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So honestly, we don't know yet. It's still in an investigation.
We don't know how it started, OK, but because of the wind,
honestly just allowed it to outpace anything possible.
The winds are so strong air resources which we use to keep
it small ineffective. Right now the fire is is looking
good. We still have heat all around
the perimeter. We still have resources all over
and try to to secure those ages edges make sure that there is
limited the potential for any kind of growth.
So we're still out there, but the activity is way down.
Here with the fire command team at the Palisades fire.
Hey guys and see, so this is I, I was asked if if we could bring
some more Stirlings here. So we've brought some more
stalings here and I'm just here with the the team and they're
going to provide a briefing of the Palisades fire.
So please go ahead. All right.
Hello. Good evening.
My name is Christian Litz. I'm with LA County Fire,
cooperating with the partnership with Cal Fire Team 2 and I'm
operating section chief on this PAL States fire.
So PAL States Fire. I'll just go.
We've been here since the beginning of the fire on
Tuesday. We were looking at extreme
damaging winds, erratic fire behavior coming through and
blowing in from about midway on this map and blowing all the way
down to the coastline there. When did that?
So when's that start? Just the frame of the thing for
people, like I said, I can assume people like it's, it's
like great to get the story from like basically like straight
shooter and, and like, you know, and, and so like how, how did it
start? And, you know, and, and then
maybe after, how did it start? Then like what are some of the
things that can be done to prevent in the future?
But how but how did it start out?
Like what's this? What's the?
Story. So honestly, we don't know yet.
It's still under investigation. We don't know how it started OK,
but because of the wind, honestly, it just allowed it to
outpace anything possible. The winds are so strong, air
resources, which we used to keep it small, ineffective.
OK, so. It blew at record break it it
grew at a record break breaking pace.
Resources put themselves probably in a bigger danger than
they've ever done saves as many structures.
But you can see it started about here with the wind and pushed it
straight through the Palisades and it allowed it to grow.
Larry, as the wind slowed down, it allowed it to grow back the
go back the other way. But now the wind came back out
of the north and blew down again.
So we have several winds shifts. Resources are all around trying
to both structure the fence which is down along the coast
where this Trump is more heavy. We do have communities all along
the top that we have. We've just been working as hard
as we can from beginning that to now without any stop any rest
resources working 3648 hours at times just because of the need
of the of what we had to do. Right now the fire is is looking
good. We still have heat all around
the perimeter. We still have resources all over
and try to to secure those ages edges, make sure that there is
limited the potential for any kind of growth.
So we're still out there, but the activity is way down.
And then with these wins over the next couple days, honestly
this fire we have to watch it and give you it, but it's going
to blow down at least most of it into its own self.
But any new fire, it's going to do the same thing.
We have the winds that's going to push it.
It's not as strong as it was on Tuesday, but there is still
going to be movement. So we're keeping keeping all the
resources available and we're ready to actually not only
respond to where the fire is now, any new fires that start,
we're able to respond and help. OK, so it is so fires are
currently under control. This fire, we're not calling it
control, but there is lying around almost all of it, OK,
very much almost all of it, but resources we're still working.
So about the excitement is about 10% of the fire where the flames
were there, but 90% of the work is done after those planes are
gone and we have to secure those edges.
Did you ever watch a campfire where the wind comes in and it's
out? Yeah.
Then the wind comes and it blows embers.
Sure. Same thing can happen.
OK. So you have to keep pushing and
pushing and pushing deeper and deeper and stay around all these
homes and bond Anito Fernwood all the way.
Up when you when you when you when you build like full of
barriers to stuff the fire going is you just you clear the brush
and and and the trees and like like what what actions do you
take around the perimeter that? So along the drummer we cut, we
call a cutting line, we use those.
But really what we're doing is taking everything out down to
bare mineral soil. So there will be a path of dirt
from where the pipeline is. Exactly.
We're building a fire break along the edge of the black.
OK, got it. So there's nothing left to burn.
So the only danger at that point was if the wind blows an ember
over that line. So we have to build it
appropriately big enough to secure that, to stop that from
happening, and then push into the black to take all the heat
away so it gives us a bigger buffer as much as possible.
How how big is a fire break needs to be?
It depends on the size of the fuel.
If you look at textbook size of fuel, it's anything that we see
and and it's different for terrain, size of fuel,
everything like that. Usually it's a couple times, 1,
1/2 times the size of the fuel. But we have fuel in the Topanga
Canyon area, the Palestine area. There hasn't been fire there in
60 years. So you're really wow 15.
Quite a rare fire, correct? Like it's a half century fire or
something. Absolutely.
OK. The last major fires I have
really pushed through Topanga is 9396.
OK, But there is there is part of these hillsides that there
hasn't been recorded fire in 60 years.
OK, wow. All right.
And, and all the things that like would be like, like, I
think what a lot of people are curious about is like what
things can be done in the future to ensure that houses are less
susceptible to burning down. I mean, it's like, like, like as
we rebuild for the future, because it's like, there's one
thing about like past recriminations and all that, but
like we can't go, we can't rewind the clock.
But what we can do is say, like in the future, what what, what
should we do to minimize the probability that, you know,
people's homes and businesses will burn down?
Yeah, great question. And that's that's really what we
want. So throughout history as fire,
as fire prevention gets better, we we do better at safety
structures. So when you look at the LA
County website, LA City has references out there as well.
We call it, you always say the term defensible space.
That is the biggest thing to safe structures.
So and hardening your home. So defensible space, we'll start
there. That is basically clear and
brush as low as possible to about 100 feet is what our
minimum standard say 100 feet away.
You can you start at 10 feet, but you limit it out about 100
feet is the best. So then when it hits there,
you're basically building that 100 foot buffer of fuel brakes
around your home. So like no, no kindling for 100
feet basically that sounds that sounds pretty sensible it.
It it is, and then you're Harding.
Your home we call harness is. Don't stack firewood right
against. The against the wall, the
firewood, yeah. Really a big part of when we
lose structures on a typical, maybe not 100 mile winds, but a
typical, is there something by the house?
Flammable fire. Yeah, OK.
Wood furniture, something like that and it can burn up and gets
into the attic and then we lose the house.
OK or it gets in the porch system, right.
You might have a wood deck and it comes up and just lots of
flame to go into the house. So a lot of times we talk about
or ember cast that gets in the ember.
So you put screens around every opening.
So you have vents on your house, put screens, very small screens
so the air can get through there.
But embers? Good sized embers that will
actually catch house. Get in there.
OK, so there's stuff like that, move everything right from your
house. And the vegetation in this area
is is astonishingly beautiful. And we understand that, Yeah.
But, well, yeah. There's things you have to do
for, I mean. I haven't heard like some
things, like some of the issues with fire breaks were like
there's like some endangered like plant or something and then
we can't do a fire break or that's an issue like like like,
is there stuff that would be helpful from a regulatory reform
standpoint that would help with fire prevention in the future?
Well, LA County, I mean, we do have standards.
We go in certain areas, we actually have these lists of
residences like this is what we have to do, OK.
I think it's just an awareness. So when people good and bad
about the the bad thing is this happened, the good thing, maybe
it'll bring a greater awareness that there is a way to help
defend your homes. There is a way to help this from
stop happening in the future. And that defensible space,
building that and building those, that's that's the way to
do it as far as. Well, I guess, I guess people
are like, obviously we definitely want to give people a
sense of, of hope for the future and if the things get rebuilt,
that their house is not going to burn down again.
It's like a reasonable thing. So, so, so it's so it's like,
like if there are things that should we should push for from a
regulatory reform standpoint, this would be good to to know,
you know, and, and yeah. Clearance phase OK, building
building material, right we could we can now these are newer
things. So now the up to the standards
of building construction codes have been brought and have
changed over the years. So maybe when their house was
built, they weren't there OK, now we have new the new codes.
There's going to be certain fire return materials, there's going
to be certain things that they can do.
If you look a lot concrete buildings don't burn.
So there's some of these people that have built their concrete
in the middle and it is right on the middle of black all around
and nothing was done, but they did burn because of the building
material. Yeah, you can't.
You can't burn concrete. Correct.
So face any yeah and flat and return materials.
Ceiling concrete is going to be OK, yes.
Great things. They have other materials out
there now that will definitely help.
Like what? I think you'll just like like if
I'm like hopeful that this video can be like helpful to people,
you know, like what, what should people do differently?
Like if it's not steel and concrete, you said there's some
new materials like like like synthetic materials or, or what?
Absolutely. And there's stuff that they put
in to the to the materials to be able to do it.
Hi, Yeah, hi. Hi.
Help my partner out over here. Yeah, yeah.
You know, anyways, I just wanted to kind of point.
Something out back. OK.
In 1962, we had a fire was called the Bel Air fire that
burned from this area into kind of the same burn pattern, OK
And. Then after that.
Fire. That's when they.
Basically in the city of Los Angeles they outlawed.
Wood shaped roofs. So wood shaped roofs were
outlawed. Yeah, I mean, that's the, I
mean, that's the nightmare. Yeah, that's true.
Partner is saying there's a roof, a roof made of kindling,
right. So.
We we update the village standards, the fire, 'cause
there was a fire. Prevention standard?
Sure. And then, and that's up to you
and the people out there that are a little more into the
architecture and to find some something that actually could be
potentially more fire saving, you know, and then maybe the
silver lining around the Gray cloud is that that may happen
and we'll live in a safer Fire Zone or area where there's prone
to. Fires OK, Safer.
Type of structures, that's kind of what we're hoping to come out
of this, you know, as maybe one of the very small but good
things. All right, sounds good.
Well, I mean, and do you have any any guidance for for people
like if there's like obviously steel and concrete not are not
going to burn, but like other the new synthetics that you
think would be better than like or or besides steel and
concrete, is there anything else?
I I no. I really AM.
Not an expert or stones actually.
Like OK, it's pretty hard to burn stone.
I mean, steel and concrete, there's some stuff out there.
Yeah, we're worried about. Putting it out.
OK. But yeah, and I think that
there's some some people will come together and find
something. But yeah, there's certainly some
stuff out there. We just.
All right, sounds good. All right.
Hey, everyone. So, all right, what about what
about order availability was water availability?
I understand that was like not not an issue in in Malibu.
Is that correct? Was it water?
Yeah. So there was water.
We have several reservoirs that seen as we use a lot now, just
an example, if we have one building burning, we could flow
1000 gallons a minute on that one building with the hose legs
that we put in to stop it. You can imagine 1000 gallons per
house we can do, right. So the amount of water we're
flowing, there really is no water system that's going to
keep that pace. So we have to bring in water
tenders, which are these big tank water tanks that you know,
25103 thousand gallon trucks and they'll come in and that's what
we have to do to overcome to compensate.
So they park out there, do it. DWTP did a great job.
They brought in big water trucks for us and we use them as
basically mobile hydrants. All right, all.
Right. And then we have our own agency
as well that. Has water tenders.
OK. Am I saying is that that like
along the maybe correct me if I'm wrong, along in Malibu,
along the coast, there was no shortage of water.
In the Palisades there was a shortage of water at at a
certain point, or is that? Well, we were just, we were
flowing just an amount of amount of water that those system
couldn't. That was just.
Buried just because of how much? Water these firefighters were
utilizing. OK.
All right. Sounds good.
All right. Thanks guys.
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