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2023-03-23_Spcl_Newsletter LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT’S MESSAGE: BE PREPARED TO SHELTER IN PLACE Nearly one month ago, 31 homes along Johns Canyon Road, Chestnut Lane, and Morgan Lane were without ingress/egress, electricity, internet access and cell service due to a down tree blocking Johns Canyon Road near Crest Road West. The rainstorm caused a large pine tree to fall on Friday night, February 24, taking a Southern California Edison (SCE) electric line with it. The tree laid across Johns Canyon Road with a live electric wire. The Los Angeles County Fire Department Station 56, located on Crest Road West and the Rolling Hills Community Association (RHCA) responded to the incident. In order to clear the down tree from the road, electricity shut off was required to de-energize the down wire. Fire Station 56 personnel coned off the area contacted SCE and left the scene to respond to another emergency call. Responding to similar situations elsewhere in the service territory, SCE did not de-energize the down line until approximately 3am on Saturday, February 25. The RHCA engaged a tree service company to clear the down tree. The tree service company was on standby waiting for SCE to de-energize the down line. At approximately 7:25am on Saturday, February 25, the down tree was removed from the road. Electricity was restored at approximately 4pm on Saturday. BLOCK CAPTAIN SUPPORTING RESIDENTS! Nicole Tangen is the Block Captain for the area. Along with her husband, Darren Tangen, they began communicating with all residents late Friday evening and throughout Saturday, sharing limited information they had and inquiring with their neighbors if assistance was needed. On Friday evening, Darren was also in the rain with his chainsaw clearing another fallen tree on Johns Canyon Road further away from Crest Road West. LESSONS LEARNED MEETING WITH RESIDENTS The Tangens, along with two other families attended the City Council meeting on Monday, February 27, asking the city to put measures in place that will prevent the prolonged power outage and to have capacity to clear the tree from the road timely. On Tuesday, March 7, city staff coordinated a meeting with the residents of the 31 homes impacted by the February 24 storm to discuss response protocols of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, the role of the city, the role of the RHCA and best preparedness practices for residents. The meeting was held at the front yard of Block Captain Nicole Tangen and it was well attended by residents, the Los Angeles County Fire Department, including Fire Station 56, the city, and the RHCA. Here are some lessons learned: • The Fire Department should have coned off the fallen tree at Johns Canyon Road and Crest Road West, on both sides – from Johns Canyon Road, and from Crest Road West. The Fire Department did not view the down tree and down wire as an emergency situation where they needed to take alternative measures and pull additional resources from the department. • The city should have sent messages on Alert Southbay on Friday, February 24 to inform residents of the incident. The city should have used its agency relationship with SCE to motivate SCE to improve response time. • The RHCA could have on-call contracts with tree service providers that are obligated to respond to emergencies in Rolling Hills. • The Fire Department emphasized that residents need to be prepared to shelter in place. ROADSIDE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT Shortly b efore the March 7 meeting at the Tangens, Assistant Fire Chief Brian Bennett walked Johns Canyon Road with his Battalion Chief, and Fire Station 56 personnel. The group evaluated the state of the roadside vegetation. Shortly after the March 7 meeting, Assistant Fire Chief Bennett drove the street with the City Manager and Councilmember Leah Mirsch to provide his observations of management work that can be done in preparation for the next storms. Assistant Fire Chief Bennett oversees fire services to approximately fifteen Southbay cities, including the four cities on the Peninsula. He informed the City Manager that roadside clearance is an important part of the wildfire mitigation measures especially in the Very High Fire Severity Zone, like Rolling Hills. Roadside clearance will be a part of the department’s annual brush clearance inspections commencing June 1. CITY AND RHCA DEBRIEF ON THE STORM IMPACTS TO THE COMMUNITY The RHCA Board of Directors assigned Board member Anne Smith to meet with the Mayor of Rolling Hills, Pat Wilson to discuss the community impacts due to the February 24 storm. They met on Thursday, March 9 at City Hall . The RHCA will be pursuing on-call contracts with tree service providers. The city will provide RHCA with the Fire Department’s observations of the state of the roadside vegetation along Johns Canyon Road. The city and the RHCA will exchange staff contact information on a frequency to ensure proper communication between the two organizations.