Governor - Press release - task force to review the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Fire Commission’s recommendations

Governor Calls on Blue Ribbon Task Force to Review State Fire Response

11/6/2007
Source: CalFires.com article

With the devastating southern California fires under control, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today called on the Blue Ribbon Task Force to assess the next steps to take at federal, state and local levels of government to prevent and fight future fires. Additionally, the Governor asked the task force to review the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Fire Commission’s recommendations, generated after the 2003 fires, to evaluate if the recommendations are still the best and most effective ways in preventing and fighting fires.

“The state did a great job in quickly responding to the terrible southern California fires and the cooperation between all levels of government was impressive,” said Governor Schwarzenegger

Specifically, the Governor called on the Blue Ribbon Task Force to thoroughly assess the next steps at all levels of government and to evaluate the role that greater cross-agency training and resources, local planning, defensible space, building standards, Fire Safe Councils, public education and other public policies can and should play in preventing and fighting fires.

The Governor’s Blue Ribbon Fire Commission was established in November 2003 by both Governor Gray Davis and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In April 2004, the Commission issued 48 recommendations for improving emergency preparedness to prevent and respond to California wildfires. The recommendations included eight federal recommendations, 20 state recommendations, one local recommendation and 19 recommendations that involved multiple jurisdictions.

The Blue Ribbon Task Force was formed after the recommendations were submitted by the commission and includes representatives from county and city firefighting officials, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES), state fire chiefs and labor unions including the California Professional Firefighters Association and the California State Firefighters’ Association.

Over the past four years, Governor Schwarzenegger has increased funding to state fire protection by 84 percent. This amounts to $259 million for equipment, firefighters, planning and fuels management. Since 2003, 109 new engines have been purchased to replace old CAL FIRE engines at a cost of $26.5 million.

In July 2005, Governor Schwarzenegger signed executive order S-6-05, allocating significant resources to fulfill the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Fire Commission’s recommendations. This included:

• $10.8 million to replace aging fire engines.
• $9 million for year-round staffing at fire-season levels in San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
• $12 million over five years for state-of-the-art radio equipment to increase interoperability between CAL FIRE, federal and local officials.

Governor Schwarzenegger today sent the following letter to the Blue Ribbon Task Force Chairman Mike Warren:

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November 6, 2007

Via hand delivery

The Honorable Mike Warren
Chairman
Blue Ribbon Fire Commission Task Force
400 South Vicentia Avenue
Corona, California 92882

Dear Chief Warren,

Over the past two weeks, Southern California’s residents and some of the hardest working first responders in the nation faced, and conquered, wildfires of historic scope and power. I know we are all proud of the heroism demonstrated by the firefighters, law enforcement officials and volunteers who risked their lives to battle these devastating fires. With the flames firmly under our control, we now have the responsibility and opportunity to carefully craft what next steps California can take to meet the challenges of fire season. The swath of destruction left by these most recent fires leaves us no other choice.

To achieve this, I call on the Blue Ribbon Task Force to recommend what we must do to better prevent and fight fires in the future. I ask that the Task Force candidly and thoroughly assess next steps at the federal, state, county and municipal levels, and evaluate the role that greater cross-agency training and resources, local planning, defensible space, building standards, Fire Safe Councils, public education and other public policies can and should play in preventing and fighting fires.

I applaud the work of the Blue Ribbon Fire Commission in assessing the 2003 fires and putting together a tough, comprehensive set of recommendations. At this time, I am submitting to the Task Force an analysis conducted by my office of the 2003 recommendations. You will see that we have addressed many of the Commission’s recommendations – including year-round staffing in high-risk regions, expanding reverse 911 systems and coordinating the Multi-Agency Incident Resource Processing System with the California Fire and Rescue Mutual Aid System.

Given the substantially larger scope of these most recent fires and developments in technologies available to fight fires, I believe we can benefit from an evaluation of these 2003 recommendations. In light of the past four years, are the 2003 recommendations still the most efficient and effective path to increasing our fire preparedness? I ask that the Task Force members address this critical question in their assessment, and help us identify what policies require more attention and resources.

My administration has worked diligently to make significant progress in fire protection, providing resources to raise staffing levels, improve equipment and increase the coordination and efficacy of our response. At their height, these most recent fires burned at twice the size of their 2003 predecessors. I believe the success of our firefighters in successfully containing these mega fires, with fewer lives lost and structures destroyed than in 2003, is a testament to our policies. But we can always do more, and we will. I look forward to the Task Force’s help in achieving this.

Sincerely,

Arnold Schwarzenegger