NEGLECTED VALLEY RIVER CHANNEL IS SUSPECTED WEST NILE VIRUS BREEDING GROUND MOSQUITOES ARE TURNING AREA INTO DANGER ZONE.

Byline: SUSAN ABRAM

Staff Writer

PANORAMA CITY -- County officials have failed to adequately clear overgrown vegetation along the Pacoima Wash in Panorama City, which has festered into a high-risk hotbed for the virulent mosquito-carried West Nile virus, health officials say.

With receding and stagnant pools providing prime mosquito-breeding grounds, county health officials are warning that area residents are at increased risk of contracting the virus, especially considering that of the 19 mosquito pools that tested positive for the virus in the San Fernando Valley, 17 were in Panorama City -- most of them in the wash.

But officials with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works said Tuesday that federal and state laws protecting migratory birds and wildlife have prevented them from clearing brush within the wash.

They said that despite health officials' general warnings to eliminate stagnant pools of water as protection against West Nile, they have been unable to do so in the wash because there had been no emergency declaration and no one had called the area a danger to public health.

"It has to do with getting enough information about this being an emergency," said Gary Boze, a county Public Works Department spokesman.

"I can't speak to why it took us this long. I think we got the notice a week and a half ago. I understand that we have two complaints to trim back the vegetation. But it wasn't a deluge of public outcry."

County vector-control workers this week began posting signs in the area, including a sign near an elementary school close to the wash, warning residents about the danger. They also were trying to treat hard-to-reach ponds with larvacide.

But Public Works officials said they had been hampered in efforts to clear the watershed area because it is overseen by the Army Corps of Engineers, state Department of Fish and Game, and the California Regional Water Quality Control Board.

"It's a number of factors that get involved, and we do have to give notice, and we have to give notice in writing," Boze said, adding that the area should be cleared within two weeks. "Let's say we go in there and do that and harm all these birds; then we're going to hear about it."

Call would suffice

But a biologist with the state Department of Fish and Game said Tuesday that a call from county officials would have sufficed, especially with public health at stake.

"We definitely don't want to get in the way of the public health," said Terri Stewart, supervising biologist with the department's South Coast region. "They can even do an after-the-fact permit with us."

County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, whose district includes Panorama City and the Pacoima Wash, said his office learned of the situation Tuesday after being contacted by the Daily News.

"We're aware of it now," Yaroslavsky said in a written statement. "We're going to be working with Public Works, and we're going to move quickly. We'll handle this as an emergency situation, which is the way it should be handled."

A biologist is expected to be at the site today, Yaroslavsky said.

Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon, who shares representation of Panorama City with Councilman Tony Cardenas, submitted a letter to the county Department of Public Health on Tuesday, after his office was contacted by the Daily News, asking what more can be done to protect residents.

Cardenas is planning a public forum to increase awareness, a spokeswoman said. And public health officials said they are ramping up efforts in the area.

"Our operations department is shifting into high gear into Panorama City," said Truc Dever, spokeswoman for Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District.

"The mosquito is the most dangerous creature on Earth because they are such perfect carriers of diseases."

Alerting parents

The Panorama City Neighborhood Council is considering setting up a forum before school begins to alert parents how to protect themselves and their children from the virus.

"The community doesn't know about this," said Tony Wilkinson, chairman of the council's interim board. "I'm concerned about this.

"We really need to reach out to our Latino community and, particularly because with the kids coming back to school, this is a big issue."

This summer's mosquito crop, carrying the potentially deadly West Nile virus, is proving to be just as active in this year's drought as mosquitoes in previous rainy seasons.

A San Fernando Valley man was the first in Los Angeles County to be sickened by West Nile virus this year. California is leading the way this year in human cases, with 108 as of Tuesday, officials said. So far, five people have died.

In the West Valley, some residents are worried about unkempt swimming pools or standing street water being home to generations of mosquito larvae.

Each day, R.J. Henry walks out to his curb to sweep out water trapped in his gutter by pine-tree roots that have buckled the street. He said he's called city government to fix the problem, only to be told there isn't enough money or workers.

'Not going to pay'

Councilman Dennis Zine's office told him that if he wanted the gutter fixed, he would have to pay half the cost, he said.

"I'm not going to pay for it," said Henry, 72, of West Hills, who lives on a fixed retirement income. "That's what I pay taxes for.

"I'm elderly. There are kids in the neighborhood. We've got a granddaughter who visits us. We don't want to be put in the hospital for West Nile virus when the situation can be corrected by the city."

Zine said he wasn't aware his deputies were telling taxpayers to pay for street services, and he said he would investigate the complaint.

"Obviously, West Nile is a major concern for us," Zine said. "I'll follow up on this with street-services (officials)."

Steve Webber said he was alarmed by a Tarzana-area swimming pool that turned green with algae, and was rife with mosquito larvae, after a property owner with plans to tear it down fired the pool man.

Webber said he called police, Zine's office and the county vector-control agency, only to be told there was a backlog of complaints.

"You've got the awareness of the virus," Webber said. "And you've got these neglected pools that nobody's doing anything about."

Staff Writer Dana Bartholomew contributed to this report.

susan.abram(at)dailynews.com

[phone]

Tips for combating West Nile virus

Reduce any standing water in or near your property where mosquitoes could breed.

Install tight-fitting screens on home windows and doors.

Wear shoes, socks, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt when outdoors for long periods of time or when mosquitoes are most active.

Use an insect repellent containing DEET.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box, map

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Water stagnates in a wash, above, near Noble Avenue Elementary School in the North Hills-Panorama City area. At left, pedestrians walk past a sign warning of the danger.

(3) A sign outside a school in the North Hills-Panorama City area warns pedestrians of the West Nile virus danger. The virus is carried by mosquitoes bred in stagnant water.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

Box:

Tips for combating West Nile virus (see text)

Map:

Virus spreading

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