Fire Dept. Seeks Added Funds for Brush Clearance

Responding to concerns that hundreds of property owners have not cleared brush in time for the fire season, the Los Angeles Fire Department asked a City Council committee Monday to spend 10 times more money on brush clearance.

But the request to boost the number of brush inspectors and increase money available for brush-cutting contracts was greeted skeptically by City Councilwoman Laura Chick, chairwoman of the council’s Public Safety Committee. Chick has been sharply critical of the Fire Department for the slow pace of brush clearance as the fall wildfire season approaches.

“I feel like I’m still getting double talk and talk hidden by a smoke screen,” said Chick. “Their credibility is really in question here.”

The department has asked the council for about $4.5 million to hire inspectors, buy equipment and pay for brush clearance not completed by property owners, Fire Chief William Bamattre told the City Council Public Safety Committee.

“We need more resources, and we need them now,” Bamattre said later, noting that the department plans next year to begin enforcing new rules for ornamental vegetation in yards, an effort that will require still more inspectors and paperwork.

There is debate about whether the risk of wildfires will be higher this fall, Bamattre said, but “The key is that we need to be prepared anyway.”

The Fire Department’s request includes money for six additional inspectors, and more than $2 million in a fund to pay contractors to clear brush on properties in cases where owners have failed to do the work. The city is entitled to recover costs for brush clearance, but the process can take several years, so fire officials have argued they need money in advance.

The Fire Department’s request for more money comes after a testy City Council session last week in which City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski asked fire officials to respond to concerns that the brush clearance program is behind schedule.

Partly as a result of stricter brush-clearance codes that went into effect last year, fire inspectors have cited owners of 20,891 parcels this year for failing to clear brush to within 200 feet of structures on their properties. Of those, about 8,000 still have not complied, and fire officials expect that some will procrastinate indefinitely, Bamattre said.

Council members told Bamattre they want more information before granting additional funds for the brush-clearance program. Chick faulted the department for not making the request sooner. Another hearing on the issue will be scheduled later this month.