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thedrifter
10-27-07, 11:07 PM
Posted on Sat, Oct. 27, 2007
Fingerpointing over grounded helicopters
By AARON C. DAVIS

State and federal officials on Saturday blamed each other for allowing nearly two dozen water-dropping helicopters to sit idle while deadly wildfires ravaged Southern California, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pledged to improve the state's response to battling wildfires.

The head of the state's firefighting agency lashed out at the Marines and U.S. Forest Service, saying the military had failed to commit to the training necessary to launch helicopters more quickly. The Forest Service had neglected to provide enough helicopter managers to launch the aircrafts when they became available, he said.

"We're getting all of this criticism and I don't want to get into saying it should have been the Forest Service, should have been the Marines," said Ruben Grijalva, chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. "But that's why I'm talking today because it's affecting the morale of this organization."

The Forest Service disputed Grijalva's claim, saying that providing fire spotters for Marines wasn't solely a federal responsibility. Forest Service officials also cast doubt on assertions by members of the military and several members of California's Congressional delegation that the Marine helicopters were ready days before they were called into action.

Dennis Hulbert, Regional Aviation Officer for the U.S. Forest Service in California, said the Marines were primarily responsible for the delay.

"They had their own problems," he said.

According to Hulbert, it took the Marines a day to outfit their helicopters with buckets to fight the fires. Once they did, they directed those resources first to fight fires on military land. It wasn't until Thursday that they were used to fight fires elsewhere in Southern California, he said.

Calls to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing at Miramar Marine base were not immediately returned Saturday. However, according to a letter dated May 10, the base had 38 helicopter pilots trained and ready to support the Forest Service in firefighting efforts.

"We are overwhelmed with bureaucratic regulations and the spotters are the best example of that," said U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach. "In a time of crisis, the rules did not serve our country well ... the bureaucrats lost picture of what their mission is, to protect the citizens."

The fingerpointing ensued after The Associated Press reported Thursday that nearly two dozen military helicopters, including those from the Marines, Navy and California National Guard, stayed grounded for at least a day after several wildfires broke out because of bureaucracy, including rules that so-called "fire spotters" must be on board each helicopter. Spotters were not available for all the aircraft ready to fight the fire. Fire officials ultimately abandoned the rule, but only after more than 1,000 homes had been destroyed.

The AP also reported that two of the California National Guard's C-130 cargo planes couldn't help because they've yet to be outfitted with tanks needed to carry thousands of gallons of fire retardant, though that was promised four years ago.

The fingerpointing did little to clarify whether fire officials effectively marshaled all available aerial resources to put out the flames before they grew into a conflagration that charred a half-million acres and destroyed over 1,700 homes.

Instead, the remarks seemed to reinforce that a complicated bureaucracy and set of rules governing the use of military aircraft to fight fires had stalled the response.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger acknowledged Saturday that it appeared the firefighting effort could have been more effective if enough so-called "fire spotters," also called helicopter managers, had been available to launch the aircraft.

"I was told that there were some spotters missing, and that's why certain helicopters did not fly, because you can't just send helicopters and aircraft up in the air, they'd all crash into each other," Schwarzenegger said. "We're going to look into that, if there were enough spotters there, and if there were any missing, and how we can improve the next time."

Schwarzenegger's comments came during a press conference on Saturday,

"There are things that we could improve on and I think this is what we are going to do because a disaster like this, you know, really, in the end is a good vehicle, a motivator for everyone to come together," said Schwarzenegger in response to questions about grounded aircraft. "I remember after Katrina, as sad as it is, but it takes sometimes a disaster like this to really wake everyone up and affect things."

Before speaking, Schwarzenegger met with lawmakers and fire officials who had criticized the limited early air assault on the wildfires. Lawmakers said Schwarzenegger promised to improve the state's firefighting response.

Standing beside Rohrabacher, Schwarzenegger said he would also work with federal officials to get the California National Guard's C-130s outfitted with firefighting tanks in time for next year's fire season.

"We are going to get into that right now and make sure that this will happen so that next year if there is a fire, they will be retrofitted," Schwarzenegger said.

A top military commander, Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, who heads U.S. Northern Command, said Friday he will also push the Air Force to move faster to get the planes fitted with new tanks.

Ellie