Initial response time to this fire was not a factor, because
firefighters were actually present and working on hot spots from the
previous day’s fire when this fire broke out. Response time to this area of
the hills is normally a concern, because fire apparatus must climb the steep
hills on narrow switchback roads. The access problems caused a delay for
companies responding to reinforce the units that were already on the
scene, but there is no evidence to suggest that this was a significant factor
in the outcome of the fire.
Analysis of the fire strongly suggests that it was uncontrollable by
conventional firefighting methods within the first few minutes. The fire
broke out and increased in size so rapidly that the firefighters who were
already present with charged hoselines could not stop it and had to retreat
for their own safety. With the Santa Ana wind blowing into a canyon that
was so ripe for fire propagation, the fire would have overwhelmed any
conventional fire suppression capability. This had been recognized and
predicted years earlier and was commented upon by the officers who had
directed the previous day’s incident, when the wind had been the only
missing factor.
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