FOREST CUTBACKS SPARK BACKLASH ANGELES FIRE FORCE TRIMMED BY 56.

Byline: JUDY O'ROURKE Staff Writer

ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST -- The U.S. Forest Service's decision to cut wildland firefighting crews is drawing local protests, particularly because the start of the brush fire season came early this year.

One group, whose members include high-ranking fire managers, says diverting money from engines and hand crews to fund nonfire projects is shortsighted with dollars and lives.

``Put a little on the upfront to close the barn door,'' said Casey Judd, business manager for the Federal Wildland Fire Service Association, who retired as an assistant chief. ``If you properly plan for the season, you reduce the potential for large fires -- you pay a little now, or you pay a lot later.''

Last week the Forest Service said 56 fewer firefighters will man the 28 engines in the Angeles National Forest, and 40 regional ``hotshot'' crew members will be phased out. On any given day, 85 of the 275 engines statewide will be available.

The Forest Service says the numbers do not tell the whole story and that firefighting agencies need to work better within their budgets.

``Flexibility is key to successful firefighting in terms of budget,'' said Matt Mathis, spokesman for the Forest Service in California. ``We always have to make the most effective use of our dollars. What the Angeles is doing is a good example of that.'' He said half of the region's budget is spent on reducing fuel, preparedness or suppression.

Although technology helps predict fire danger, Mother Nature's in charge.

A nationwide group that aids injured firefighters and families of those killed battling blazes, rejects the agency's belt-tightening rationale for cutting back wildland protection should this become a severe fire season.

``The more cutbacks they take off the ground, the less protection people are going to have in dense communities,'' said Vicki Minor, executive director of the nonprofit Wildland Firefighter Foundation.

``If FedEx put their trucks on blocks and cut their staff back while all their upper management stayed intact, how would that company survive?'' she said. ``How can the government do that and expect us not to bring body bags out of the forest this summer?''

The goal of the 2001 National Fire Plan -- adopted by Congress after a record-setting wildfire season -- was to focus on preparedness to lessen the likelihood and cost of fighting large fires. Because the Forest Service continues to divert money intended for preparedness to nonfire uses, forests in California will see up to a 24 percent reduction in manpower versus what is called for in the national plan.

Congress provided more than $666 million for fire preparedness in 2006. Nearly $188 million earmarked for that purpose has been diverted to technology development centers, relocating human resources personnel, business management and other projects.

Prior to this year, forest services in California were allowed to deficit spend, which blunted the impact of the diversions. Officials now have been told to stop deficit spending, however, and to enforce a 98 percent initial attack ability with $187 million less.

The Angeles Forest budget for firefighting and preparedness this year is $14.2 million; last year it was $12.5 million. In 2005, the agency was given another $2 million, bringing the total to $14.5 million, but was told this year to live within its means.

It is the highest or second highest budget in the region and the nation. California is home to 18 national forests; there are 156 nationwide.

Don Garwood, deputy fire chief for the Angeles Forest, said last week the forest's budget did not change significantly from last year, but he decided to approach the need for ``increased accountability'' by manipulating staffing -- basically putting the same number of engines in the field but not staffing them as heavily.

Days worked by adjacent engine companies in the forest will be staggered to avoid gaping holes in coverage, he said.

Since Feb. 3, nationwide more than 10 times the acreage has burned than the 10-year average. Strike teams from California often travel to hot spots to fight fires, which may leave their home regions less protected. Mathis said engines might not travel outside California this summer.

Ray Quintanar, retired Pacific Southwest area fire director, oversaw mobility among his forces -- adding helicopters to gather reconnaissance day and night and boosting reliance on technology. He said he's less ``comfortable'' with seeing engines available for response five days a week instead of seven. He said the agency has a bigger budget than ever before and more priorities, but disagrees that too much is spent on personnel.

``If you want to keep a fire small you need to maintain a fire attack capability all the time, you cannot seesaw all the time. That's what this agency is doing,'' Quintanar said. ``It does not work in California. It never has, never will.''

Prevailing wisdom says blazes should be contained in rapid response attacks before they devour more than 50 acres so they do not grow.

``When we're short on resources and homes on the edges of towns and cities are burning, firefighters sometimes go to lengths they shouldn't and it puts them at risk,'' said Mellie Coriell, a stress psychologist who counsels firefighters and their families. ``If we don't have enough forces for a reasonable response we may be putting them in a position where they and their local brothers and sisters may be making choices that are not good choices.''

A government agency that issues fire season forecasts said fire danger in the Angeles should be normal through December -- no spectacularly large fires are expected -- but some brush fires are bound to occur.

People nestled in the sprawl of homes in the foothills fringing the Angeles -- which has not burned locally in two years -- may be feeling some heat.

``We've got almost a double danger at that point,'' said Rose Davis, spokeswoman for the National Interagency Fire Center, which issues fire season forecasts. ``Not only has fire been suppressed and not burned as it naturally does in those ecosystems but now we've added structures to the mix of fuel.''

One woman, who lives in the south end of Sand Canyon, is concerned about more than her home.

``As a homeowner backing up to the forest that hasn't burned in probably in about 50 years, we're always concerned about it here and we're always concerned when they cut down staff,'' said Ruthann Levison, whose home sits on about 2 1/2 acres. ``People can get out pretty fast, but when you have large animals -- horses -- it's not easy to move them quickly.''

Her homeowners association, which has formed a Fire Safe Council, is working with Fire Chief Matt Gil to educate residents on preparedness.

Judd says it makes no sense to save dollars trimming the ranks of lower-paid wildland firefighters if higher paid municipal firefighters will be summoned when the hills are ablaze. City- and county-based firefighters can cost taxpayers $1,000 a day, versus their forestry counterparts' rate of $375 a day, he said.

The nonprofit association is urging senators from western states to join the lower house in introducing legislation that would provide more equitable pay for wildland firefighters, similar to a bill pending in the House of Representatives, co-sponsored by Rep. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein's office is examining the House bill and allegations made about forest mismanagement.

``We're also looking at the issue of whether there are adequate resources being provided to ensure the safety of our community and fighting fires we know will break out in California,'' said Howard Gantman, a spokesman for Feinstein.

``There are dramatic needs in terms of fighting forest fires in Southern California and Northern California. At times we're concerned not enough resources are dedicated to fighting fires in California.''

Wildland firefighters who may be battling blazes far from home for weeks at a time -- Saugus' Texas Canyon Hotshots have been to Alaska, Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee and most of the western states -- often find downtime during winter. Not necessarily so this year.

``(Some) were called out for Hurricane Katrina and weren't home long enough to do their laundry when they were called out to fight fires in Texas and Oklahoma,'' Minor said.

And some do not come home.

``Between the end of the first Gulf War and the start of the second, there were more wildland firefighters lost in the line of duty than military,'' Judd said. ``People only see it two to three months out of the year, when it's on the news.''

judy.orourke(at)dailynews.com

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- ran in SAC edition only) An L.A. County firefighter, left, watches as flames leap up from an early morning brush fire that hit Angeles Crest Highway about 5 miles north of the 210 Freeway above Altadena, sending up huge showers of sparks and embers, right. The fire had burned 15 to 25 acres, and officials hoped to have it contained by late Saturday, with the help of air tankers and helicopters.

Mike Meadows/Special to the Daily News