Color Malibu Red

• The Publisher’s Notebook •
Color Malibu Red As in Red Flag Alert

BY ANNE SOBLE

While most of the nation is focused on the colors red, white and blue, local fire crews are thinking red for the high brushfire danger that exists this week and will continue for all weeks in the foreseeable future. Last Saturday was brush inspection day at my oasis of calm in Malibu. Los Angeles County crews going through the vicinity made certain that everyone understands how serious the current wildfire danger is. The firefighter who gave a thumbs up to the regulation fire hose hookup equipment at several locations on my property and the use of low-burning cacti and other succulents for landscaping is a 25-year veteran with the department who says he has never seen conditions as dry as they are now. The record-setting lack of rainfall has created an environment where a wayward campfire, a carelessly tossed cigarette, an errant spark from a vehicle or illegal fireworks could turn Malibu into an inferno.

The governor toured the Tahoe fire zone last week and, as he often does, noted that the state’s firefighters are “true action heroes.” He also said that these “brave men and women” would not lack the resources to meet the challenges that await them now that fire season is a year-round phenomenon. But as is the case all too often with those in the political realm, the rhetoric exceeds reality. Firefighting resources are down, not up. With grounded air tankers, a wounded DC-10, an insufficient number of helicopters and the astounding SuperScoopers only available part-time (at county expense), response time and capability are compromised. How many more wildfires have to claim homes, businesses and lives before politicians will stop thinking about the value of firefighting equipment in terms of value instead of cost?

This governor is taking concerns about global warming to the national and world stages with an extraordinary capability that is as much messenger as message. He says things that a team of scientists might say with greater precision but never get the public attention they deserve. The governor has to know that global warming brings increased threat from wildfires. Even when fire is the result of arson, preexisting environmental degradation creates conditions that enable it to take off more quickly and burn hotter, increasing the potential for catastrophic loss. He can provide the leadership to obtain funding so SuperScoopers and other craft can be purchased outright as part of an ample and diverse firefighting arsenal.