Our View: Connections lost with Forest Service

Posted: 08/11/2010 08:46:04 PM PDT

 

Hello, Forest Service, can we talk?

 
Apparently the answer is no if the questions are about last year's Station Fire, the largest forest fire in the history of Southern California. The brass at the Angeles National Forest headquarters in Arcadia refer all calls on that topic to Washington, D.C., from now on.


That's as more people ask more questions, such as why weren't there more aircraft sent to douse the small outbreak sooner. And what can the Forest Service do differently to prevent the devastating wildfire and resultant mudslides from happening again? The Forest Service has provided fewer answers. In fact, it's clammed up.

 
What does it have to hide? Plenty, especially after revelations spilled out last week that recordings of dispatch calls during the fire were withheld from federal investigators, who released a report on the Station Fire last November that many roundly criticized as incomplete and short-sighted.


Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell told the media he was "troubled" that the tapes had not been found earlier because they may have shed light on why the blaze got so out of control that it grew to 160,577 acres and lasted from Aug. 26 to Oct. 16, 2009 - what seemed like an eternity to San Gabriel Valley residents.
The fire caused so much damage that entire swaths of the forest were reduced to a white moonscape, making vegetative resurgence a distant prospect. Worse, two firefighters died fighting the blaze and 89 homes were damaged or destroyed.

 

Then, in January and February, heavy rains caused mudslides, damaging more foothill homes and wiping out the main mountain road, Angeles Crest Highway. Today, a 20-mile section of Highway 2 is still closed, cutting off major hiking trails and forest destinations such as Mount Wilson, which only can be reached through a circuitous route through Sunland via another road, Angeles Forest Highway.

 

Fixing the road will cost about $16 million. The criticisms pointed at the agency have grown white hot. Since last year, county Supervisor Mike Antonovich has used sharp words concerning the federal agency's role. Recently, members of Congress - including local Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, David Dreier, R-San Dimas, and Judy Chu, D-El Monte, are demanding answers. They've asked for a federal investigation. A congressional hearing will precede the General Accounting Office probe, although a hearing date has not yet been set. Most likely that hearing will take place in Pasadena.


No wonder the Forest Service has retreated.


But the reason for the PR shutdown is not just the questions regarding the response to the Station Fire. It is part of a disconnect from the land that has permeated the administration of Angeles Forest Supervisor Jody Noiron.


Several former Forest Service employees, many who still live in the area and want to see the forest flourish, say that employees are afraid to criticize their boss. Many current employees did not participate with investigators for fear of reprisals, including getting fired. That is not the kind of management that should exist anywhere in the federal government. And it's not what we want to see in our forest.


We can only hope that the hearings and investigations will clear the air and result in a better managed forest, the federal servants of which can connect with the 16 million people who live within a short distance and know it as their own majestic backyard getaway.