Los Angeles 'not prepared' for size, growth of raging wildfires: Fire chief
Fire departments in Los Angeles have long had to deal with wildfires crouching close to homes and businesses.
But the ongoing Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire and Hurst Fire, which have engulfed over 16,000 acres as of Wednesday afternoon, have left first responders stretched thin, according to Anthony C. Marrone, the fire chief of the County of Los Angeles Fire Department.
"LA County and all 29 fire departments in our county are not prepared for this type of widespread disaster," he said during a news conference Wednesday morning.
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"The LA County Fire Department was prepared for one or two major brush fires, but not four, especially given the sustained winds and low abilities," he added. As of Wednesday afternoon, there were wildfires burning in Los Angeles county, officials said.
Environmental experts who have studied wildfires in the region agreed -- and noted that the fires' unprecedented nature makes it extremely difficult to resolve on a moment's notice.
"This particular event is a rare high-impact event," Joshua Lee Pulsipher, an assistant professor of chemical engineering at the University of Waterloo, who has researched mitigating wildfires, told ABC News. "You could have a whole army of resources available but it would be at a great cost for something that may not be warranted."
Still, experts said that fire department officials can take steps to mitigate and prevent severe damage and harm.
Pulsipher said that fire officials in the state have been observing the rise in wildfires during the last couple of years and doing data analysis, but the fires burning now were exacerbated by the high winds and historically dry land conditions.
"There are advances being made but I think we are making progress, but we will never be at a point where we can be prepared for every scenario," he said.
Travis Longcore, an adjunct professor in the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, concurred noting that the conditions and topological layout of the areas close to the fires make it difficult to manage.
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"To stop fires in these conditions is like grasping at straws," he told ABC News.
Longcore, who also serves on the Bel Air-Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council, which liaisons with the city, said that the wildfires in the area around this time of year are not a new phenomenon. However, what has changed due to development and climate change is the "number of people in harm's way and ignition."
"The extremity of this event is that I would find it difficult for any agency...to staff up to the level to fight this when in many respects it was unfightable," he said.
Longcore did commend the fire departments' work, given the manpower they have, as the death toll so far has been kept relatively low due to their speedy actions in getting people to safety.
"The fact that it hasn't been worse in loss of human life is a testament to the organization and ability of all of the first responders," he said.
Assistance was already on its way from other parts of the state, country and North America
Marrone said the LA County Fire Department has 13 aerial assets available to fight the fires including two "super scoopers" which can collect over 100,000 gallons of water from lakes and dump it on the flames, but it still needed more personnel to battle the blazes.
The federal government deployed four large air tankers, 10 firefighting helicopters and dozens of fire engines to the county, the White House said.
Canadian leaders have also pledged their resources.
On Wednesday, Quebec Minister of Public Security Francois Bonnardel said that his province would provide equipment and personnel to fight the fire. Specifically, the province sent two "super scoopers" and crew to California and other Quebec firefighters are ready to be deployed as well.
In situations like this, coordinating with other jurisdictions and territories is key to getting a fire under control faster, according to Pulsipher.
"When it comes into planning, you take into account the resources that you have on site but also the resources that can be transported," he said.
Longcore said city, state and federal leaders have often pledged to do more during devastating wildfires, but he predicted that the current situation will likely result in major changes to the way that LA prepares for future blazes.
He warned that proper mitigation has to go beyond increasing the number of personnel and equipment to fight the blazes and focus on living with the new dangers posed by climate change. Longcore specifically cited overdevelopment in vulnerable areas and updated fire evacuation and mitigation policies.
"It will be a time of reckoning and we always think that of a big fire. But this is just cataclysmic and we'll really have to think...to figure out what we can do differently," Longmore said.
