CDF chief blasts San Diego County

By: GIG CONAUGHTON - Staff Writer | Wednesday, January 21, 2004 10:59 PM PST ∞

SAN DIEGO ---- The head of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection ripped into San Diego County on Wednesday, saying politicians, media and residents unfairly criticized the agency during the recent wildfires, demoralizing firefighters and distracting fire managers from their job.

Additionally, the county has too many fire agencies to deal with, and "misguided" public perceptions forced the agency into performing "cosmetic, expensive and ineffective" air drops of water during the fires, Andrea Tuttle, director of the state's fire agency, said.

Tuttle made her remarks during a meeting of the governor's Blue Ribbon Fire Commission that was held at the Paradise Point Hotel in San Diego on Wednesday.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger commissioned the 34-member task force just after the catastrophic wildfires that raged throughout Southern California and devastated San Diego and San Bernardino counties in October.

The task force, comprised of state, federal and local legislators, elected officials, public agency heads and fire officials, is holding a series of public hearings about the fires, and is charged with creating a report for the governor within 120 days.

Former state Sen. William Campbell, the commission's chair, opened Wednesday's five-hour hearing by saying it was not the commission's intention to point fingers, or assign blame.

Tuttle, however, quickly set her own tone by scolding local officials as forestry and fire protection officials presented their account of what occurred during the massive Cedar fire. The fire, which roared to life east of the San Diego Country Estates in Ramona, became the largest wildfire in California history, killing 14 people, and destroying more than 2,200 homes countywide.

"During the height of the fire, we encountered incessant finger-pointing and second guessing by media and politicians who blamed the fire service for much of the loss," Tuttle said, adding that the criticism was unique to San Diego County, and a distraction the agency was unprepared for.

During the fires, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon, county Supervisor Dianne Jacob and Assemblyman Jay LaSuer, R-La Mesa, went on TV and radio shows to criticize former Gov. Gray Davis and the forestry and fire protection service for not moving quickly enough to get firefighting reinforcements to battle the blazes, particularly aerial help from the U.S. military.

Hunter, the chairman of the powerful House Armed Services Committee, who lost his home in the fire, had arranged with federal officials to bring in C-130 air tankers from Colorado to help fight the fires. Davis, and forestry and fire protection officials, delayed that help.

In addition, Jacob and others sharply criticized the forestry and fire protection's decision to not allow local helicopter pilots to attack the Cedar fire as night fell on Oct. 25, when the fire was relatively small. Jacob has said she believes the fire could have been stopped before it grew. Fire officials say they do not allow aerial crews to battle blazes after dark to protect the lives of pilots.

On Wednesday, Tuttle said, "This stinging criticism during the heat of the battle severely demoralized the firefighters and distracted the fire managers who had to divert their attention away from their primary jobs in order to deal with the media and the constant barrage of inaccurate accusations."

LaSuer, who is a member of the blue ribbon committee and attended Wednesday's meeting, quickly responded, saying it was not finger-pointing to raise legitimate questions about how the fires were fought.

LaSuer said that while he watched the fires on television, filmed by a news helicopter, forestry and fire officials told him that firefighting helicopters could not safely fly because of wind and vision problems.

"You can say it's finger-pointing. I think it is asking very valid questions that need to be answered," he told Tuttle. "I think that's what this commission should be about."

In addition to her criticism of officials and the media, Tuttle said that the public had a misguided, "but understandable," notion that the fires were not being fought unless helicopters and air tankers were "in the air."

"Unfortunately, because of public pressure, some examples can be cited where cosmetic, but expensive and ineffective (air) drops were made," she said.

Tuttle also said that it was very difficult for the forestry and fire department to work in San Diego County because there was no unified county fire department, and that fire protection was provided by dozens of fire districts. Other forestry and fire protection officials said those agencies are not always trained properly on how to work with other fire agencies in large emergencies.

Contact staff writer Gig Conaughton at (760) 739-6696 or gconaughton@nctimes.com.