Returning after the fire

More than 500 Fallbrook residents affected by the Rice Canyon fire crowded Fallbrook High School football stadium bleachers Sunday afternoon, October 28, to listen to a summary of the events detailing the devastation. Led by North County Fire Protection District (NCFPD) Chief Bill Metcalf, nine representatives of emergency services and public offices including Cal Fire, the sheriff’s department, the Office of Emergency Services, Dennis Hollingsworth, Darrell Issa, Cameron Durckel from the governor’s office and Bill Horn addressed the crowd.

While California Highway Patrol officers chatted about another round of Santa Ana fires anticipated, saying they increase diligence when high temperatures and low humidity are forecast, dozens of NCFPD firefighters, fire department representatives from outside San Diego County, sheriff’s deputies and their Explorer Scouts and various other public agencies fielded questions from residents arriving for the presentation. Fire Marshal Sid Morel attributed the efforts of Horn’s office for reducing a potential hazard in the area. “Lots of homes saved by weed abatement paid for by Bill Horn saved all the homes at the end of Macadamia Street,” Morel said. Later, Horn brought that point home when he said, “What man does not clear, Mother Nature will burn.”

Metcalf emphasized the significance of the safety measures, logistical strategies and command decisions employed fighting the Rice Canyon fire when he said only one firefighter and two civilians were injured. He said before last Sunday, October 21, NCFPD began preparing for the forecast Santa Ana winds, knowing that it would be a moderate to strong wind event.

It was then that they started to pull in extra staff, engines and other

resources. Cal Fire also added staff, brought in bulldozers and moved aircraft to the Fallbrook area.

“We were all geared up for this event,” Metcalf said.

By the morning of October 21, local firefighters were keeping an eye on the Harris Fire. “It got ugly quickly,” Metcalf said.

By noon a second fire started in the Witch Creek area and began to move quickly, propelled by the winds. Throughout the rest of that day a number of small fires started but were suppressed by crews on duty, said Metcalf, including a small fire at 3 a.m. Monday morning located at Stage Coach and Mission.

Then almost immediately, crews were dispatched to Rice Canyon, where a fire started at what is called “Dead Man’s Curve,” said Battalion Chief Steve Abbott.

At that point it was a three- to five-acre fire running up a steep ravine. Six to eight resources responded when crews realized they couldn’t suppress the quickly spreading fire.

“We feared another Cedar Fire,” Abbott said. At this point, their mission turned to saving lives. “We used the sheriff’s department Reverse 9-1-1 and deputies who knocked on doors. They were out there without protective gear.”

Abbott said the firefighters’ objective was to stop the fire spreading into Rainbow, so more fire resources were called in. By 6 a.m., residents from Rice Canyon to Interstate 15 were evacuated.

In the first seven to eight hours 15 engines deployed and firefighters had now worked 48 to 72 hours nonstop without rest or adequate food. The day before some 1,200 to 1,500 firefighters with engines from Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona and many fire departments from Northern California began traveling into Southern California to help. By Monday they began to arrive in this area.

“We had hoped to contain the fire east of I-15 but there were too many spot fires to suppress it,” Abbott said. At this point, the fire crossed the freeway and headed “extremely fast” up Reche Road, blocking escape routes.

“I felt like someone hit me in the stomach when the fire jumped I-15,” Abbott said. “This is my town. I live here too.”

Also on Monday, Cal Fire’s Team Three, consisting of 35 to 40 people, arrived and started gathering information.

“[NCFPD staffers] were in the middle of a hell of a fight,” said Cal Fire Chief George Morris, who then explained their goal is the safety of the firefighters and the public.

By this time, “Rest [for the fire crews] was our highest priority,” Morris said. Early evacuation of Fallbrook saved lives, he added.

Metcalf then described “trigger points” that occur in firefighting and how they affect tactics for fire suppression. At one point early on, gridlock occurred on East Mission west of I-15. Metcalf said if the wind had moved right to left, it could have pushed flames right into the line of cars. That’s when they knew they had to evacuate the entire town.

Lt. Alex Dominguez of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department explained that their role as emergency providers is to safely evacuate and repopulate people. They first learned of the fire Monday morning by an anxious deputy calling in from a fire area. Dominguez said by deploying the Reverse 9-1-1 system and knocking on doors, some of which were in isolated areas, they were able to keep ahead of the fire lines.

At its peak, 200 law enforcement officers, some from areas he said he’d never heard of, and 225 Army National Guard troops assisted. Dominguez said 2,000 people came to the sheriff’s substation on Alvarado during the fire event.

When spontaneous applause interrupted the various speakers, Metcalf stepped forward and told the audience to thank the sheriffs and CHP officers for fighting fires, too. “They were out there in their polyester uniforms with garden hoses,” he said.

Chris Heiserman from the San Diego Office of Emergency Services summarized the variety of accessible services available to fire victims at the local assistance center headquartered at the Fallbrook Community Center.

Bill Horn briefly spoke about the valor of the emergency service providers and their impact through his district, stating, “We’ll try to expedite recovery. We learned a lot of lessons from the Cedar Fire.”

Then, to add to the scope of resources provided, he said in Valley Center they had three firefighting battalions from Los Angeles and praised SDG&E and PG&E for sending crews.

Finally, Dennis Hollingsworth; Cameron Durckel, representing the governor; and Darrell Issa promised to engage their respective offices to help fire victims regain losses. Various fees required to replace documents will be waived, said Hollingsworth and Durckel, and Issa told the audience, “If you get lost in bureaucracy, call me at (760) 599-5000. We’ll find out who dropped the ball and we’ll solve [your problem].”

Chief Metcalf closed the presentation by thanking the Marine Corps Camp Pendleton and San Onofre fire departments for keeping the community safe while NCFPD fought the Rice Canyon fire; FPUD, which lost a water purification center, and Rainbow Water District for their assistance; the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce for being the “voice of Fallbrook;” and the schools and churches that opened their doors to the needy and provided shelter, food and clothing.

Metcalf commended all the organizations involved in protecting the safety of Fallbrook and its residences.

“Literally thousands of properties were saved,” he said.