Three and a half years ago, whole neighborhoods in Scripps Ranch were ghost towns. The Cedar Fire destroyed more than 300 homes in the suburban community. And the losses taught citizens some tough lessons about defensible space. Rebecca Tolin joins us with part two in her report on fire safety.
One firefighter put it this way: if there was a community built to burn it was Scripps Ranch. Homes sit atop canyons, filled with fire-prone chaparral. So after the agony of losing their homes, and the long process of re-building, citizens launched a monumental campaign to make their community more fire safe.
Today her life looks like suburban bliss. Karen Reimus has the dream house, a picture perfect family, and her beloved pug Coco.
But rewind to October 2003. Her neighborhood, like others in Scripps Ranch: charred remnants. 312 homes destroyed by fire.
Brian Maienschein, San Diego City Council Member : it's just absolutely awful. It's a tragedy.
Eric Thomas, firefighter : Oh, I've seen devastation that I don't think the city has seen on this order for decades.
With some homes, the only thing left standing: a chimney and the smoldering framework of what was.
Karen Reimus, Scripps Ranch Homeowner : Unfortunately our home was one of 46 houses that burned on this street. All of our homes on this street burned except for one. It was lost in the fire. When the fire came, our house along with virtually the rest of my neighborhood was leveled.
When the Cedar Fire hit this Scripps Ranch neighborhood in 2003 it was covered in brush. And nearly every home burned to the ground. Today virtually all the homes have been re-built. Neighbors have banded together through the fire safe council, raised money to thin out these hillsides.
Jerry Mitchell, Scripps Ranch Fire Safe Council : If this is city property, the city is responsible for it. But the reality is the city doesn't have the money, will never have the money to do it. And if you want a fire break for your house, you should get a permit from the city to go in and do it.
Jerry Mitchell is the heart and soul of the Scripps Ranch Fire Safe Council -- a non-profit devoted to fire prevention. Moved by the devastation and government inaction, Mitchell launched a grassroots campaign.
Mitchell : The proper spacing is 45 feet between comps.
Today, you could mistake him for a commercial contractor or city employee. But Mitchell is a retired navy pilot. He now works full time on the fire safe council, for free.
Mitchell, Reimus and other volunteers have put in thousands of hours. Today they canvas the streets of the Charbono neighborhood -- offering a reality check and asking for donations.
Mitchell : This area over here, you know, it's within 100 feet of your house. It needs to be cleaned up.
Neighbor : So do want me to do it, or what are we going to do?
Mitchell : No we're going to do it.
Neighbor : You're going to do it for me?
Mitchell : Yeah, well, you're going to chip in though right?
Neighbor : You want a check now?
Mitchell : Solid chaparral that was threatening these houses and now this is a very good fire break.
Defensible space buffers buildings and gives firefighters a fighting chance. But for all their progress, Mitchell says they've only cleared some 15 percent of Scripps Ranch.
Mitchell : Half the homes that burned in Scripps Ranch burned because of the domino effect. If this person doesn't provide a fire break and their house catches on fire, it makes no difference whether the rest of us have a fire break or not.
Rebecca Tolin : so you're at the mercy of your neighbors?
Mitchell : That's why it's a neighborhood project.
Mitchell : Thanks for coming over.
Reimus : It's my pleasure, Jerry.
Reimus : When I look up at that hill and I see that the brush has been thinned appropriately to provide an appropriate fire break, I feel happy and I feel proud. I feel proud of myself and my neighbors who made it happen.
Reimus : We're just blessed in this community to have some can-do volunteers who have, I'm not kidding you, volunteered thousands of hours on the community's behalf.
Not the least of whom is Jerry Mitchell, who never lost his own home in the fire, but certainly gained a new purpose.
Close to 50 fire safe councils have sprung up in San Diego county, since the Cedar Fire. In fact, our county has about a third of the fire safe councils in the state. With shrinking city and federal money for brush abatement, they will likely play a greater role in the future.
The California fire safe council gets a pot of federal grant dollars. Local chapters are eligible for those monies. Plus by forming a non-profit, the councils are able to hire the California Conservation Corps to do brush thinning. That's a state agency which costs half as much as a commercial company.
Note: Due to our June membership campaign, Full Focus will not air tonight at 11:00.
