Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
November 18, 2015 Palisades News Page 3<br />
<strong>Fire</strong> Ignites off<br />
Via de las Olas<br />
By SUE PASCOE<br />
Editor<br />
<strong>Fire</strong>fighters had just come to our door<br />
to tell us we were being evacu<strong>at</strong>ed,<br />
but first they wanted to see if we had<br />
done our brush clearance correctly. I<br />
showed the inspector the back of the house<br />
and to my relief, my husband had removed<br />
leaves and dead brush, but w<strong>at</strong>er from fire<br />
hoses was already running everywhere<br />
Then the helicopters grew louder, and I<br />
woke up. I had been having a nightmare. I<br />
got out of bed and checked my cell phone.<br />
It was 3:45 a.m. on Sunday, November 8.<br />
I had recently installed the Palisades P<strong>at</strong>rol<br />
app and it said there was a fire <strong>at</strong> Temescal<br />
and Pacific Coast Highway.<br />
I threw on clothes, and a jacket because<br />
it seemed cool, and went out onto Radcliffe.<br />
It was black outside, no streetlights, <strong>at</strong><br />
least none th<strong>at</strong> seemed to be working, and<br />
walked 10 minutes to Mount Holyoke.<br />
There was no fire as I looked over Tem -<br />
escal Canyon, but there was a large cloud of<br />
smoke coming from the area below Via de<br />
las Olas and I began walking th<strong>at</strong> direction.<br />
As I turned the corner onto Via de las<br />
Olas, it suddenly felt warmer. There were<br />
fire trucks lining the entire street with lights<br />
flashing, helicopters with spotlights were<br />
zooming low making w<strong>at</strong>er drops, and the<br />
canyon was lit up with a warm glow from<br />
the fire th<strong>at</strong> eventually consumed almost<br />
three acres. The scene was in sharp contrast<br />
to the blackness around it.<br />
I spoke first to Ken Nelson of the Mountain<br />
Recre<strong>at</strong>ion Conserv<strong>at</strong>ion Authority,<br />
whose truck was parked <strong>at</strong> Beirut. He told<br />
me they was suspected th<strong>at</strong> it was a transient<br />
warming fire. Since I walk my dogs<br />
there frequently, I told him I had seen tents<br />
in the canyon for the past few weeks.<br />
I continued to the command center and<br />
identified myself to B<strong>at</strong>talion 17 Chief<br />
John Drake from Woodland Hills.<br />
He said the call had come in <strong>at</strong> 2:59 and<br />
the fire had started midway up the hill,<br />
above PCH. Thirteen engine companies,<br />
three truck companies, two brush p<strong>at</strong>rols,<br />
one w<strong>at</strong>er tender, four command teams,<br />
two L.A. County hand crews and three<br />
w<strong>at</strong>er-dropping helicopters responded.<br />
Large fire hoses in the streets, made vehicle<br />
traffic impossible, and w<strong>at</strong>er was flowing<br />
down the street. The houses across from<br />
the fire were dark and there were almost no<br />
residents on the sidewalk w<strong>at</strong>ching. I l<strong>at</strong>er<br />
learned th<strong>at</strong> many Via de las Olas and<br />
Friends Street residents had voluntarily<br />
evacu<strong>at</strong>ed around 3:30 a.m. My nightmare<br />
<strong>at</strong> home was wh<strong>at</strong> families were living as<br />
they woke their small children and loaded<br />
their cars to leave their homes.<br />
Below on Pacific Coast Highway, I saw<br />
more fire trucks and emergency vehicles<br />
The absence of wind prevented the <strong>Lombard</strong> fire embers from spreading.<br />
Photo: Cynthia Peterson (cynthiacpphotography.com)<br />
W<strong>at</strong>er-dropping helicopters made numerous drops.<br />
th<strong>at</strong> were blocking the northbound lanes.<br />
As the helicopters made repe<strong>at</strong>ed drops,<br />
Drake explained: “The w<strong>at</strong>er hits the head<br />
of the fire, and firefighters are on the ground<br />
making sure no houses c<strong>at</strong>ch fire. Th<strong>at</strong>’s<br />
our priority. I don’t care if the brush burns.”<br />
The embers were almost magical, spar -<br />
kling and twinkling, as they shot 20 feet<br />
into the air or higher. Clearly th<strong>at</strong> if there<br />
had been a wind, not only the houses adjacent<br />
to the fire, but across Potrero, to the<br />
Huntington could have been in jeopardy.<br />
I told Drake, “I’m glad there’s no wind.”<br />
He responded “Me, too.”<br />
Standing on the edge of the cliffs, I<br />
w<strong>at</strong>ched as the firefighters shot w<strong>at</strong>er over<br />
the top, trying to prevent the embers from<br />
crossing across the street to the eucalyptus<br />
trees and homes.<br />
The flames reached a palm tree, dancing<br />
lazily, like little tongues, and then grew into<br />
a larger fire lighting the entire area, but just<br />
then one of the three helicopters making<br />
repe<strong>at</strong>ed drops flew over. The fire went out<br />
and firefighters continued to hose the area.<br />
Th<strong>at</strong> same scenario was repe<strong>at</strong>ed over and<br />
over in the next few hours.<br />
At the command center, the wind start ed<br />
to pick up, where just moments before the air<br />
had been calm. “As the fire goes up the slope,<br />
it cre<strong>at</strong>es a topographical breeze,” Drake<br />
said. “The fire prehe<strong>at</strong>s the brush as it moves<br />
up the slope and cre<strong>at</strong>es its own wind.”<br />
By 6 a.m., the larger flames had been<br />
doused, allowing crews to go into the brush<br />
to turn over dirt and handle hot spots. The<br />
helicopter continued to drop w<strong>at</strong>er as the<br />
sun was started to lighten the sky.<br />
Transients Asked to Move On<br />
Palisades P<strong>at</strong>rol CEO Scott Wagen -<br />
seller sent the following upd<strong>at</strong>e on<br />
Thursday, November 12. “LAPD is in<br />
full force <strong>at</strong> PCH and Porta Marina working<br />
on homeless encampments. The next stop<br />
is the hills on the parkland below Via de las<br />
Olas where the fire was. They are going to<br />
be posting enforceable no camping signs.”<br />
A few minutes l<strong>at</strong>er, Wagenseller sent another<br />
upd<strong>at</strong>e: “Two men arrested <strong>at</strong> Castellammare<br />
and Sunset Boulevard. One had<br />
a gun (.380 pistol) and the other was stealing<br />
from Vons.”<br />
Sgt. Eric Fine of Palisades P<strong>at</strong>rol accompanied<br />
Senior Lead Officer Michael Moore<br />
and other LAPD to the area between Tem -<br />
escal Canyon Road and Potrero Canyon<br />
(above PCH, near the burn area) and reported:<br />
“The brush area is more than 8 feet<br />
high.” He said th<strong>at</strong> LAPD was telling transients<br />
they were no longer allowed to stay<br />
Photo: Sue Pascoe<br />
because of the new signage.<br />
Moore said on Thursday th<strong>at</strong> there were<br />
seven active campsites and eight abandoned<br />
ones.<br />
Pacific Palisades Senior Lead Officer<br />
Michael Moore stands by a tent loc<strong>at</strong>ed<br />
near the burn site. Photo: Palisades Pa<strong>at</strong>rol