BRUSH STATUTE BEING IGNORED.

Byline: Alex Roth Daily News Staff Writer

With the start of a potentially dangerous fire season days away, two state agencies that maintain thousands of acres of land in Los Angeles are refusing to comply with the city's brush clearance ordinance, creating what fire officials called a public hazard.

The California Department of Transportation, which controls all land along highways, and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, which with the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority owns about 4,000 acres throughout the city, have failed to clear brush from within 200 feet of all structures and within 10 feet of all highways.

Officials for the agencies say they don't have the equipment or the money - nor do they see the need - to comply with the ordinance, which applies to every property owner in the city of Los Angeles.

Fire officials say this noncompliance could spell disaster and have papered Caltrans and the conservancy with dozens of citations, even though the city lacks the authority to prosecute the state agencies.

``We depend on other government agencies to take care of business in the appropriate manner,'' Los Angeles fire Capt. Paul Quagliata said Wednesday. ``If they don't have the money or people to do that, they need to address that issue.''

Fire Chief William Bamattre said the risk posed by the agencies' failure to comply depends on many factors, including the weather. But for months, fire officials have warned that the winter's El Nino rains have produced the greatest brush overgrowth in a decade - creating the fuel for a disastrous fire season.

``Certainly because of the amount of land (Caltrans and the conservancy) own, it's a problem,'' Bamattre said.

The fire season begins in late September or early October, depending on weather and moisture conditions. Fire officials estimate that 8,800 of 180,000 properties inspected by firefighters in the city have failed to clear brush from within 200 feet of structures.

Many of them are owned by Caltrans and the conservancy. Representatives of the conservancy acknowledged that they are not complying with the city's 200-foot brush clearance rule, which took effect in May 1997.

Old vs. new rules

Neither city nor conservancy officials could say how many parcels of mountain parkland are out of compliance. But conservancy representatives said the agency is clearing brush from within 100 feet of structures - the city's old rule - and insisted that is a safe distance.

``We make every effort to identify the areas that truly need to be cleared and make a concerted effort to clear them,'' said conservancy staff lawyer Laurie Collins.

Conservancy officials say they don't have the money to clear more than they already have. Earlier this year, when agency officials requested an additional $165,000 for brush clearance, the state Legislature reduced their request to $50,000, said Robert Blumenfield, the agency's director of governmental affairs.

Conservancy officials point out that by clearing brush from within 100 feet of structures, they are exceeding state regulations, which require only a 30-foot clearance on all state property.

``We've done a tremendous amount of work over the last four months doing that which we've historically done,'' said Walt Young, a conservancy deputy division chief.

Lack of staff

Caltrans officials say they have been unable to clear much highway right of way because of lack of staff, equipment and funds. In addition, new state laws require them to cut back on their use of herbicides, said Mike Miles, a Caltrans maintenance chief based in Los Angeles.

Hiring contractors has been difficult because only a few private firms have the special lawn mowers required for the task, he said.

In some cases, Miles said, the agency would not want to clear brush because that would expose the land to erosion.

``It's a double-edged sword,'' he said. ``Do we want it to wash away or do we want it to burn?''

Firefighters cited Caltrans property bordering the Ventura Freeway near the Foothill Freeway as a problem area, along with the right of way along the San Diego Freeway through the Sepulveda Pass, between Ventura and Sunset boulevards.

``It hasn't been trimmed up there,'' said Inspector Sanford Faz of the Fire Department's brush clearance unit. ``There's a lot of dead debris and heavy growth alongside the freeway. You have automobiles on the freeway with people tossing cigarettes out. Any minor traffic accidents have the potential to start a car fire, which could get into the overgrowth area.''

The city has sent Caltrans 84 citations for failure to clear brush along highways. Even though the city has no jurisdiction over state agencies, fire officials said they hope the notices will call attention to the problem.

``It places homeowners in danger. It places firefighters in danger,'' Faz said.

But Miles said fire officials have issued Caltrans citations for property the agency doesn't even own.

``They just go out there and write citations and send them to us, and then we go out and investigate,'' he said. ``And a lot of times it's not our property.''

Council not satisfied

Those explanations aren't sitting well with the City Council.

Councilwoman Laura Chick, who chairs the council's Public Safety Committee, said she would urge the council and Mayor Richard Riordan to sign a letter urging the two agencies to take additional measures.

Chick said even if the city cannot enforce its rules against state agencies, officials should try to ``use all other tactics, including good old American shaming.''

The city's new brush clearance ordinance follows the county's regulations, requiring property owners to clear brush up to 200 feet.

Jon Baker, a deputy forester with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, said he wasn't sure whether the county had difficulty getting either Caltrans or the conservancy to comply.

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Photo

Photo: Brush grows in the Sepulveda Pass next to where a car fMire ignited the hillside earlier this summer.

Michael Owen Baker/Daily News