On wildfire patrol: Volunteers gauge success by blazes that don鈥檛 start
| Brea, Calif.
When Southern California turns into a tinderbox 鈥� with dry winds whipping across parched canyons and foothills 鈥� Ray Hutchinson grabs his portable ham radio, dons a reflective vest the color of lemon-lime Gatorade, and heads for the outskirts of Orange County to scan for smoke and flames.
A retired fire captain, Mr. Hutchinson is part of 聽(OCFW), a group of 328 volunteers who patrol wilderness parks, remote highways, and even a cemetery when the threat of wildfires looms. The goal is to deter arsonists, educate the public about fire safety, and spot blazes before they swirl out of control, says Tony Pointer, who manages the聽聽for the , which oversees nearly 30,000 acres of open space.聽
鈥淲hat a great way to give back. I get to stand and look at beautiful country,鈥� says Noma Bates, another volunteer. 聽
Why We Wrote This
In the battle against catastrophic wildfires, these volunteers patrol Orange County鈥檚 backcountry to prevent blazes before they start while educating the public about fire safety.
Mr. Pointer adds, 鈥淲e sell Orange County Fire Watch as the easiest volunteer activity with the most impact on the land.鈥�
But being a wildfire watchdog is no walk in the park. Well, actually, it often听颈蝉 a walk in the park, but under dicey circumstances.
鈥淚f the wind is high, it鈥檚 awful,鈥� says Lynda Armbruster, citing dust-bowl conditions that require goggles and a mask. Nevertheless, she regularly signs up for six- or eight-hour shifts. 鈥淵ou protect what you love,鈥� explains Ms. Armbruster, a retired college professor who鈥檚 been with OCFW since its inception in 2006. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like people who rescue animals. You have a thing that captures your heart.鈥�
In California鈥檚 unending battle against wildfires, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of insurance payouts and charred countryside. The fire watch was formed with that in mind, and its members feel passionate about 鈥渉elping the land stay safe,鈥� Ms. Bates says.
On average, Mr. Pointer says OCFW patrols 18 to 20 days a year, mostly in the fall and winter, with up to 70 volunteers in the field at a time.
Invariably, the trigger is a weather phenomenon that inspired this 1938 passage from novelist Raymond Chandler鈥檚 鈥淩ed Wind鈥�: 鈥淭here was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands鈥� necks. Anything can happen.鈥�
It鈥檚 that 鈥渁nything鈥� factor volunteers are urged to zero in on: suspicious activity (鈥渉ikers鈥� wearing street clothes or taking photos), people operating weed wackers (which can throw off sparks), cars pulling onto grassy shoulders (hot catalytic converters can ignite vegetation). In 2017, a road flare that skittered off a freeway started the Canyon Fire, which burned 2,600 acres and sparked a second, larger inferno.
鈥淭hank you for saving us鈥�
Everything gets reported to OCFW鈥檚 command center via cellphone or ham radio. After Ms. Armbruster called in the she was besieged by 鈥減anicked residents asking me what to do. I told them to pack their cars and be ready to go.鈥� One family later drove up and rolled down a window, and a 3-year-old boy chirped, 鈥淭hank you for saving us.鈥澛�
OCFW is a vast improvement over fire reconnaissance in the 1800s and early 20th century, when lookout towers were the chief detection method in the United States 鈥� and bells, flags, lanterns, and heliographs (Morse code via mirrors and sunlight) were the only ways to communicate.聽
Orange County鈥檚 first lookout station debuted in 1912 atop Santiago Peak in Cleveland National Forest and had an Osborne fire finder (a sighting device to pinpoint smoke locations) and a direct phone line to the fire warden鈥檚 house, according to old newspaper articles unearthed by Ron Kemnow of the Forest Fire Lookout Association. 聽
One of the tower鈥檚 earliest employees, Winifred Hunter, moved in 鈥渨ith her gun and two dogs鈥� after a string of male lookouts buckled under the solitude.聽
By 1946, three more observation towers had sprung up in the county, but gradually fell into disuse, rendered obsolete by spotter planes, budget cuts, and poor visibility caused by smog. Today, the county鈥檚 only lookout stations are replicas at Disney鈥檚 California Adventure theme park.聽
The concept behind modern flame scouting originated in the mid-1970s. A fire prevention officer in San Bernardino, California, hatched the idea of adding volunteer CB radio operators to the 鈥淩ed Flag Fire Patrols鈥� conducted by forest rangers, according to a 1974 San Bernardino Sun story. Like their 2021 counterparts, the CB crews worked in pairs and drove around with magnetic 鈥淔ire Patrol鈥� signs affixed to their cars.
Actor Buddy Ebsen of 鈥淏everly Hillbillies鈥� fame organized a similar program 鈥� Arson Watch 鈥� in the Malibu area after a 1982 wildfire nearly torched his ranch.
Cellphones fueled the latest crop of patrol groups. OCFW is the largest in Southern California, Mr. Pointer says, but there are dozens of others.聽
Most of OCFW鈥檚 members are retirees and nature lovers who joined the program after volunteering with the county parks system or the Irvine Ranch Conservancy. Both agencies mandate multiple hours of training, including CPR and first-aid classes.聽
Fire watch recruits get an additional four hours of instruction, along with a manual that covers everything from how to park your car while on duty (always facing out, for quick escape) to where to find restrooms at the 35 locations that members monitor when the National Weather Service declares 鈥渞ed flag鈥� fire danger.聽
Most of the watch sites are near park entrances or along canyon roads. Less extroverted volunteers can sign up for a dam that overlooks a Christmas tree farm, an oil field, and one of Southern California鈥檚 biggest redwood groves. Or they can lurk at the back of a Catholic graveyard with panoramic views of high-risk mountainsides.
Watching via camera during pandemic聽
The group also keeps tabs on 34 wilderness cameras set up by utility companies, a popular option during the pandemic. During 2020鈥檚 Blue Ridge Fire, remote observers spotted a small, secondary blaze even before nearby residents noticed it, Mr. Pointer says.
How effective is OCFW鈥檚 program? The best measure would be the number of blazes that never start, but that鈥檚 impossible to quantify, says Sean Doran, an Orange County Fire Authority captain. 鈥淲e appreciate partnerships of any kind, and having volunteers out there is a deterrent,鈥� he adds, noting that the majority of wildfires are caused by people, although usually inadvertently.
In a typical year, OCFW reports four smoke or flame sightings, Mr. Pointer says. 鈥淲e handle more medical emergencies,鈥� he adds, because volunteers posted at trailheads routinely encounter injured hikers.聽
鈥淭here鈥檚 not a lot of glory,鈥� says Mr. Hutchinson, the retired fire captain. 鈥淏ut there鈥檚 lots of appreciation.鈥澛�
People drop off cookies, deliver hot chocolate, and honk their horns, volunteers say. And there are less conventional rewards. 鈥淥ne guy asked if I wanted free gun training,鈥� Ms. Armbruster recalls.聽
Interacting with the public and explaining fire safety is 鈥渁 big part of our success,鈥� says Mr. Pointer, who hopes to expand to 500 volunteers covering 50 sites.聽
聽Although video feeds and artificial intelligence are gaining ground in fire detection, he says, they鈥檙e no substitute for a human touch. AI sometimes mistakes clouds 鈥� or dust kicked up by a truck 鈥� for smoke, he notes. Ultimately, he says, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 see how you can replace a person.鈥�
