Cal Fire Director Says It's Too Soon For an Efficiency Analysis

By Alison St John / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published October 26, 2007 at 12:20 PM PDT

This story was published more than 17 years ago.

As firefighters gradually get control of the flames, questions are arising about how well resources have been coordinated. But the California Department of Fire Protection, says it's too soon to start

As firefighters gradually get control of the flames, questions are arising about how well resources have been coordinated. But the California Department of Fire Protection, says it's too soon to start second guessing decisions made in the heat of the moment. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

Ruben Grijalva, Director of Cal Fire, is fighting flames of a different sort, flickers of criticism fanned by questions about whether air power and federal resources were summoned soon enough.

Grijalva says it's too early to analyze how the battle's been waged.

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Grijalva : But it is important because I will tell you it was starting to hurt the morale of our troops, when the firefighters are home safely, when the homeowners are back in their homes safely, let's do a good critical analysis of what went right and what went wrong, let's fix the problems.

Grijalva says local navy resources were some of the earliest help pulled in, as a result of training set up after the 2003 Cedar fire.

Grijalva says CAL Fire brought 140 fire trucks to southern California in 16 hours, and 12,000 firefighters are now deployed to fight the flames.

Alison St John, KPBS News.

Alison St John

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.