Blaze at nature preserve fuels residents’ concerns

The Sept. 4 fire that burned about three acres in Talbert Nature

Preserve also sparked a warning -- at least if the concerns of

residents who live near the park are heeded.

The blaze that scorched part of the 200-acre county-controlled

wilderness, between the end of 19th Street in Costa Mesa and the

Santa Ana River, came within about 50 yards from the Newport Terrace

Condominiums, where residents say eucalyptus trees and underbrush are

ripe for being the fuel that could turn a wildlife preserve fire into

a residential nightmare.

“ ... All it takes is one burning ember to start a fire here, with

all these trees with dead branches on them,” said condominium

resident Heaven Moffeit in a Pilot story last week about fire

concerns in the area.

She added, “We’re scared that something is going to happen.”

Fire crews deserve credit -- as at least one caller to the Pilot

pointed out -- for dousing the September fire without it causing

residential damage. The efforts of the property managers to trim

trees and provide fire extinguishers around the complex are also

notable.

But given some residents’ continued worries about the ability of a

park fire to jump to their complex and the frequency of fires in the

preserve, we feel more vigilance is needed among park rangers,

residents, police and fire officials in this area, where such a fine

line exists between highly combustible pampas grass, homes and human

beings.

Residents and fire officials say at least two fires a year burn in

the preserve, a sprawling protected land of nature trails, where

growth is managed by a biologist. Homeless camps and children playing

in the park add to the fire danger, said Earl Miller, president of

the Newport Condominium Assn. Some residents blamed transients for

the Sept. 4 fire, though as of last week, investigators were still

looking into the cause.

We realize that fire officials simply can’t alter a protected

park’s vegetation when and how they feel like it, as Costa Mesa

Deputy Fire Chief Gregg Steward said, and granted, residents accept a

certain level of risk when they choose to live next to such a

preserve. Authorities, however, can certainly keep more of an eye out

for potential dangers related to human activity in the preserve.

It’s not enough, though, to focus prevention techniques on

transients and children. Residents worry that not enough is being

done to maintain eucalyptus trees and landscaping around the condo

complex. Perhaps this most recent fire is a wake-up call to the

leaders of the condominium association to heed residents’ calls --

from at least June of last year -- to reduce the chances of a brush

fire spreading to the complex by better maintaining the vegetation on

the property , which sits atop a 20-foot bluff, overlooking the

preserve.

Now is a good time for a reminder that it is still fire season.

Hopefully, the only thing being doused, will be the neighbors’ fears.