Beachwood Canyon Neighborhood Association 

Minutes 

June 20, 2007 

President Larry Markes introduced the BCNA board.  

Minutes from the Spring meeting were approved unanimously.   

Gary the Treasurer reported a healthy but modest balance in the BCNA bank account of $4,300. He encouraged the neighbors to join since the mailings and outreach to do this good work can be expensive. Our dues haven’t been raised since we began in 1998 and we have no plans to change that. The dues are twenty dollars for a house and ten dollars for an apartment. Larry added that the dues are per household, not individuals within that same household.

Chief Fry introduced Fire Station 82 Captain Mike Reitmeyer, engineer Ryan Chase, and paramedic Eric Carlton. He suggests that we build a relationship with our local Fire Fighters. They are here to serve this community. Fry also introduced hook and ladder driver Mike Greenup. Mike just got promoted to a position near the airport. He will be missed at Fire Station 82.

Fry acknowledged the neighbors – noticing that the venue was a full house. He added that ten to twelve thousand live in this area and it’s up to all of us to share valuable information since we are facing the worst fire conditions ever in California.

The Barham Fire: 

The first engine was on scene in less than five minutes. In almost seven minutes, four acres were involved. This fire started above Barham and continued up and almost went over the hill into our neighborhood. The source of the fire was kids playing with matches. They buried their burning matches but the embers were still hot—they didn’t go out. As a result, fire fighters were fighting this blaze for four days.  

The Griffith Park Fire: 

It started at 1:30 p.m. on a Thursday and Fry didn’t come home till Saturday. Twenty engine companies were called and within the first 45 minutes, 400 firefighters were deployed to the scene. 9 helicopters were dropping water in the first 20 minutes. Within the first 4 minutes there were spot fires errupting even though there was no wind. The smoke was carrying the embers. The command center was at the Greek Theatre. Tom Labonge was there and sharing information right away. The fire was near the Merry Go Round within 15 minutes of the start of the fire. All in all, there were almost 800 fire fighters working on this fire within the first few hours. This brush hadn’t burned in 80 years. 

At 5 p.m. the wind shifted. They picked a point at the practice golf course that, if the fire would cross it, the whole hillside was going to have to be evacuated. This fire moved so fast that it traveled a quarter of a mile in less than two minutes. The line was crossed and the evacuation took place in Los Feliz. A total of 1,800 acres of Griffith Park burned but no homes were lost. 

Fire Prevention and Preparation Needed NOW. 

Fry went to the Oakland and the San Diego fires right after they were over. In these fires people died in their cars trying to get away. He realized then that there needs to be an overall fire safety program for the future. It was clear that we have to clear our streets for fire fighter access and hence came the Red Flag Program. Then Chief Fry realized that no one had ever told him what to do if a fire is coming through his neighborhood. There are now several programs being developed to educate people on how to prevent fires and help them prepare themselves in the event that a fire breaks out in these hills. People should know how to escape/evacuate before a fire gets here and also how to survive if evacuation isn’t possible. 

·      Your Fire Department Has Been Busy: 

·      Currently extra helicopters are being called in to prepare for the future.  

·      Chief Fry and his team have identified primary and secondary routes of evacuation. The department of transportation will be given training on how to talk to neighbors about evacuation tactics. In addition to all this, Fry suggests that we get to know our neighbors as one way of preparing for future emergencies.  

·      A mailer is being created that will educate us about how to be prepared. How many of us have an evacuation package with our legal files, photos, etc? And what should go into that package? This info and much more will be in this mailer along with maps showing evacuation routes. This mailer along with the maps will also be given to Fran to post on the website along with other graphics and emergency resource information it is developed. 30,000 mailers will be printed and circulated via US Mail – when this material arrives at your door, Fry suggests that you keep it handy and study it thoroughly.  

·      An educational DVD is being created right now and will include all the evacuation routes. This can be posted on the BCNA website as well. Meanwhile, Fry and his team are putting together a website where anyone can enter their information regarding the number of people in the house, emergency phone numbers, etc. Neighbors will get personal evacuation routes based on this information. Chief Fry is working with GoogleEarth so that the illustrated evacuation routes can be shown within the satellite images of your home.  

·      Mike Greenup will coach you how to do the technical searching and surf the LAFD websites when they are developed.  

·      They are even working on a way of taking care of pets during emergencies like widespread fires.  

Fire in Our Canyon: 

Chief Fry described what it’s like to feel/hear/sense a fire coming close: Wind first – then the heat and embers. When the flames come, you can’t see anything and you probably would get disoriented.  

If you are in your home and the fire is coming close and fast: Fry says to stay in the house, shut the doors, turn on the lights and call 9-1-1.  

If you have time to evacuate, leave the house with doors open and unlocked. It’s okay. Firefighters may have to enter to save your house and no one will be allowed to enter the area so don’t worry about your stuff.  

Evacuating Beachwood Canyon 

In a major fire, a tactical alert will be called for fire and police. They will come up and take over an area.  

There will be green lights at all intersections downward away from the fire and officers will be directing us all the way down to Santa Monica Blvd. LAPD helicopters will monitor the traffic from above. They will have loud speakers announcing an evacuation order.  

Our best evacuation route is Beachwood Drive. Officers will be posted all along Beachwood. However, if the fire comes from the west, we might have to evacuate toward the Oaks. We all need to learn how to do this before there is a fire.  

The school district will send their officers to open up their auditoriums, etc. for shelter purposes. Cheremoya is a good possibility for a safe location.  

Surviving The Fire—if it’s Too Late to Evacuate:  

If it’s too late to leave, you will have to stay in the house. You must seal yourself inside one room so that you will have 10 or 15 minutes of breathable air while the fire rolls through. After the wind and sound die down, it’s safe to leave quickly to an open area away from burning trees and homes. You and your family should conduct emergency drills to practice creating your safe spot and identify a safe place to go away from your home after the fire passes. 

Question & Answer Session: 

Q: Lake Hollywood resident asked about the concept of covering Lake Hollywood Reservoir.
A: Fry is against covering it. It will NOT happen in his lifetime! 

Q: Is there any chance that there could be heightened security around the tourist spots up here?
A: Yes, this is part of the plan to have Police increase patrols in the area as the fire season gets underway looking for arsonists and also looking for any signs of fire people smoking in Griffith Park. More “No Smoking” signs will be installed all over the place.  

Q: What about abandoned cars during Red Flag or evacuation efforts?
A: Tow trucks will NOT be called to move them. Fire engines will push the cars out of the way in order to get to the fire. If the fire is coming and you’re in your car, pull into someone’s driveway and hide behind a block wall or in a ditch until the fire sweeps over. If you remain in your car when the fire is sweeping through, you will not survive.  

Q: A few years ago, lots of money was spent on a new watering system which was installed in Griffith Park. Was it any help at all?
A: It helped. It worked. The fire in Griffith Park was so unusual that it sent embers all over but the system was and is working. 

(Shelley acknowledged the fire fighters for their work on that fire. She mentioned that they had to sleep in shifts outside in the cold night for days after that fire.) 

Q: The ridgeline behind my home has not been cleared in 20 years.
A: If you call me and give me the property location, I promise you that a brush inspector will be there to look at it right away. (213-485-6275) 

Q: Is there an evacuation plan for the stables (Sunset Ranch)?
A: The LAFD is working with the owners of the stables. They will leave the horses in their corals. There are no combustibles there. There will be embers but the fire fighters will be there to protect them.  

Q: On Deronda a few years ago, the brush was cleared. Have the fire fighters been there since to examine the area?
A: Yes, the fire department is inspecting the area and putting pressure on the city and county to clear public areas. If they say there is no money, we push them to get it done anyhow.  

Q: If there is a fire down below, can it be contained so that it doesn’t come up here?
A: Yes, the helicopters will be patrolling looking for embers.  

Q: Besides brush clearance, what about other fire hazards like bamboo and eucalyptus? My neighbor’s yard has these plants growing out of control.
A: Call me and we’ll come and look at it. We require native brush to be cleared away 100 feet. Other growth should be cleared up – cleaned out.  (213-485-6275) 

Q: We have two homes on our block that have large pine trees.
A: Call me and I will talk to the homeowners about these trees.  

Q: North end of Westshire Drive needs to be cleared and it doesn’t have Red Flag signs either.
A: People know that if the sign isn’t visible, the cars can’t be towed or ticketed so people cut down the signs. Call us and we will check out that portion of the street.  

Q: What about people that have Christmas lights on all the time and dead vines on their fences?
A: Call me and we will come out, assess the situation and talk to them if necessary.  

Q: I live on the hillside. If there is a fire coming, should I turn on my sprinklers?
A: It’s not going to matter. It’s good to have water resistant plants with deep roots and well irrigated land but turning on your sprinklers while a fire is coming won’t make any difference? 

Q: I live on Hollyridge and the Red Flag signs seem to be on the wrong side of the street.
A: On some streets there are signs that say No Parking at Any Time so the city can’t tow the cars if they violate it – just ticket them. So they place the Red Flag sign on the other side so that the cars that park there can be towed away during a Red Flag Alert. 

Q: How can we know if it’s a Red Flag Day?
A: www.LAFD.org - click on the link and sign up so that you will be called and e-mailed before that Red Flag alert is called. The fire stations will fly a red flag and the news media will announce it so listen to the radio or watch your network news.  

Q: Upper Hollyridge has a gate [to Camp Hollywoodland] and long ago it was rumored that it would be used for emergency city use -- NOT for evacuation. Does it have to be a hard and fast rule? It’s a dirt road. Can we use it for evacuation?
A: I will look into it as another possible alternative. That’s an interesting idea.  

Q: My sister was evacuated in the Griffith Park fire and it was hard to breath there. What can be in the emergency kit for this?
A: A respirator is important to have in your kit. The mailer will have a list of things to place in your kit including a respirator, goggles, radio, protective clothing, a flash light, etc. 

Q: What do you do if you see someone smoking on the street in these hills? It’s dangerous to tell someone to stop smoking.
A: I don’t know what to do. I’ll check and see if there is any way to enforce the ordinance. I’ll check on it. 

Q: The neighbor put some things in their car when they saw the Barham fire. What should they have done?
A: This was good action. One should prepare to leave. Get what’s valuable. Park your car facing out. Call 3-1-1 if you want to know what to do. They will be kept updated. 

Q: Is the evacuation map online yet?
A: No but I will get it to Fran and she will post to the BCNA website (www.beachwoodcanyon.org). 

Q: In addition to fining people for smoking and throwing butts out the window, is there a way of encouraging by posting signs telling what the fines are for these irresponsible actions?
A: We’ll try to do something with signage.  

Q: The police have told us that it’s not against the law to smoke in the canyon.
A: Only if they are hiking or walking in the brush area in the park. You can’t tell people not to smoke on the sidewalk or walking on the canyon neighborhood streets. 

Q: Are you the most proactive Fire Fighter? Are other areas doing this?
A: I got started because I didn’t ever want to be called before the commission saying that we haven’t done our best. 

Q: I’m surprised people didn’t know what was going on during the Barham Fire. Radio 980 and 1070 had almost constant coverage as well as the TV networks.
A: That’s something that we address in the mailer – be aware and prepared. 

Q: What about those home fire retardants?
A: It’s called Barricade. It’s a protective gel. If we have to leave an area, we cover homes with it. It lasts 8 hours. It’s made of the remnants of baby diapers because they just don’t burn. You hook the dispenser up to the hose. You spray your home with it when the fire is close. Barricade costs $150 and coats a standard house. 

Q: What about offering your pool water?
A: I’m trying to get a program together with a blue dot that shows people that your pool is okay to use. You would place the blue dot on your home where it can be seen in an emergency.  

Q: Is that blue dot in force now?
A: You can place a blue dot on your home now and I’ll tell my fire fighters to look for it and use your pool water.  

Q: I was in Bronson Park and there needs to be signs where people can and can’t barbecue.
A: Tom Labonge is trying to prohibit barbecuing all together in public areas but he’s getting lots of resistance.  

Q: Can we barbecue?
A: If it’s in your own yard and you have a hose nearby and it’s away from the brush, you should be able to use your barbecue.  

Q: I asked for the fire inspectors to come by and look at the huge pile of brush on my neighbor’s property. We can’t find the owner and have tried everything.
A: If I come out, I site the person and give them two weeks to clear it. The LAPD has access to the property owner files and can locate the owner no matter what. We will go in and clean it as a last resort and fine the owner. The owner can fight the determination and then the LAFD has to go through an administered hearing – it’s called due process. Meanwhile, the brush has gotten cleared and that’s the real goal. 

Q: Once the inspection has occurred, is it two weeks from the inspection?
A: Yes, this is the law.  

Q: On Red Flag day is there protocol regarding oversized vehicles? What if it’s not a Red Flag street but we all know that the emergency vehicles can’t pass?
A: No provisions have been made regarding large vehicles. Even on non-Red Flag streets, there must be room for emergency vehicles. If you believe there isn’t enough room for an emergency vehicle to pass, contact us and we will come out and see for ourselves. 

Q: We should accept the fact that we need cell towers so that we have signal in the time of an emergency.
A: That is an important point. [Historic info: Several years ago Sprint won exclusive rights from the City of Los Angeles and LADWP to the utility poles in Hollywoodland all the way over to the Oaks. Sprint have mapped out the locations that they either have or plan to install antennae. Unfortunately they will not negotiate with other cell providers to co-locate antennae on poles in our area. It is assumed that a Sprint phone will offer our local neighbors a more consistent signal.]   

Q: What if a crane or other earthmoving equipment is blocking the entire street for the whole day like on Rodgerton recently?
A: You should contact LAFD in this case or call parking enforcement to come right away. n 

Announcement: 

July 28^th, the evacuation process will be tested. This will include the DOT, Police, School District, Etc. They will do this in the Oaks. It will be a simulated fire in Western Canyon so that people will know what to do. They will do Beachwood Canyon next. He invites us to come, watch and participate. For details on anything related to fire prevention or preparedness, call Chief Craig Fry at 213-485-6275.