Fire ground crews, along with multiple air attack units, worked nights to suppress the Bridge Fire as it chewed through San Antonio Canyon, burning homes in Mt. Baldy. Firefighters saved most of Mt. Baldy Village by setting up perimeters west of the village, aggressively attacking the fire on its north flank and prioritizing structure protection. / photo by Chris Rogers
by Kelli Makenna Kuttruff
photography by Chris Rogers
Mt. Baldy resident Sean Dillon remembers that fateful day clearly—just like it was yesterday. On that day, he lost a place of serenity, his beautiful cabin that once stood tall and proud. A text message from a fire official telling him the four words that would sink any heart: “Your house is gone” changed everything.
Mesmerizing to the eye, but scorching when they draw too near, fires are recurring thieves that ravage and steal from our beloved land, time and time again. Turning vivid greens to dry ash that, at minimum, clouds and stings the eyes, wild fires transform carefully crafted homes into a memory of the past. The flames destruct but never discriminate.
Each year, this heartbreaking misfortune becomes the reality for residents who call any part of Southern California their home. While Californians are no strangers to fires and destructive weather patterns, La Verne was bewildered by the impact of the September Bridge Fire, which prompted evacuation warnings for its northern border. Even one of the University of La Verne’s own, Professor of Theater Arts Sean Dillon lost his Mt. Baldy cabin to this intense fire that stung the lives of so many residents. For all, the Bridge Fire draped a literal and metaphorical gray haze that overpowered the sunshine of summer’s end. It burned furiously over more than 50,000 acres of the Angeles National Forest, reaching across the mountains in its destructive rage to Wrightwood, then down to the high desert floor. It left a string of evacuation mandates, irreversible damages and fear-filled residents in its wake.
Dillon lost his two-story pillar of beauty with its rustic red exterior and dark green trim that was crouched down a narrow road in Bear Canyon. He called it a secondary home, where for 11 years, he regularly lived for one-two days each week. It was the last house on that canyon road to fall victim to the Bridge Fire. He says that while fires have come close to his home in the past, he never felt that he was in imminent danger of losing it due to his close proximity to the Mt. Baldy Fire Department.
During the Bridge Fire, Dillon and wife Anne Edkins anxiously awaited updates on the status of their Bear Canyon cabin while having no way to travel up the narrow road to their property. In the days leading up to the unsettling word that their home was in fact gone, they had only an app to nervously track the line of the fire and pray it never touched their home.
An Erickson Aero Tanker MD-87 makes a drop at the Bridge Fire in San Gabriel Canyon, north of Glendora, in September. The Bridge Fire has grew rapidly and was finally contained at 56,000 acres. / photo by Chris Rogers
Directly across from the Dillon home is the “Old Glory” Douglas-fir tree, a championed Mt. Baldy landmark that they used as an indication of whether their home was still alive and well. “They said everything past Old Glory had been burned,” Dillon says. Because of the tree’s close proximity, he held out hope. Then a Mt. Baldy firefighter updated him with a fateful text. “I saw a photograph of the house missing … it was just the fireplace and chimney sticking up out of a bunch of ashes.”
That same day, Dillon and Edkins rushed to a Fairplex information session for Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties, and much to their surprise, the photograph headlining that recovery website was one they knew well. “The logo they were using on their website and on their stationery was a picture of my burned down house,” Dillon says. “It was kind of an insult to injury.” The two proceeded to collect brochures and literature distributed at the session regarding next steps to take for residents affected by the fire. He says they found the session very helpful and were one of only about three San Bernardino County residents in attendance. From the tables, they were provided information regarding elder care, pet services, mental health services, forms to adjust property value to amend property taxes, advocacy with insurance resources, and coordination of cleanup of debris and hazardous materials left by the angry fire.
After the session, Dillon and Edkins were finally able to visit what was left of their home. The road had been made passable and had been quickly cleared of debris. Along the seven-mile journey up the Mt. Baldy Road, they witnessed the totally burned hillsides on the west side. “I was really anxious to get up there … and I was finally able to look at the scene,” Dillon says. “To see how completely everything was wiped out because of the fire was so completely devastating. I had seen some photographs so I knew what to expect … but when you have a lot of memories of a place, and you see it completely gone with just very few little recognizable twisted and burned chunks of things in an ash heap with nothing salvageable, it was just sobering.”
Even after the fire was extinguished, burning embers of unsettling realities remain in the minds of many residents such as Dillon and Edkins, as they have to deal with the often unmentioned impacts that the fires so harshly leave behind. After the flames carelessly stole beautiful forest land and the security many residents previously believed they had, it became clear that in the wake of destruction lie problems that would usually be the last on homeowners’ minds. Insurance policies that act as a security blanket in such scenarios are potentially canceled or increased. New mandates change the way home owners are asked to prepare for fires.
The massive Bridge Fire created its own weather system, including large smoke plumes, called Pyrocumulonimbus clouds, which lofted high into the air and caused a frightening scene for La Verne residents. At the time of this incident, the Bridge Fire was the largest in California, destroying 81 structures and injuring eight people. / photo by Chris Rogers
The city of La Verne’s website details different fire hazard severity areas, with one-third of La Verne residents living in a “Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone”—mainly in areas above Baseline Road and to the east of Wheeler Avenue. According to the city website, in these areas, many La Verne residents report to city officials that they are “facing increased premiums or losing their fire insurance coverage, reflecting the broader, statewide insurance market challenges that have prompted concerns among residents regarding the availability and affordability of their fire insurance.”
Due to his proximity to this fire hazard severity zone, San Dimas resident Fred Salazar was among concerned citizens who urgently wanted to purchase fire insurance due to the September fire, which sneakily encroached on his home. His home did not have fire insurance, as he says in his few years living at the bottom of San Dimas Canyon, fires had never previously invaded as intimately as the Bridge Fire. “I’ve never been this close to a fire; it was surreal as I’ve been living in this area for a while,” Salazar says. “The fear of having to potentially leave everything behind and possibly not get it back, including the house itself, is not a fun feeling at all.”
The feeling of having to sort through their items, the memories and milestones of their lives, and decide what they could realistically save should they get evacuated, touched the Salazar household and many other families instantly burdened by the relentless fire warpath. The reality of the Bridge Fire situation prompted Salazar to prepare for potential evacuation and to urgently search for fire insurance to act as a hope of security for his home. He now takes the matter of insuring his home more seriously. “The fact that I had to go to these lengths was pretty scary because we never thought that it would have to happen,” Salazar says. “I don’t want to go through this again.”
The concerns among citizens such as Salazar and Dillon come from all directions, as they must protect their homes within their means while taking on more risk. It is no secret that the Earth’s temperatures are rising ferociously, leaving dehydrated plant life that is the perfect bait for fires to latch on to and go wild. It may seem like a simple solution—that insurance companies should lower their rates so that people can survive. However, there are many more pieces to the puzzle, as insurance companies face limits and restrictions on their rates from a much larger entity.
Claremont insurance agent and ULV alumnus Tony Freeman has built a 30-year career in the insurance world. He explains that insurance companies are all limited by the Department of Insurance. Each insurance company takes on the risk when a customer buys a policy, as it is transferred from the policyholder to them. This also comes with the decision of how much premium they should assume, which will pay for the yearly claims and also equate to enough money to keep in reserve. This is where the problems for insurance companies occur. Insurance companies do not have enough money to pay all of the yearly claims and maintain their reserves if they are not allowed to raise their premiums, which is where the Department of Insurance comes in.
Los Angeles County Fire Helicopter 22 makes a water drop Sunday evening, Sept. 8, 2024, on the Bridge Fire in San Gabriel Canyon, four aerial miles north of La Verne. In its first day, the Bridge fire spread to 800 acres by nightfall. / photo by Chris Rogers
This state entity has power over the rates for insurance companies, which means that companies have to “ask” to raise or adjust the rates, which often does not work in their favor, creating conflict. When insurance companies’ reserves drop, that signals a drastic need to make changes, which unfortunately affect residents who need to protect their homes. The first kind of change that insurance companies make, Freeman says, is to stop writing new business as it can take between three and six years to break even with new clients. He explains that beyond this, insurance companies will look at frequency and severity of claims made by their current policy holders, and cancel policyholders who are losing money for the insurance company. “It’s a tough decision. An insurance company can cancel you if you’ve had too many claims,” Freeman says. “The Department of Insurance was created for the benefit of the consumer, and then they’re not happy with the insurance company, so the marketplace is no longer stable. You’ve got the Department of Insurance with the Commissioner saying things about the insurance company, and then the insurance company saying things about the commissioner and Department of Insurance, and everybody is very unhappy right now.”
With large areas of La Verne and surrounding city areas falling in areas of high fire risk, it is clear that there needs to be a balance between insurance companies staying solvent, and residents being able to protect their homes without fail. Conflicts causing heat between the Department of Insurance, the state of California and insurance companies are becoming more complex, which is confirmed by La Verne City Council Member and insurance agent of more than 40 years Steve Johnson.
Johnson notes he has also experienced what Freeman says, agreeing that the Department of Insurance’s lag in approval of rates has then forced insurance companies to not renew insurance policies for homeowners in high risk areas. “This has caused California’s insurer of last resort to become overwhelmed with requests for coverage,” Johnson says. “The California Fair Plan has surcharged the homeowners for these fire risks.”
The California Fair Plan does not act as a permanent solution for those residing in high fire risk areas where homeowner rates increased or coverage was canceled. The Fair Plan offers basic fire coverage only, not theft or liability, and acts as a last resort. To achieve the same home insurance coverage as a regular policy, another policy would have to be added to the Fair Plan.
Insurers who are willing to take on the additional risk of insuring those in high risk areas are becoming few and far between, which Johnson says cannot change until insurance companies are allowed by the Department of Insurance to increase their rates. “The Department of Insurance is dragging its feet for approving rate increases because there are politics involved,” Johnson believes. “But if the insurance companies are not willing to insure in California, then what do we do?”
Large flames reach 50-plus feet into the air from the Bridge Fire in San Gabriel Canyon, about four aerial miles north of La Verne. The Bridge Fire grew rapidly to 56,030 acres and swept east, burning homes in Mt. Baldy and Wrightwood. Even though fire evacuation warnings were issued for north La Verne and Claremont (the fire’s closest approach to the area was three miles), firefighting efforts were successful in keeping the fire from moving south. / photo by Chris Rogers
The city of La Verne has not given up on residents residing in high fire hazard areas; however, with the city working to designate La Verne as a “Firewise Community,” which would give a 10 to 15 percent discount on the Fair Plan rate to residents. According to the CAL FIRE website, this would require a committee including residents, an assessment plan including educational efforts in fire prevention, community participation in the action plan with documented volunteer hours, and then an application on the official firewise website detailing the community efforts. Johnson understands that homeowners are in a very difficult position trying to insure their homes, but says that in order to successfully do this, the city of La Verne needs residents to become more involved.
“We haven’t had a lot of participation from the residents,” Johnson says. “We had a meeting at Station 3, and there were only like two or three members of the community that showed up. I think people are complaining about it, but when it comes time to physically show up, we have not yet had the participation from the residents we need to become a Firewise community.” A Fire community is a designation that the City Council wants to support, but so far there is not enough citizen participation.
Lacking this designation, the next steps toward more protected homes starts by residents staying vigilant with their properties, not allowing brush to collect around their homes, adhering to city construction mandates, and participating in La Verne City Council meetings to let their voices be heard. As the frequency of fires and temperatures rise, this issue becomes more urgent as time does not fall on anyone’s sides.
George Henderson, an insurance broker based in Old Town La Verne, represents multiple insurance companies and helps people navigate the insurance possibilities. He agrees with Johnson that many homeowners are being left with the California Fair Plan as their last option. “Many homes are not getting renewed for insurance due to brush area location or insurance companies requiring updated plumbing, electrical, roofing and heating,” Henderson says. “Without proof of these updates, homeowners are left with the California Fair Plan, with higher premiums and limited coverages. All this has come about due to many claims with fires, and houses getting older.”
Harvey Good has experienced the impacts of fires in many ways, from seeing the effects of climate change as a professor of biology at the University of La Verne for 40 years, to being a vital member of the Mt. Baldy Fire Department as its fire chief for six years. He says that rising temperatures are largely at play for not only the presence of fires, but their ability to travel across larger regions. He says with increased temperatures comes a vapor pressure deficit which causes plants to lose their moisture rapidly. He explains that two major issues add fuel to the fire, with dry plants that are the perfect home for fires to latch onto and also extreme movement of air masses. “What would normally be a small fire that could be put out in 50-100 acres, you now get these explosive burns,” Good warns. “With climate change, especially in the last 20 years, you have these fires that move extremely fast. They can burn 10,000 acres in 24 hours.”
La Verne’s northern areas are especially at risk for fire hazards, says Good, now a La Verne resident, but he reminds residents that they can take steps to minimize the impacts from these fires. He advises residents to remember that La Verne has excellent police and fire departments, and incredible fire suppression systems that will aid residents with potential evacuations. “If residents get a warning for potential evacuation, they should get things ready,” Good believes. “Have a go-bag with your necessary things like your medications and water— have those ready to go. If they say you are required to evacuate immediately, don’t waste any time. That’s when the loss of lives occurs … when people don’t listen.”
Good also urges residents to keep vegetation and brush cleared from around their houses, as this can increase their chances of fire damage to their homes. Brush recommendations will soon move from advice to orders, as the legislature moves to require brush mandates. Assembly Bill 3074 is the first step in requiring residents to have brush clearance around their homes, further protecting them from the fury of local fires. Once this bill is officially adopted by the California State Fire Marshal, “this law will severely restrict combustible material allowed within five feet around all structures located in a ‘High’ and ‘Very High’ Fire Hazard Severity Zone,” according to the city of Ventura website. This further enforcement would be a way of requiring residents to take the first step to protect their homes, and to work with firefighters to make them more defensible.
After spending over three decades of his life as a firefighter, Mt. Baldy native Chris Brookhart explains that there are many ways for residents to protect their homes, starting with this requirement to have five feet of “non-combustible space” around their properties, with combustible brush cleared. Fire departments also want residents to be wary of any “ladder fuels” that allow fire on the ground to travel up into taller structures like trees, which is why residents are asked to trim the trunks of bushes and trees.
During a fire, firefighters have a quick process of evaluation for different homes. For those that are determined to be indefensible, firefighting time and resources are not spent toward saving them. “If they determine [a home] is indefensible, they [firefighters] need to spend time triaging the other homes that the homeowners may have spent more time cutting back the brush and making sure they don’t have debris. If it’s indefensible, there’s just no way a fire crew can, in a few minutes, remove all the stuff that the homeowner should have done months before the fire occurred.”
In his experience, Brookhart has come across residents who have not heeded the instructions given by firefighters and have paid the price for it. “People are busy with their jobs, working long hours in their day-to-day work life.” Brookhart understands that “a lot of them don’t have the time or the money to hire somebody else to do it, so in their minds they don’t really understand the importance of it because they don’t see it. Well, I as a firefighter, I see it. I understand how important it is … I bet there’s a lot of people that lost their homes that thought their houses couldn’t burn down.”
To ensure a home does not fall prey to the fires, it is vital to prepare in advance. This element of community participation is necessary to ensure that first responders have the time to save as much as possible. Those with homes that fell victim to the fire, such as Dillon, commended the fire department and first responders for their actions during the fire. Dillon joins in the praise even though his home was unable to be rescued. “We were keeping fuel away from the houses and making them defensible, but with this fire, it was just so fast and so hot and complete that there was nothing anybody could have done,” he says.
While his family members did their part in fire prevention, it is clear that each entity, including homeowners, authorities, council members, first-responders, insurance companies and the Department of Insurance need to discover a comprehensive solution to ensure that fuel does not continuously add to the fire problem. “We need to have a comprehensive policy that deals with the increased risk of disaster that’s brought on by this whole global phenomenon,” Dillon says. “It’s not going to be an easy or inexpensive answer … but if red tape can be streamlined, and there could be a way to encourage people to build in intelligent and safe ways, they can be aware how vulnerable people are in situations like this.”
Dillon remains on the brighter side of the situation, with eyes looking forward and a heart willing to rebuild what was lost, if possible. A fire that scorched 56,000 acres of known and loved proud land could not burn the heart of the areas affected. This time, the foothill cities that include La Verne were fortunate. Not so for nearby Mt. Baldy, Wrightwood and surrounding mountain areas. The silver lining is that not a single life was stolen amidst the ashes. After all, land and houses can be rebuilt a thousand times over, but the people are truly the heart that make houses, homes and collections of buildings, beautiful communities.
“I’m actually really fortunate,” Dillon believes. “The things that I lost were objects with memories associated with them. But things are just things, and memories themselves can’t burn.”
The Bridge Fire in San Gabriel Canyon grew rapidly, quickly charring entire hillsides. The cause of the fire is arson, with its ignition point being at the Cattle Canyon Bridge in the vicinity of East Fork Road and Glendora Mountain Road in San Gabriel Canyon. / photo by Chris Rogers
Defending the Home that Protects You
Fires are inevitable, but damage to your home can be prevented.
Former Upland and Mt. Baldy Firefighter Chris Brookhart shares that government agencies conduct tests called “Ember Storm Highlights,” which can act as an educational tool for homeowners when protecting their property. These controlled tests use generated air temperature, wind, humidity and constructed homes in a facility where they can safely simulate a real wildfire. The results of these tests are jarring, as even homes that are seemingly up to code can have an Achilles heel that flames can quickly take advantage of.
One of the first misconceptions that these tests show is that many believe visible flames are the culprit of all property damage. However, the “ember storm” or embers carried by wind, are usually miles ahead of the visible flames. Also, another weak point that most homes possess are attics, which contain vents that can be waiting bait to ferocious fires. The reason for this lies within the screens that cover attic vents which are usually large enough for embers to sneak through, thereby invading a home’s attic. Another common issue is that some of the newest homes are built with tile roofs and stucco siding. Tile roofs, while pleasing to the eye, also contain small gaps that expose the tar paper underneath, which is unfortunately a perfectly combustible recipe for a fire to brew.
Brookhart explains that there are many steps people can take to fix these issues including purchasing fine metal screens for their vents, eliminating combustible materials from their homes, and following instructions from fire officials regarding the safety of their properties.
Brookhart’s actions are proof that residents hold much power to protect their homes. During his 52-year residency in Mt. Baldy, he kept Barricade Fire Gel in a jug outside his home, in case a fire ever encroached on his property. This expensive gel absorbs moisture and expands, and can be used by firefighters to coat structures to protect them from flames and heat. This was his way of working together with firefighters and doing his part to protect his home. In the midst of an emergency, firefighters could utilize their time in the best way possible while protecting his structure. “Citizens need to make sure they’re aiding firefighters and fire crews as much as possible in the event of a fire, so that they can be more successful at doing their jobs,” Brookhart says. To make their house defensible, Brookhart urges residents to spend time in advance to research what their requirements are and to make sure their house aligns with them.
Kelli Makenna Kuttruff is a senior communications major with an emphasis in public relations. She is a staff writer for La Verne Magazine as well as the arts editor of the Campus Times.
Chris Rogers is a junior photography major with a minor in art history. He is a staff photographer for the Campus Times and photography editor of La Verne Magazine. He is also a freelance photographer and movie stills photographer. He discovered his love for photography at a young age as he and his family traveled the world in their goal to reach all seven continents. They were fortunate to reach their seventh continent in the winter of 2019. He have a deep love for photography and loves being able to tell an entire story through one still image at a time. His work can be found at ChrisRogersPhotography.com.
Recent Comments