No Going Back After Woolsey: How The Monster Changed Firefighting

MALIBU, CA — It was a breezy fall afternoon, when Los Angeles County Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Patrick Errett sat down to a lengthy staff meeting with fire officials from across the region. Suddenly, the room erupted into a cacophony of pagers all buzzing at the same time. One by one, firefighters began checking the alert — and within seconds, they were running out the door and jumping into their cars, heading westbound on the 101 Freeway.

They needed to get to the Woolsey Fire.

While the firefighters raced to the wildfire, the Woolsey Fire was racing across the Santa Monica Mountains, cutting a path of devastation that would become the worst fire Los Angeles County has ever seen. It killed three people, destroyed more than 1,600 structures and scorched nearly 97,000 acres in both Ventura and Los Angeles counties, including the famous Malibu Hills.

“You can imagine the command team that runs LA County Fire Department all in a room at the same time, all with our noise-making pager devices,” Errett, said, recalling those initial moments when it dawned on firefighters just how monstrous the Woolsey Fire might be. “It was like a scene in a movie.”

In the year since the fire broke out, the residents and firefighters who survived the Woolsey Fire have reflected on why it was so destructive and what could have been done to better protect the community. As wildfires grow more intense and fire seasons drag on longer with every passing year, one thing is clear: In an era of catastrophic wildfires, California needs to adapt.

The Woolsey Fire, the most destructive fire in Los Angeles County history, erupted Nov. 8, 2018, in Ventura County. Hundreds of thousands of Angelenos were forced to evacuate their homes, including the entire City of Malibu, and the blaze overwhelmed local fire agencies during its initial hours. It was a fire of “epic proportions,” according to a report released by Los Angeles County.

It was also the perfect storm.

Strong winds were met with depleted resources as officials were already dealing with the aftermath of the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, fighting the nearby Hill Fire, and sharing resources with other parts of California that were already ablaze. The "After Action Review" of the Woolsey Fire said the fire quickly evolved into "an event never experienced in the Los Angeles region." After surviving the Woolsey Fire and starting the process of rebuilding hearts and homes, residents and officials must prepare and adapt as conditions worsen with time.

Re-Evaluating The Tried And True To Adapt To The New

As the need to adapt becomes increasingly important, firefighters and researchers are re-examining long-standing approaches used in California in this new era of monstrous wildfires. Fuel breaks — areas of land that are cleared of vegetation to slow or control a fire — are one of the most common tools firefighters use to battle wildfires, but it’s an increasingly contested method. Researchers argue that fuel breaks can’t be the be-all, end-all method, and stress the importance of a more well-rounded approach.

Captain Brian McGrath, from the Ventura County Fire Department, said fuel breaks are proven to work, and countless houses remained intact because they had proper clearance between the home and the brush.

“The Hill Fire is a perfect example. It burned two miles in two minutes, which is amazing — but once it jumped the freeway and hit the burn scar from the Springs Fire in 2013, it died down,” McGrath said. “There was a lot less brush on the hillside because there were fire breaks put in, so we were able to catch the Hill Fire super quick.”

Errett, the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s assistant fire chief, also supports the use of fire breaks, but says it’s a little more complicated.

“Fire breaks are designed to provide different checkpoints, pre-fire,” Errett said. “In some cases, they can work well. In other cases, perhaps like the Woolsey Fire, where the fire dynamics are so great, the fire break might be ineffective — the fire just cascades right over top of it.”

Scientists who research wildfires, however, are more skeptical about the dependence on fire breaks. Research scientist Alexandra Syphard told the Los Angeles Times she worries California’s focus on reducing fuel “gives people a false sense of security.”

Chopping down trees and shrubs is “an easy approach because people think ‘Oh, the thing we can change is vegetation’ … and people want the problem to be fixed,” Syphard said. “But unfortunately, it’s more complex than that.”

Albert Simeoni, the head of the Fire Protection Engineering Department at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, agrees that California’s wildfire problem is a complicated situation — but he believes a holistic, integrated approach is key.

“You can use fire breaks as one of the tools to protect communities or very important pieces of land, like the national forests, but you always need firefighters on the fire break. Otherwise, it’s useless,” he said. “It has to be integrated. There is not one miracle solution for wildfires.”

Protect The Home To Protect The Heart

Home hardening — that is, taking steps to improve the chances of a home surviving a wildfire — is another crucial aspect of protecting against wildfires, Simeoni said. Californians need to think about what is built, and how it’s built, he said.

McGrath, from Ventura County Fire, is also a big proponent of home hardening. Most homes are not up to current standards, he said. In fact, Los Angeles County has the most homes at risk for wildfire destruction nationwide, according to a report by real estate information service CoreLogic.

“New building construction requirements will save your house,” McGrath said. “We need to be proactive in updating our houses, making sure there’s nothing flammable within 5 feet of our homes and ensuring there is a good fuel break between your house and the brush.”

Another aspect of fire preparedness both experts and fire officials agree is a necessity: Residents need to be better prepared. Be aware of your surroundings, make sure you have an extinguisher or water source, harden your home and pay attention to evacuation orders, McGrath said.

Have your own fire plan, Errett, from LA County Fire, said. When officials ask residents to prepare their homes and have an emergency plan, start planning, he said. The Ready-Set-Go program is a great start to that, Errett said.

The program is designed to keep residents safe while preparing for emergencies, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Residents should know how to protect their homes and family, and have an evacuation plan. If a wildfire threatens your neighborhood, pack the car, remove flammable materials from the home and pay attention to alerts from authorities. Lastly, carry out your evacuation plan — LAFD suggests leaving before mandatory evacuations are in place.

“Folks who live in fire-prone areas need to develop their own strategies and tactics for their family, just like firefighters develop strategies and tactics,” he said. “Communicate everybody’s expectations early, so you’ll be prepared in an emergency.

It’s our responsibility to be prepared for emergencies, Simeoni said, and residents can’t rely on authorities to do everything for them. If firefighters or police are on the scene and giving instructions to residents, that’s good, but “don’t take that for granted,” he said.

It’s crucial for residents to be aware, listen to broadcasts, keep up-to-date on the latest fire conditions and have a way people can reach you, Simeoni said.

“Firefighters are doing an outstanding job, but we need to support them and understand that preparation and prevention is extremely important,” he said. “We can’t expect to have one firetruck per house, and one cop per person coming and telling you to evacuate. The fires are just too massive.”

Research And Resources

California would also benefit from more research and more resources, Simeoni said. Wildfire research is a young science, but researchers need ways to quantify fire risks, he said. Changes are happening rapidly, so the value of experience and history decreases — what happened in the ‘80s no longer applies to today, Simeoni said.

“California has the biggest wildfire service in the world, so the state could lead the way in adapting to these new threats moving forward in a way where we’re more resilient to it — but it’s a lot of work and it’s all across the board,” he said.

On top of more research, Errett believes more resources may be key, to avoid a situation like the one that occurred in 2018 when firefighting efforts were stretched thin across the state. There has been a lot of consolidation in the fire service within California, he said.

With the Woolsey, Hill and Camp fires burning simultaneously, there wasn’t much master mutual aid to be deployed in the Woolsey Fire, Errett said. The lack of mutual support between fire agencies affected firefighters’ ability to use resources and prevent as many homes from being destroyed by the fire, he said.

“Our firefighters rose to a challenge many of them have never seen. We’ve hired a lot of new people in the last six or seven years, and I think this is the one they’ll be telling their grandkids about,” Errett said. “When they’re faced with challenges similar to Woolsey, I think they’ll only get better."

Woolsey Fire Anniversary Series

Nov. 8, 2019, marks the one-year anniversary of the Woolsey Fire — the most devastating and destructive fire in LA County history. This weekend, we reflect on what happened during the fire with emergency response crews, residents and officials and prepare for what lies ahead in an era of catastrophic California wildfires.

We talk to firefighters, city officials, lawyers, residents and researchers to see what the recovery has been like, who is still fighting for the fire victims one year later and what lessons we've learned along the way. Fire victims share what it was like to lose it all and the complicated grief that followed. Firefighters tell stories of fighting on the front lines for multiple days in a row, and city officials recount what it was like to evacuate the entire city of Malibu and rebuilding destroyed communities. Lawyers describe their ongoing battle for accountability, and scientists explain how California’s fires are changing over time.

One thing is for certain: The Woolsey Fire changed us.

Other stories in this series:

Life After Woolsey: Malibu Still Soul Searching One Year Later

The Fight's Not Over: Victims Seek Justice After Woolsey Fire

Photos That Captured The Heartache And Enormity Of Woolsey Fire

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