Firefighters ready for a wild fire

Deepa Bharath

Firefighters in this area, which is particularly vulnerable to brush

fires with its high ridges and gaping canyons, are getting set for a

potentially busy wildfire season.

Newport Coast, a community that was annexed to Newport Beach last

year, poses a specific challenge for the city’s fire department,

Capt. Paul Matheis said.

Several years ago, the department realized there was a need to

train firefighters to battle wild fires, he said.

“We developed a comprehensive training program at that time,

realizing our responsibility to [Newport Coast],” Matheis said.

The training program includes a PowerPoint presentation outlining

tactical preparation and safety issues and includes field training

where firefighters are taken to Buck Gully and shown through

demonstrations of the challenges in fighting a brush fire.

All fire stations in the city are equipped to fight brush fires,

Matheis said.

“It takes a lot of personnel to attack a wild-land fire,” he said.

“All of us are prepared so we can provide back-up and support.”

Although the number of brush fires this summer is about average

for this time of year, there is a widespread concern about a bark

beetle that has been eating up and killing a species of sugar cone

pine that is abundant in several areas in the Santa Ana mountains,

Matheis said.

“We have quite a few of those trees here, too,” he said. “And when

large trees die, they just become fuel for a fire.”

The Newport Coast area has at least one small grass fire a day

during the summer season, Matheis said, adding that, fortunately,

they are controlled right away because people call them in over a

cell phone.

Firefighters also need to have special gear to battle these fires,

said Donna Boston, spokeswoman for the Newport Beach Fire Department.

“Brush fires are a lot different from structural fires,” she said.

“The gear is much lighter because, often, firefighters will have to

walk quite a bit on those calls.”

They work with heavy-duty digging tools needed to cut fire lines

and clear areas, Boston said. The department also receives help from

Airborne Law Enforcement, the helicopter operated jointly by Costa

Mesa and Newport Beach.

The Newport Coast fire station on Ridge Park Road has monitoring

equipment that constantly tracks wind and humidity, she said.

That, in essence, is the most significant part of preventing such

fires, Matheis said.

“A lot of it is watching the weather and being prepared,” he said.

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.