BREA : Firefighters Step Up Preventive Measures

City firefighters are taking preventive measures in an effort to quell residents’ fears about fire erupting in nearby Carbon Canyon.

People have been calling the Fire Department in the wake of the devastating Malibu and Laguna Beach fires to ask what to do in case flames threaten their lives, homes and businesses.

Acting Fire Chief Bill Simpkins said the department is urging residents to eliminate weeds around their homes, especially those in Olinda Village because of its proximity to Carbon Canyon. Weeds and dry brush serve as fuel for fires during dry times of the year when Santa Ana winds blow, he said.

To ensure weed abatement, firefighters have been removing dry brush near several buildings and telling homeowners who live near Carbon Canyon to clear at least 30 feet of land from the property, Simpkins said. He also said three more firefighters than usual are on duty.

The canyon includes rolling hills and dry brush along the two-lane Carbon Canyon Road, which cuts through parts of the city and unincorporated areas of the county on its way to Chino Hills.

“I feel like I’m walking on eggshells every time I leave home,” said Jackie Whitcher, who lives in Olinda Village and whose property backs up to the canyon. Her home was saved from the 1990 arson fire that raced through 80 acres of Carbon Canyon Regional Park.

“A fire in the canyon is inevitable because it did burn three years ago and with these winds, it just takes one arsonist to light it up,” said Whitcher, who replaced the wood walls and roof of her home with stucco and tile after the 1990 fire.

She said that if a fire begins, she will get her children, family pictures, clothes and insurance papers into her car and leave after pumping the water out of her pool to try to douse it.

Like Whitcher, other residents and the local school said they have plans of action should a fire threaten their neighborhood.

Olinda Elementary would close and send students and teachers to Fanning School, where instructional supplies are kept for such emergencies. In addition, Olinda, which stores a three-day supply of food and water for 200 people, would serve as a temporary shelter or command post.

Police have an officer patrolling the hillsides and wilderness areas of the city and Yorba Linda, specifically looking for arsonists, Police Chief Donald L. Forkus said.

Four teen-agers were arrested this week on arson charges and released to their parents. Charges against one have been dropped, police said. Officials said they have questioned the teen-agers about the Laguna Beach fires.

“We started the special patrol immediately after the Anaheim Hills fire because when the winds kick up, (arsonists) get excited,” Forkus said. “We’re hoping that we can deter and detect any fires and hopefully arrest those who set them.”

Once the winds die down and humidity rises, the special patrol will be sent back to traffic duty, he added.

“It’s only prudent to take safety precautions,” Councilman Glenn G. Parker said. “We’d be foolish not to.”