Pride Comes Before A Fall

I have a rumor to report, but this type of rumor is usually true. But first a fact. Many employees of the Angeles National Forest are very upset by the handling of the Station Fire, especially in the beginning. It could easily have been stopped before it moved into the decadent growth.

Now for the rumor. It has been said that when the fire was first reported, Los Angeles County Fire Department offered help, but Jody Noiron refused.

Here are some things to keep in mind. The Morris Fire in San Gabriel Canyon was active at the time and air operations were already in effect. It would have been no problem for one of the Sky Cranes to come make a couple of drops to put the thing out. Now, the Angeles Forest only has one helicopter, and it is mostly used for helitack purposes (delivering personnel, tools & supplies). It can be outfitted with a small water bucket, but... a) why use a little bucket when the Sky Cranes were offered and already in the neighborhood? and b) since the dedicated water droppers were already on scene at the Morris Fire, the Angeles helicopter was being used by helitack crews, and not immediately ready to drop water.

So why would Jody refuse help? It could be because she has received tremendous criticism for not spending enough on fire suppression, and she has been blamed for a dwindling fire crew. Here is a letter (pdf) sent to Forest Supervisor Jody Noiron in December 2007, signed by six local members of Congress, requesting answers on the retention of firefighters within The Angeles...
http://www.wildlandfire.com/docs/2007/8.3.07ANFfirefighters.pdf

I would be willing to bet that with so much assistance already in play at the Morris Fire, she wanted to prove that she could handle a fire on her own, that they were not really under-staffed. After all this was a little fire, right? It started close to Angeles Crest Station, probably right near the highway, and was just down the road from Mill Creek Station. It should be easy to put out, right? She could take a stand and do it safely, couldn't she?

The rest is history.