home
To protect
firefighters, abate property
Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2006, 4:30 p.m.
By Marshall Smith
Staff Reporter
Henry Negrete and Scott Carlson of Idyllwild Fire Protection District
(IFPD) were part of the engine 621 crew dispatched to the Esperanza
Fire Thursday, Oct. 26. In an interview, Monday, they said that the
safety of firefighters in structure protection depends upon the
adequacy of clearance around a structure. That was evident from what
they saw on the fire.
The newly adopted county regulations requiring 100 feet of clearance
around a structure are designed to provide firefighters adequate
defensible space within which to fight a fire. “CDF PIOs [California
Department of Forestry public information officers] on the Esperanza
fire told us that they could tell which structures in Twin Pines had
adequate clearance and which did not, and those that did not were more
likely to have burned,” said Negrete.
Of the 34 homes that burned in the Esperanza Fire, about 30 were in
Twin Pines, according to Riverside County Office of Emergency Services
(OES) Supervisor Peter Lent. Lent’s office is responsible for assessing
damage for the Esperanza Fire.
“It goes without saying the importance of clearance around homes, both
for protecting the structure and especially for protecting the
firefighter,” Negrete said.
Negrete and Carlson’s message to Hill communities is that if you want
to honor fallen firefighters and protect those who will fight future
fires, clear your property according to existing regulations and as
soon as possible during fire season — and maintain that clearance
throughout fire season.
IFPD dispatched one engine (621) to the Esperanza fire, crewed by Mark
LaMont, Carlson and Negrete. The crew arrived at Noble Creek Park fire
base camp in Beaumont about 4:30 p.m. Thursday, returning from a number
of different assignments at 5 p.m. Monday.
First deployed to Soboba Hills, the crew assisted other crews in firing
— creating back burns to arrest progress of the fire toward Soboba and
Hemet. On Friday, Carlson clocked winds at 30 mph. “The winds were so
strong, the fire was easily jumping dozer lines.” Carlson said the fire
was both rapid and hot. “You could tell how hot by the charred
guardrails and signs.”
Redeployed to the Soboba reservation on Saturday, IFPD protected a
school on the reservation grounds.
“The attitude in fire camp [in Beaumont] was pretty somber,” Negrete
said. “Out-of-area crews kept asking us about the fallen firefighters
and about our community. They were very supportive.”
Marshall Smith can be reached at marshall@towncrier.com.
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