Within hours, the wildfire quickly raced across the Santa Susana Mountains and into nearby foothills, forcing mass evacuations and demanding intense firefights with crews showered with red-hot embers. Ta.
Despite the immediate response of hundreds of firefighters from across the region, the wind-driven fire spread in an unpredictable and dangerous manner, destroying homes, tearing through orchards, and spreading fires across Camarillo, Moorpark, and Santa Paula. It threatened thousands of people living in the area.
But the authorities made an early decision and it paid off. By prioritizing life-saving missions over property protection, no one died in the devastating wildfires. Only a few minor injuries were reported.
But not everything went without a hitch. About five hours after the fire broke out near Somis at around 9 a.m. on November 6, some firefighters were stalled in their response efforts.
In a radio traffic recording from that day, one of the firefighters was heard saying, “We’re having a water problem here because the water pressure is low.” He asked command staff to check with water suppliers and resolve any issues.
Hours later, in the foothills around Camarillo in Santa Barbara County, Fire Capt. Hugh Montgomery, responding to a call for help from Ventura County, successfully rescued about a dozen burning homes before his engine became obstructed. He said he collided with him.
“We were in a structure fire and things started going well when the hydrant emptied,” he said.
At a news conference that night, Ventura County Fire Capt. Trevor Johnson answered questions about water issues and said access to water remains a challenge and danger.
Firefighters practice water cannon on a house completely engulfed by wildfire.
(Wally Scully/Los Angeles Times)
“Everything is dangerous out there, even just finding a fire hydrant when the water system breaks down,” Johnson said.
That night’s evening news featured reports of water pressure problems and depleted fire hydrants, with images of smoldering homes in the background.
Details about the extent of the problem were not immediately available, but two water pumps in the foothills of the Camarillo Mountains, the area hardest hit by the fire, stopped working during the firefight, providing high fuel levels. The process of refilling water tanks in hill areas was stopped or delayed. -Elevated fire hydrant, authorities confirmed this week. The fire completely destroyed one pump and another lost power during Southern California Edison’s rolling blackouts, requiring generators to restore power for several hours, Calleguas Water Department officials said. It took a while.
But water and fire officials argue that disruption is expected and planned for in the event of a major wildfire, and that it simply changes firefighting efforts. They insisted that water be made available from other nearby sources.
A man sprays water on a house in Camarillo on the first day of a wildfire outbreak.
(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)
“Out of water? Yes,” Ventura County Fire Chief Dustin Gardner said at a community meeting this week. “We have had sufficient water for firefighting for a long time. [firefighters] When you use that and when those hydrants are on the west or west side. [Camarillo] No matter where the housing complex is, firefighters adapt to it. …We’re used to it. …The fact is, we have never stopped fighting fires. ”
It is unclear how widespread the water outage was, whether it could have been avoided, or whether the uninterrupted flow of water would continue, given the extraordinary inferno that devoured and exploded dry vegetation in hurricane-force winds. It is still unclear exactly whether more homes could have been saved. Mr Gardner said all of this would be part of the bushfire review. In total, more than 240 structures, many of which were primary residences, were confirmed destroyed, with an additional 127 damaged. The approximately 20,000-acre fire was 91% contained Friday.
“If you think about hundreds of firefighters and hundreds of fire trucks, [Camarillo] In the Heights and Estates, every property is connected to a fire hydrant at one point and has a lot of water flowing through it, and that water is stored in a tank, so the tank will be lowered,” Gardner said. . “I know we suffered a lot, but thousands of homes were saved.”
Even under the best of circumstances, this wildfire is highly volatile, with embers flying up to two miles ahead of the main fire, strong winds pushing water streams to the side, and fire retardant drops, according to the Ventura County Fire Department. Firefighters were put on the defensive as some of the aircraft landed. Deputy Secretary Chad Cook.
“Wind gusts over 130 miles per hour can cause structural damage to homes,” Cook said. “When you add the element of fire to wind, you create a different animal. You create an animal that cannot be controlled.”
Still, residents in the area are facing water supply problems, especially considering the National Weather Service has issued a severe warning about fire danger in the area and Southern California Edison has warned of possible power outages. We are continuing to inquire about this.
“At some point, somebody was without water, which is bad in a fire situation for the obvious reason of protecting your home from safety,” said state Rep. Steve Bennett, who represents Ventura. “That’s the last thing you want when these fires happen.”
The water pump issue is one that has plagued Bennett since the 2017 Thomas Fire. It took Ventura officials hours to pump back-up generators to restart water flow to the hydrants. After receiving few answers about what happened at the time, Bennett filed a lawsuit, but later said the details provided were insufficient. He doesn’t want it to happen again.
Firefighters protect property on North Loop Drive in Camarillo from a wildfire.
(Jennifer Osborne/For the Times)
“What we need to look at is… making sure we don’t run out of water sooner than we need to,” Bennett said. “Red flag in progress” [warning]all tanks must be filled in advance. …Every location should have a generator to deal with power outages. ”
It was not immediately clear what preparations local water providers were making before the wildfires, but Daniel Cohen, emergency response coordinator for the Calleguas Municipal Water District, which distributes water from the state water supply, said: According to the company, only two companies experienced water supply problems during the firefighting effort. Deliver projects to local providers.
Crestview Mutual Water Company lost power to its pumps due to a safety shutdown. Cohen said power to the pumps was cut off at 2 p.m., and generators were not restarted until 11 p.m. on the first day of the fire.
Crestview did not respond to questions about details about the outages or its preparations, but its website says the company operates three wells that provide water to 625 customers in the Camarillo area. The county’s service area includes areas hit hardest by the fire, including Cerro Crest Avenue and Estaban Avenue, where more than 20 homes were destroyed, according to the county’s preliminary map of damaged and destroyed buildings and the locations of one of its water suppliers. It includes some of the streets that suffered major damage.
Pleasant Valley Mutual Water Company’s pumping station was destroyed in the fire. “One of the pumping stations that fills the zone’s water tanks was destroyed by the wildfire, and another pumping station lost power,” the company said in an undated statement after the fire.
The water company said it had installed a portable generator at the second pump, but it was unclear how long it took and did not respond to further questions from the Times.
Firefighters spray water on a burning house in Camarillo on November 6th.
(Jennifer Osborne/For the Times)
But Jay Dunlap, the company’s executive vice president, said he understands people are upset, but believes it may be misdirected, at least for Pleasant Valley Mutual customers. He said there is. He said neighbors need to realize that all water companies are facing a “once in a lifetime fire.” However, history shows that the region is in a wildfire-prone zone, with several large fires occurring in recent years. Decades.
“It’s a tough situation, and I understand that,” Dunlap said, as her heart goes out to all those who lost their homes. “It’s not like we weren’t ready. … You can’t stop Mother Nature from burning the pump.”
Pleasant Valley customers will have access to streets hardest hit by the fire, including West Highland Drive and Santa Cruz Way, where more than a dozen homes were destroyed on each street, according to county and water district maps. Some were also included.
Ian Pritchard, assistant general manager for the Calleguas Water District, said Pleasant Valley Mutual’s system has built-in redundancies, or workarounds, so even after one pumping station catches fire, it’s slow. However, he said another pump can refill the tank.
Pritchard also noted that these hillside water storage tanks are designed only to support daily community use and large structure fires, such as those that require three to four fire engines. I explained that None are designed to blow out large fires that require hundreds of fire engines, he said.
“Even if you have electricity… there’s a lot of stress on that system. The tank is draining faster than it can be refilled,” Pritchard said. “Firefighters know this. They’ve been fighting wildland-urban interface fires for a long time.”
But in this fire, “there was still water and firefighters knew that and responded accordingly,” he asserted.
Many fire officials also echoed that defense.
“At higher elevations, water pressure was minimal. [trucks] The system was being exploited,” said Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokesman Capt. Scott Safechuck. “This is part of the strategy. We’re focused on how we get water.”
But Pritchard said it’s important for water utilities to keep water tanks full, install back-up generators and prepare crews for emergency work during red flag events and potential fire weather. recognized that it is best practice to do so.
However, there is no clear requirement to do so.
The California Public Utilities Commission recently required wireless service providers in high-fire areas to have at least 72 hours of backup power due to their critical role in emergency response, but water utilities are not required to do so. There is no obligation. Terry Prosper, a CPUC spokesperson, said all they are required to do is have an emergency response plan that includes high fire risk and low-voltage considerations, including “portable generators and water systems. It may also include other equipment necessary to maintain operations.” In a statement.
Bennett said he understands there are situations in which water outages are unavoidable, but he wants to ensure all steps are taken to minimize the impact.
“We’re all interested in understanding where the problem was and making sure we don’t have any problems in the future,” Bennett said.
Staff writers Clara Harter and Nathan Solis contributed to this report.
