1970 California Fire Siege 40th Anniversary

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Forty years later, the 1970 California Fire Siege still remains as a significant series of fires and conflagrations in Los Angeles County starting on September 25 of that year. Raging fires flared up all across the state, and at the height of fire suppression efforts on September 28 it is estimated that over 10,000 personnel and 800 units of fire apparatus were in use from many agencies battled the fires that went on to burn 1,000 structures and damage 2,000 more. The three largest of the fires – the Clampitt, Wright and Agua Dulce fires - burned a combined total of 157,058 acres, destroyed a total of 357 homes and took five civilian lives during the state-wide siege that burned a total of over 600,000 acres from September through November. The Clampitt Fire was by far the largest of all, burning 107,163 acres in Newhall. One hundred and three homes were lost during this massive fire, in addition to four civilians losing their lives when they were caught out in the open as the fire burned through Chatsworth. Los Angeles County Fire Chief Richard H. Houts was instrumental in orchestrating the deployment of equipment and personnel to combat the blazes.

Lessons learned from the 1970 California Fire Siege eventually led to the establishment of the FIRESCOPE Program in 1972, with the project later consolidated in 1986 into a working partnership with the California State Office of Emergency Services Fire and Rescue Service Advisory Committee. This consolidation represented all facets of local, rural and metropolitan fire departments, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire), and even federal fire agencies as a single voice in large-scale incidents occurring within California.

 Initially, the program was developed to establish a common terminology between fire agencies and a system for more coordinated communications and deployment. Steps were also taken to mitigate problems which occurred during the 1970 Fire Siege from happening in the future.  For example, under the Mutual Aid Plan of the California State Disaster Preparedness Program, fire engines (pumpers) that any given fire department had in use for structural protection were allocated to respond to the assistance of other departments. If one of these pumpers came from an area with good hydrant coverage, then the pumper might not have had a hardened suction hose capable of sucking water from static water locations like a swimming pool or a pond. Additionally, some structural-type fire engines experienced great difficulty in negotiating rugged terrain. Special emphasis was given to replacing highly combustible ornamental plantings in the immediate vicinity of structures with low flammability vegetation. An elimination of combustible roof coverings followed as well, and a closer look was given to ventilation openings into attic spaces, resulting in many of the building and brush clearance restrictions that are commonly found today.

Republished with permission of County of Los Angeles Fire Department. View original article here.


Author:County of Los Angeles Fire Department