making tough saves. They cut burning decks and eaves away from homes, ripped burning siding off houses and used well-placed hose lines to protect structures before igniting.
We went back and surveyed the scene a few days later. The majority of the homes we had protected were still standing. A number of homes had burned, including some with defensible space. This was a result of two primary factors:
- First, California's firefighting resources were spread among 15 major fires burning simultaneously.
- Second, this was Mother Nature at her worst, with extreme fire conditions that tested even the most fire-hardened structures.
Wildfires commonly throw burning embers a half-mile ahead of the main fire, starting new fires in advance of the main fire. This may make the required 100-foot defensible space around a home seem to be a futile effort. It isn't. Dealing with the ember showers and the resulting spot fires from a home with defensible space is far more desirable to an engine company than withstanding the oncoming flame front from a home without it. If firefighters have to choose, the choice will be the house where the homeowner has created a survivable environment.
In a recent Marin Voice article in the IJ, the writer asserted that "Fires do not respect 'defensible spaces.'" Defensible space and vegetation management aren't the only factors determining a structure's survival in a wildfire, but as we have seen firsthand year after year, it greatly increases your odds.