We are very lucky. Fires were everywhere last week, but not here. People handle luck in different ways, but I think the smart way to handle our present luck is to see it as giving us precious time to get more abatement done before we are not so lucky. When that unlucky time comes, the damage inflicted will be a reflection of how much work we have done to reduce the fuel inside and around our community.

It would be a mistake for people to draw a fatalistic lesson from these fires. While it is true that in some situations the combination of hurricane force winds and direction towards homes meant that neighborhoods were going to burn, there was also that odd and often seen pattern of a home burned next to one that was untouched. This was not a random process. Firefighters were quoted in the San Bernardino Sun saying that individual differences in homes and their landscapes made a difference in fire. A CDF firefighter in a workshop this past weekend said that he saw fire in Running Springs burn right up to homes that had not been raked, thus igniting the house.

The Angora Fire which burned in Lake Tahoe this June is another case in point. The assessment after the fire highlighted how fuel treatments had slowed the fire and made it less intense, as intended. Homeowners who abated generally escaped damage. Hotshots involved in initial attack said that three-quarters of the destroyed homes could have been saved if owners had simply cleaned the pine needles from their roofs, porches, and fence lines. One firefighter commented that some homeowners obviously did not consider the removal of pine needles a requirement.

Gary Nakamura, a forestry specialist who spoke at the Nature Center on Saturday, always points out the importance of surface fuels in wildfire; in fact, ground fuels drive the intensity of the fire. Needles, leaves and twigs ignite quickly and spread fast. They are important, and anyone with a rake can have a big impact on their home's safety.

Our community should not breath easy and believe that we are safe till next spring. The fierce wind blew down piles of leaves and needles that are now lying next to and on top of homes. We need to clean these up now. We should not expect a heavy rain or snow this week or next to make them inconsequential. This winter is projected to be a dry one. We may not have heavy precipitation for months, and in that time another high-pressure system over the Great Basin could send us another round of Santa Anas. The fact that we passed our inspections is at this point irrelevant. We need to get those leaves and needles away from our homes and to the transfer station as fast as we can. If you can do this yourself, or if you can pay someone to do it for you, wonderful. If you can't, ask for help. Call the Fire Safe Council at 650-6208 and we will help.

As a whole we have done well this year in clearing fuel. Homeowners and fire agencies have done a lot of fine work. But it can't stop here. Let's not waste our lucky break-let's continue our good work.

Mike Esnard, MCFSC President