OC Fire Authority Disputes Slow Response Claims For Canyon Fire 2

MISSION VIEJO, CA – Orange County Fire Authority officials Thursday are strongly disputed allegations by a retired sheriff's deputy that the agency was slow to respond to a report of flames in the area where the Canyon Fire 2 erupted less than 24 hours later in the Anaheim Hills. The OCFA also denied that the flames reported on Oct. 8 led to the Canyon Fire 2, which broke out Oct. 9, eventually charring 9,200 acres, destroying 25 structures and injuring four people.

Jim Slikker, a retired sheriff's deputy who is now a volunteer medic for the sheriff's department, stood by his claims that a conversation between an Anaheim police helicopter pilot and OCFA officials the night before the Canyon Fire 2 erupted indicated the county would not respond to flames spotted near the origin of the fire that took more than a week to extinguish.

In a recording of the radio transmissions obtained by City News Service, the Anaheim pilot notified the fire authority of the flames on Oct. 8, prompting the OCFA dispatcher to contact Cal Fire officials who are in charge of fire control in the Cleveland National Forest.

"Let me check with Cleveland," a dispatcher tells the Anaheim pilot. "Yesterday, they had workers out there all day."

Hot spots apparently were "kicking up a lot of smoke," the dispatcher said.

"I don't see any units, I see flames," the Anaheim pilot said. "It's in the middle of some of that (Canyon Fire) burn area, but no workers are out there."

The Canyon Fire burned in late September in the same general area.

"Cleveland is aware of a bunch of smoke in a couple of canyons back there," the OCFA dispatcher said. "Is it inside the burn area or has it made it outside?"

The Anaheim pilot replied, "It's a little green area inside the burn area – not just smoke, definitely a flame."

Eventually, the OCFA dispatcher said, "They're just trying to let it burn itself out. ... They're just letting it burn."

The Anaheim pilot replied, "OK. Just want to make sure. We don't see any workers around... (But) if that's correct then we'll let it be."

The OCFA dispatcher replied, "Yeah, that's what they're telling us."

OCFA officials put out a detailed timeline Thursday with a rundown of the radio transmissions.

The OCFA dispatchers, after hearing from the Anaheim pilot, asked the Corona Fire Department and the U.S. Forest Service to further investigate, according to the Fire Authority.

"After several inter-agency discussions, the USFS advised that no further OCFA assistance was needed to respond to Sierra Peak in the Cleveland National Forest," according to OCFA.

The Anaheim police pilot reported the hot spot near Sierra Park in Cleveland National Forest at 4:40 p.m. Oct. 8. One minute later, the OCFA called Corona.

At 4:43 p.m., OCFA called the forest service and was told the agency was aware of and monitoring the hot spot.

OCFA helicopter pilots were then told to monitor the radio traffic, and the authority again called the forest service at 4:46 p.m. to see if assistance was needed, according to the OCFA. But the forest service said it was a "smoldering island well within the burn area and" the forest service was monitoring it.

At 4:47 p.m., the OCFA told the Anaheim pilot the fire was well within the area of the first Canyon Fire, and the plan was to let it burn itself out and no help was needed.

Orange County Fire Authority officials said they have concluded the Sierra Peak hot spot was not the origin of the Canyon Fire 2.

Slikker, however, also claimed he heard from sheriff's helicopter pilots that they offered to help OCFA put some water on flames early into the Canyon Fire 2 when it broke out Oct. 9, but were rebuffed.

Orange County Fire Authority officials said they are investigating that claim. But Jaimee Blashaw, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department, said sheriff's officials do not believe any helicopters were in the air at that time.

Slikker said that the sheriff's helicopter pilots were not in the air at the time, but offered to help and were turned down. Those pilots are certified to help fight fires and have some of the same equipment to battle blazes as the OCFA, Slikker said.

Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do said he supports Supervisor Shawn Nelson's request to have OCFA officials appear before the board to explain what they know about the issues.

"Absolutely, the public deserves to know," Do said.

Slikker denied that he was trying to escalate an ongoing feud between sheriff's officials and the OCFA over protocols regarding helicopter rescues.

"I'm acting on my own volition as a citizen," Slikker said. "I would never, ever make up a story like this. I'll swear to an oath."

Slikker allowed for the possibility he didn't hear other radio transmissions, but said he has sophisticated scanners that monitor all of the area's channels and would likely hear if other agencies were involved. The OCFA said some of the calls to the forest service were made by telephone, and not over the radio.

Slikker said he was motivated to speak up when he saw property owners lose their homes.

"To those people saying, `You're just doing it because you're mad (at the OCFA), I say I'm doing it because 24 people lost their homes and a couple of firefighters got hurt and I think it could have been prevented if they went out that night and dropped some water. It has nothing to do with the tit for tat between departments."

The Canyon Fire 2 was officially reported the morning of Oct. 9. Authorities said the blaze eventually damaged 55 structures in addition to the 25 destroyed and prompted the full closure of the 241 toll road in both directions between the Riverside (91) Freeway and Santiago Canyon Road.

The blaze erupted near the Riverside (91) Freeway east of Gypsum Canyon Road, near the Coal Canyon flashpoint of the first Canyon Fire, which broke out Sept. 25 and blackened more than 2,600 acres and took more than a week to contain.

City News Service and Patch staffer Emily Holland contributed to this post; Image via Shutterstock