Local Fire Agencies React to Responsibility Shift

San Diego County, which in 2007 suffered devastating wildfires caused partly by downed power lines, saw numerous local fire agencies last month join a countywide fire protection authority overseeing more than a million acres of unincorporated land. Their move follows Governor Jerry Brown’s proposal last month to shift responsibility for fighting some wild fires away from the state to local and regional fire authorities. Currently, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, commonly known as Cal Fire, is responsible for about 31 million acres of privately-owned rural acres across the state. This land is crisscrossed with both transmission and power distribution lines and dotted with electrical substations. Power lines not only have caused some recent wildfires, but also been damaged or shut down by fires, illustrating how the ability to prevent and fight fires affects the grid. However, in the face of the state’s budget deficit, the governor is proposing that Cal Fire’s protection area be reduced and local cities and counties take over more firefighting responsibility in those areas. To compensate for the additional responsibilities, $250 million would be transferred from the state to the local and regional firefighting agencies. The change could be significant for many areas around the state, particularly for San Diego County, which doesn’t have an official county fire agency. In the fall of 2007, it was victim to one of the worst wildfires in its history, when three blazes killed two people, burned down more than 1,400 homes, and injured over 40 firefighters. An investigation launched in 2008 by the California Public Utilities Commission found that San Diego Gas & Electric power lines downed due to high winds were a contributing factor to the blazes. In November 2009, the utility agreed to pay a fine of over $14 million for its role in causing the fires. Part of the problem in fighting the fires was that parts of the affected areas were covered by a patchwork of dozens of small fire agencies. But in June 2008 a number of local agencies banded together to form the San Diego County Fire Authority to coordinate and strengthen fire protection throughout the region. On Jan. 25, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted to approve the addition of the Boulevard, Campo, Lakeside, Mt. Laguna, Palomar Mountain, and San Pasqual areas to San Diego County’s fire authority. “San Diego County remains the only large county in the state without some kind of a county-wide fire entity,” said County Supervisor Dianne Jacob, who represents part of the northeast area backcountry that burned during the 2007 fires and has been outspoken about the issue, “(but) this is the beginning of establishing our own model of a county-wide entity.” Cal Fire currently has 18 fire stations in San Diego County, and the county has a $15 million annual contract with the state agency. Combined, the Fire Authority and Cal Fire cover over 1.8 million acres in the county. Brown’s state budget blueprint also proposes that crews for each fire engine be dropped from four to three and that 800 seasonal firefighting positions be eliminated. Cal Fire spokeswoman Julie Hutchinson said the cuts would go into effect immediately if the budget is approved. Brown spokesperson Elizabeth Ashford said the governor hopes to get the budget approved by early March. That discussion about the fire responsibility shift, however, is still not complete. “The governor’s been speaking to first responders about this proposal,” she said. “He’s open to hearing alternative proposals,” Ashford said of Brown, “but right now, we have no money. That’s just the reality of it.” Since the 2007 blazes, SDG&E’s options for comprehensive fire insurance coverage have shrunk, while the amount of its premiums has grown significantly. SDG&E has coverage for wildfire liability with 27 different firms and another 28 for general liability. After the most recent wildfires, its deductible rose from $1 million to $5 million. Theoretically, the governor’s proposal could cause SDG&E’s costs to increase again, since it would reduce state fire protection in portions of the utility’s service area. But utility spokesperson Stephanie Donovan said SDG&E would address that issue only if becomes a certainty. “As far as we’re concerned, it’s way too soon to know the impacts of Governor Brown’s proposal,” she said. “We’re not going to speculate on something that hasn’t happened.”

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Local Fire Agencies React to Responsibility Shift

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