Supervisor calls for federal probe of Station fire operations after Times report raises questions

Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich has called for a congressional inquiry into the U.S. Forest Service’s response to the Station fire in the wake of a Times report that a heavy attack with water-dropping aircraft was canceled on the critical second day of the blaze.

The Forest Service’s own records contradict the agency’s position that helicopters and tanker planes were withheld because the fire was burning in an Angeles National Forest canyon too steep for ground crews to take advantage of water dumps.

What’s needed is a congressional investigation into the false reports by the Forest Service and its failure to stop the fire before it spread,” Antonovich said in a statement. He asked for the investigation in a letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

Two officers responsible for directing the Day 2 firefight on the ground and from the sky made separate requests for aircraft during a six-and-a-half-hour period, according to records and interviews. An order for three airtankers that morning was canceled and a helitanker reached the scene an hour or so after its scheduled arrival, the records and interviews show.

The blaze killed two county firefighters, destroyed about 90 dwellings and blackened 250 square miles of the forest. It was the largest fire in county history. 

In an interview, Antonovich said a Forest Service review last month that blamed the terrain for not deploying tankers and choppers sooner should have addressed the officers’ efforts to launch an air assault.

“Did the members of the investigative committee have access to this information? If they did, they are responsible for misleading the public,” he said. “As a result of the (Forest Service) leadership’s failure … we lost two fine, brave firefighters.”

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Rep. David Dreier (R-San Dimas) said in a statement that he is “reviewing all information related to the Station fire, including today’s L.A. Times report.”

-- Paul Pringle

Photo: Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Jack]

I could be wrong, but wasn't the cause of this fire arson? I mean, the U.S. Forest Service didn't start the fire and fail to put it out, did they?

Why don't we put blame where it's due? The fire service may have made some decisions that, in hind sight, might not have been the best, but they were only there because some dirtbag arsonist went playing with his lighter.

Blame him and leave the firefighters (2 of whom perished in this fire) alone!

[redhouse]

now you are getting somewhere !!

Good job Paul !!

[Anonymous]

One of the more alarming things about the management of this fire was the plan that was posted to the Station Fire's Inciweb page for the first few days. This plan called for keeping the fire north of Foothill Blvd in La Canada and north of Altadena Dr in Altadena. See map: http://hphotos-snc1.fbcdn.net/hs189.snc1/6336_144137483734_670893734_3302215_1354109_n.jpg

For those not familiar with these communities, that's a bit like planning to let half of La Canada burn along with a third of Altadena.

Half of La Canada and a third of Altadena? Pretty odd way to fight a slow-moving wildfire. What would have happened to Altadena in 1993 had the fight against that Santa Anas-fed blaze been planned the same way as the Station fire?

Might be helpful to check on who the incident commander was during those days and see if there are any incidents in that commander's past that point to this same kind of decision making.

[Norman Silver]

The Los Angeles Times staff writer that has worked diligently to obtain the facts about this entire scenario is to be commended for his diligence, perserverence and dedication to his profession. In my opinion (I am a retired Wild Land Firefighter) the US Forest Service made a series of Fire Managment mistakes relating to this very destructive wild fire and then tried several times to cover up this fact. Even now they keep quoting sources that are trying to play CYA. Good investigative Journalism is what keeps these public servants on track. Something that still hasn't come out fully is the interference by the USFS Region 5 Fire and Aviation staff in the Vallejo Office.

[Raul Garcia]

Time to ignore the power of nature and start playing the blame game.