Wildfires were part of the beat for a reporter in SoCal
by Shannon Tangonan | Oct. 11, 2024
Twenty years ago, when I was a public safety reporter covering San Diego’s North County for the San Diego Union-Tribune, wildfires were always top of mind.
Fire departments were part of my “beat” so I’d often rush off to fast-moving wildfires with a reporter’s notebook in hand, praying the blaze would be snuffed out before I arrived.
Brushfires were so prevalent that every Union-Trib pool car was equipped with fire-safety devices, including fire shelters that looked like aluminum foil cocoons. They were to be deployed in emergency situations. Thankfully, I never had to use one.
Our work to roll out Hawaiian Electric’s wildfire safety measures stirred up memories of covering wildfires during some awfully dry North County summers — long before Public Safety Power Shutoffs were ever implemented across California.
For customers who live in fire-prone areas across the five islands we serve — especially in PSPS-designated zones — it’s important to not only be ready for power outages, but also to remove the dry vegetation that fuels wildfires.
Having lived and worked in wildfire-prone Southern California, I remember driving along two-lane highways with flames raging on both sides of the road. I was looking for firefighters, residents and business owners to interview for a breaking news story.
During an online search for articles I’ve written about wildfires, I came across an email on the California Chaparral Institute’s website, which cited an article I co-wrote with another reporter: “Fast-moving fire creates scare near Pala, Route 76.” The email, dated July 2, 2004, was addressed to “friends” who “might be interested in the topic of fire in southern California.”
In the email, the author pasted the article on the Pala fire.
‘To take a quote from below (the article): “When I woke up, it was on the other side of the hill,” she said. But within a half hour, the fire had crept within 100 feet of her ranch style house.’
The email continued, “if this fire had burned during strong Santa Ana winds, the term “crept” would not have been part of this story…”
“That’s why it is important to view these things like earthquakes; we can’t control them but we can retrofit the infrastructure to reduce damage and fatalities,” the email said. “Look around your home. Would it survive a Santa Ana wind driven fire? Remember, most structures ignite during these by flying embers … embers from as far as a mile away.”
It’s signed by “Rick,” who was clearly writing to a California audience. But the advice is sound for any area that is vulnerable to wildfires.
He wanted his audience to take heed and make necessary upgrades to protect their properties. And it’s also critical that proactive measures are taken to remove fuel sources to keep communities safe from wildfires.
That’s why Hawaiian Electric is partnering with organizations to strengthen community resilience. For instance, a 1,000-foot firebreak was cleared along the fenceline at Leihōkū Elementary in Waiʻanae recently thanks to a community-driven initiative funded by our company.
The pilot project — which includes clearing more than 1,000 feet of kiawe trees and grasses and having students and faculty work with community groups to maintain a natural firebreak such as planting aloe — is one that our company hopes can be repeated in other locations on Oʻahu and in Maui and Hawaiʻi counties.
Much more must be done to ensure communities across the five islands we serve are protected from wildfires. Working together, we can strengthen community resilience.
Shannon Tangonan is a senior communications specialist at Hawaiian Electric.
