from the San Mateo County Times
July 23rd 2003

Fire officials apologize for setting blaze
List of reasons offered for loss of control of scheduled fire on
By Emily Fancher, STAFF WRITER

BRISBANE -- It's not easy to say you're sorry and admit responsibility, but that's exactly what officials from the California Department of Forestry did Monday night. Officials apologized to the Brisbane City Council and community for a planned fire on San Bruno Mountain that spread out of control, charring 30 acres and endangering homes on July 8.

In an unusually frank mea culpa, the officials said a lack of proper contingency planning and communication, misreading weather reports, and improper technology contributed to the conflagration.

"This has been a baptism by fire for me," said John Ferreira, chief of the CDF in Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties. "I take full responsibility."

Ferreira said the fire began as a 3-acre burn near Guadalupe Canyon Parkway to restore the native host plants of the mountain's endangered butterflies. He added that the fire was also an opportunity to burn fuel -- such as branches, bark and leaves -- that had accumulated in the ravine and would be a hazard if an accidental fire started.

High winds spread the July 8 fire down the ravine toward a relatively new housing development called The Ridge. The fire was stopped just dozens of feet from homes. More than 100 firefighters from all over the County responded to the scene.

At the Brisbane council meeting, the officials called for the responding agencies and residents to give them feedback about the incident.

"We'll use the incident as a learning experience and make sure it does not happen in the future," said CDF Operations Chief John Sims.

The problems outlined by the officials were:

- An inaccurate reading of the wind direction in the weather forecast; not enough spot forecasts;

- Failure to use computer modeling of the fire to predict the spread;

- Failure to set up a command post or information liaison before the fire to give information to the public, officials and the press;

- Insufficient contingency plans failure to use Micro Remote Activated Weather System, which gives more precise weather conditions on site;

- The steep terrain made it too dangerous to post firefighters at the bottom of the canyon;

- No CDF helicopter on standby;

- Lack of integrated communications with the local fire chief; some radio frequencies were not usable.

Ferreira and Sims said they will make sure all these problems are solved before another burn occurs. Sims said a scheduled controlled burn in a ravine on the other side of the mountain near South San Francisco has been postponed indefinitely.

"I thought I'd feel better, but now I'm more upset," said Councilwoman Sepi Richardson after the officials' presentation. She said she was glad Brisbane was a training ground, but that "this was a huge mistake."

But Councilman Lee Panza said, "this was nothing out of the ordinary." He said "this happens on San Bruno Mountain almost every year," referring to the accidental fires on the mountain.

Several citizens and representatives from various San Bruno Mountain environmental groups stressed the need for these fires to restore the native habitat and to prevent more deadly future fires by burning off fuel little by little.

David Schooley of San Bruno Mountain Watch said that the fire had done its work. He said he was just out walking the burned ravine and was optimistic about the land.

"Things right in the middle of the fire are sprouting," he said.

Staff writer Emily Fancher covers Brisbane, Daly City, Colma, and South San Francisco. She can be reached at 348-4340 or efancher@angnewspapers.com .