Investigation: Lawmakers call hearings on mutual-aid system
SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers concerned that the state was ill-equipped to fight last month’s catastrophic Wine Country fires plan to hold hearings beginning next month to evaluate the response, including apparent shortcomings in a mutual-aid system designed to quickly rally first responders.
A Chronicle story published Sunday revealed that numerous mutual-aid requests in fire emergencies have gone unfilled in the past few years, including many made during the critical early hours of the October fires that ravaged much of the North Bay.
Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, who was evacuated from his home during the fires, said the system’s deficiencies need to be looked at closely.
“I think this warrants an investigation on why that hap-
pened,” Dodd said. “We know because of climate change the fire season will be longer, so we need to build a robust system to handle the need.”
Dodd is planning hearings in January by the Senate Governmental Organization committee he chairs. Those hearings will specifically examine whether policy changes are needed. Dodd said he plans to pay particular attention to the state’s mutual-aid system.
“There are a lot of lessons we will learn from these events, from notification of people in their homes to mutual aid,” Dodd said.
The Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management and the Assembly Communications and Conveyance committee has planned hearings for Dec. 4 and Dec. 14 to examine how residents were notified and how well local and state officials responded to the fast-moving disaster that began Oct. 8, left 43 dead and destroyed nearly 9,000 homes and commercial buildings.
Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, who chairs the Legislative Committee on Emergency Management, said the mutual-aid system for handling fire requests may be “inadequate,” particularly given that the state’s fire season is growing longer and more destructive. She said the hearings will allow lawmakers to examine what changes are needed and how much those would cost.
As The Chronicle reported, many requests for help have gone unanswered in recent years. Although officials at the Office of Emergency Services did not provide the total number of calls for aid, they said only 134 requests for fire engines or water tenders went unfilled during the 2012 fire season. That number has climbed ever since, hitting 3,029 last year.
Data obtained by The Chronicle showed commanders in Sonoma and Napa counties requested 305 fire engines from other jurisdictions through the mutual-aid program during the early hours of the devastating Wine Country fires, but only 130 engines arrived to help in the two deadliest blazes during the first 12 hours. In Mendocino County, where nine people were killed in the fires, no engines were sent from the mutual-aid program during the first day, despite a request for 15 engines.
Fire officials and experts attribute the increase to dwindling resources and a reluctance of local governments to share them.
Local firefighters were left largely on their own to combat the disaster, which required an international effort involving thousands of firefighters and took several weeks to control.
“That’s something we will need to talk about,” Jackson said.
California’s mutual-aid system is run by the state Office of Emergency Services. Its prime objective is to move resources quickly into a disaster zone where local responders need outside help. Calls first go to nearby counties within a region, then to firefighting agencies across California. Every morning, fire departments report what resources they can spare if called upon. In addition, when an emergency strikes, fire chiefs or duty officers in need will often directly
call their peers in other departments seeking aid.
The Capitol hearings also will look at why Sonoma County decided not to use mass alerts that can be sent to cell phones to warn residents of an emergency. Sonoma County officials considered sending the warning, part of a federally administered system and known as a Wireless Emergency Alert, but ultimately opted not to, a decision that has drawn criticism.
“There were some things that fell through the cracks and we need to know how can we learn from this,” said Assemblyman Freddie Rodriguez, D-Pomona, vice chair of the Legislative Committee on Emergency Management.
State Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, who represents many of the areas hit by the October fires, said Monday that his top legislative priorities include securing additional funds for the mutual-aid system and Cal Fire, and creating a statewide emergency notification system.
California emergency managers currently employ a patchwork of warning systems, McGuire said, and some agencies — including those in Napa County — are not set up to send Wireless Emergency Alerts to cell phones during a disaster.
“Having a standard system will protect the public and save lives,” McGuire said. “Will there be an initial cost to implement the system? You better believe it. Will it be worth it? Absolutely, yes.”
Chronicle staff writer Joaquin Palomino contributed to this report.