The old saying about learning more from mistakes than successes may be true, but the lessons from the terrible fires in Los Angeles are both heart-wrenching and shockingly expensive. Entire neighborhoods were burned to the ground, lives lost, communities displaced and costs likely exceeding $200 billion.
Questions must be asked about preparation and response, but they also must be asked about how and where we choose to build to address our housing shortage.
With increasing climate change, we are seeing mass urban area fires move to a year-round, rather than seasonal threat. Ensuring that fire departments are well-staffed, equipped and trained, is essential, but no city or county government could afford the cost of maintaining a continuous staff of enough firefighters to fully stop massive neighborhood wildfires in severe weather conditions.
The issue of water availability was on stark display in Los Angeles. There will be investigations, but there are real-world limitations with current water systems.
Norton Adams, general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, noted that the water system was never designed to fight a massive wildfire. Fire hydrants and overall water distribution are set up for a small number of house fires, not huge fires across entire neighborhoods.
On the first day of the Palisades fire, over 3 million gallons of water were used before even 20 hours had passed.
Gregory Pierce, director of UCLA Water Resources Group, has commented that although there are ways of enhancing infrastructure to better fight fires of this size, they would come at an enormous cost. Are communities willing to pay the financial price for these kinds of improvements?
None of this means avoiding preparations. An absolute reality of difficult budget decisions is that firefighting should remain a high priority to protect our residents and communities.
Bitter lessons learned from the San Diego fires in 2003 and 2007 have helped with communications and collaboration across multiple local and state firefighting units. Being able to quickly work together with a number of well staffed and well equipped fire departments is an essential way to compensate for budget limitations.
The fact remains, though, that additional firefighting resources can never fully eliminate the danger of an out-of-control fire.
Given these considerations, our urgent need for more housing should be focused on how to build without increasing fire risks. Years of building single-family homes into canyons and hillsides have placed those neighborhoods on the front lines of fire danger.
Consider the recent brush fire near San Diego State and Rancho Bernardo. The rapid speed with which they moved to threaten nearby homes is a reminder of how high our fire danger is. These areas also tend to have more constrained evacuation routes, which places the residents at additional risk.
Sensible brush clearance and yard maintenance are essential. Making homes “hardened,” or more fire resistant, is also very important. Unfortunately it is also expensive.
Low-interest loans for homeowners paired with insurance companies offering rate reductions for proof of useful improvements would be a win-win for both homeowners and the insurance industry. In addition, future building in brushy and mobility limited areas should be minimal.
The further out we build, the more stretched our water and emergency services infrastructure becomes. Assessments of the San Diego region have repeatedly highlighted the need for denser and higher developments centrally located near job centers, transit and access to established freeways.
The public has every right to question excessive projects, such as the 23-story luxury apartment proposal in Pacific Beach. However, there are other sites that would be useful for buildings that are a reasonable height and would add needed housing units in practical locations. The need for housing is not going away. It is both a human requirement and an economic necessity for workers to have places to live and become thriving members of our community and region.
Fire danger is not going away either. We will face more fire risks now and in the coming years. These realities should be faced with a practical approach to development.
There are locations where sensible density works and acting on this will serve to add to our needed housing and minimize additional fire risks.
Jay Steiger is vice chair of the Valle de Oro Community Planning group. His comments are his own.
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