FRICTION OVER FIRE RISKS; OFFICIALS TRADE BLAME FOR LACK OF BRUSH CLEARANCE AT HOMES.

Byline: Alex Roth Daily News Staff Writer

With a potentially explosive fire season approaching, fire officials and City Council members Wednesday blamed each other, a lack of funds and the notification process for the failure to clear 9,400 Los Angeles properties of hazardous brush.

A day after several council members criticized the city Fire Department for delays in brush clearance, Fire Chief Bill Bamattre said the process of notifying delinquent property owners impeded brush clearance and said he would consider changing it next year.

Other officials said the department lacked the funds to clear all the problem properties. Bamattre said he will request up to $2 million for brush clearance next week.

Councilman Richard Alarcon said Bamattre told him in January and again a few months later that the department's current budget was sufficient.

``It's so contradictory to what they told us several months ago,'' said Alarcon, who serves on the council's public safety panel.

Council member Laura Chick, the committee's chairwoman, said she found out only recently about possible funding problems ``after being told for weeks that everything's fine.''

``If fire officials need additional resources, they need to speak up,'' she said.

Last year, the city cleared 900 of 8,000 noncompliant properties at a cost of $425,000.

This year, there is mounting concern that El Nino-fueled vegetation growth could make this season a particularly dangerous one.

Inspector Sanford Faz estimated that it could cost millions of dollars to hire crews to clear the properties of scofflaw owners.

``You could look at several million dollars to get the job done. Is it realistic we're going to get that? No,'' said Faz.

Although much of that cost could be recovered by dunning the owners, fire Capt. Paul Quagliata said the department lacks the cash to cover the costs up front.

Fire Marshal Jimmy Hall said he requested more money a year ago for inspectors but was rebuffed.

Several council members said Wednesday that fire officials had not notified them about the need for additional money to clear dangerous brush.

In what is expected to be a showdown over who is to blame for the lack of preparation for the fire season, top officials are scheduled to meet Monday with the public safety panel. On the agenda: how much money the department needs to immediately begin attacking the problem properties.

Chick said the city ``has a healthy reserve fund in this year's budget and I believe we can give them the resources they need.''

Bamattre said his department would request an additional $1.5 million to $2 million, half of which would be used immediately for brush clearance and the other half held in reserve. The chief said he did not request additional funds earlier because the department was not then in a position to clear properties.

He also said the department and City Attorney's Office might change their procedures next year so the inspection process will take less time and start sooner.

Without additional emergency funding, the department is capable of clearing only about 140 delinquent properties a week, said Fire Department Capt. Paul Quagliata.

As a result, the department is relying upon delinquent property owners to comply with the law requiring a 200-foot clearance around structures.

Fire season will start sometime between mid-September and October, depending on when officials determine conditions are ripe.

``We're going to need 7,000 to 8,000 property owners to take responsibility for their own property,'' said Quagliata.

Still, he said he realizes there are some homeowners who simply won't do the work themselves, no matter how many notices the city sends.

Fire officials held a press conference Wednesday at station No. 108 at Mulholland Drive and Coldwater Canyon Avenue - the epicenter of the city's 176-acre Mountain Fire District - to urge delinquent homeowners to clear the brush themselves.

If the city clears the brush for them, the cost plus administrative fees will be added to the owner's tax bill.

The city eventually is reimbursed by the property owner, but the money goes into the general fund, not the Fire Department's budget, Quagliata said. The money to pay for clearance comes from the department's budget.

In other developments, the city's Department of Sanitation is expanding its brush-disposal program. Homeowners looking to get rid of their overgrowth can either drop it off at a special site in Sun Valley or have the department pick it up at their homes. In both cases, the service is free.

Those seeking more information should call [phone].

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PHOTO Los Angeles Fire Chief Bill Bamattre stresses the need to clear brush Wednesday at a press conference in the Hollywood Hills.

Tom Mendoza/Daily News