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.