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CNN Live Today

Fire Zone Tour

Aired November 04, 2003 - 11:41   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We have on the line with us Chief John Hawkins of the California Department of Forestry. He will be meeting with President Bush.
Chief, thanks for being with us this morning.

CHIEF JOHN HAWKINS, CALIF. DEPT. OF FORESTRY: Good morning.

KAGAN: Will you actually be along with President Bush as he takes this tour?

HAWKINS: I will be with President Bush in the briefing room. We have on of our veteran fire commanders, Bill Clayton, with President Bush, when they do the area recon of the fire.

KAGAN: I understand he's not just going to get an aerial look, but he also will have a look on the ground. What will the president see?

HAWKINS: The president will see destruction. The president will see a rapidly spreading fire that spread 25 miles in 16 hours and destroyed 2,200 residences, 600 other structures and killed 14 people.

KAGAN: A lot of people have been critical, as well, of this federal government. Gray Davis, who we just saw a picture of, has written a letter to the Bush administration asking for help, had to wait six months, and then the Friday (ph) that the fires really were peaking got word back, sorry, you're not going to get help in clearing a lot of the brush that could have prevented this fires from being as bad as they were.

HAWKINS: I understand the statement. Right now, we're in the throes of trying make sure this fire is suppressed. And I heard Governor-elect Schwarzenegger yesterday in the case that he will look into what happened, and he'll be prepared to discuss that.

KAGAN: All right, let's talk a little bit about San Diego's firefighting situation. I was out there last week covering the fires. I was more in the Simi Valley area. But I heard a number of reports that since the fires to the north, in San Bernardino and Los Angeles, broke out sooner, a lot of the resources of San Diego County had been moved north. Then when the San Diego fires got very serious, there weren't enough people in place to fight those fires. What can you tell me about that?

HAWKINS: Well, the initial information indicates that 65 engine companies were sent north for mutual aid under the California mutual aid system, and of those 65, probably 40 to 45 were back field, or substituted behind, so the net impact is not nearly as severe as what it might appear on the surface, first.

Second of all, the Cleveland National Forest and CDF were able to commit 320 firefighters for the initial action on this fire within the first few hours. The fire started under blowtorch conditions, and the wind drove the fire, and would drive any fire under such circumstances.

KAGAN: In other words -- as we watch President Bush as he comes down the steps from Air Force One -- what could be described as the perfect storm in setting of the conditions for just how out of control this particular fire became.

HAWKINS: Absolutely. This is the worst fire of my career. This is my 40th fire season with CDF fire, and I've never saw anything to beat this fire. The death of destruction is terrible, 14 people dead, including 1 firefighter, and 2,200 structures destroyed.

KAGAN: And, finally, if you could talk a little bit about, and this is another thing I learned when I was out in Southern California, the way the firefighting community is set up, the departments in San Diego, it doesn't come all under one head. You have a lot of different fire departments fighting for political power here, and even in some places in San Diego County, it's still served by volunteer fire companies.

HAWKINS: Yes, you're correct, except fighting. I have to tell you, I was so proud on this incident. We used a concept here called unified command, which is essentially a corporate board of directors involving the very fire departments who had jurisdiction for these fires. And under the unified command, the CDF, the Cleveland National Forest, the San Diego City Fire Department, the Hartland Fire Authority, Talley (ph) Fire Department, San Diego County SO, the California Highway Patrol and the San Diego City Police Department all work as a corporate board of directors, and all determine what the prioritize incident objectives are such that we can go forth in a manner that provides for the most consistent integrated response to the emergency.

KAGAN: Let's talk about looking forward and preventing something as horrific as this happening again. You can't control things like weather conditions, but what are some certain things that you've done in the San Diego community to help avoid the devastation in the future?

HAWKINS: Well, I think things like public notifications, when the fire occurs, and brush reductions, both around structures by the residence, and in large removals of brush are possible. And I think that they continue to build on the great mutual aid system that exists in the state of California, and that's been in existence for a long time since the 1970 Laguna Fire, when the need was determined to make sure their integrated communications and people all worked together.

KAGAN: The White House says they don't expect to hear the president talk about his forest initiative. That is a controversial political topic as well. You mentioned brush clearance. Anything you can talk about in terms of that?

HAWKINS: You bet. I can just encourage the homeowner to clear the brush around their house. The more they do, the better they do and the better chances have -- the better the firefighters have a chance to save the house. We want to save houses, but we've got to have the homeowners help themselves by doing some clearance.

KAGAN: All right. Chief, thank you for your time. It looks like it's getting close to when you'll be meeting with the president or get a chance to see him.

Thank you, Chief John Hawkins.

HAWKINS: God bless CNN. Thank you for the coverage.

KAGAN: Thank you so much. Chief John Hawkins, of the California Department of Forestry.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired November 4, 2003 - 11:41   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We have on the line with us Chief John Hawkins of the California Department of Forestry. He will be meeting with President Bush.
Chief, thanks for being with us this morning.

CHIEF JOHN HAWKINS, CALIF. DEPT. OF FORESTRY: Good morning.

KAGAN: Will you actually be along with President Bush as he takes this tour?

HAWKINS: I will be with President Bush in the briefing room. We have on of our veteran fire commanders, Bill Clayton, with President Bush, when they do the area recon of the fire.

KAGAN: I understand he's not just going to get an aerial look, but he also will have a look on the ground. What will the president see?

HAWKINS: The president will see destruction. The president will see a rapidly spreading fire that spread 25 miles in 16 hours and destroyed 2,200 residences, 600 other structures and killed 14 people.

KAGAN: A lot of people have been critical, as well, of this federal government. Gray Davis, who we just saw a picture of, has written a letter to the Bush administration asking for help, had to wait six months, and then the Friday (ph) that the fires really were peaking got word back, sorry, you're not going to get help in clearing a lot of the brush that could have prevented this fires from being as bad as they were.

HAWKINS: I understand the statement. Right now, we're in the throes of trying make sure this fire is suppressed. And I heard Governor-elect Schwarzenegger yesterday in the case that he will look into what happened, and he'll be prepared to discuss that.

KAGAN: All right, let's talk a little bit about San Diego's firefighting situation. I was out there last week covering the fires. I was more in the Simi Valley area. But I heard a number of reports that since the fires to the north, in San Bernardino and Los Angeles, broke out sooner, a lot of the resources of San Diego County had been moved north. Then when the San Diego fires got very serious, there weren't enough people in place to fight those fires. What can you tell me about that?

HAWKINS: Well, the initial information indicates that 65 engine companies were sent north for mutual aid under the California mutual aid system, and of those 65, probably 40 to 45 were back field, or substituted behind, so the net impact is not nearly as severe as what it might appear on the surface, first.

Second of all, the Cleveland National Forest and CDF were able to commit 320 firefighters for the initial action on this fire within the first few hours. The fire started under blowtorch conditions, and the wind drove the fire, and would drive any fire under such circumstances.

KAGAN: In other words -- as we watch President Bush as he comes down the steps from Air Force One -- what could be described as the perfect storm in setting of the conditions for just how out of control this particular fire became.

HAWKINS: Absolutely. This is the worst fire of my career. This is my 40th fire season with CDF fire, and I've never saw anything to beat this fire. The death of destruction is terrible, 14 people dead, including 1 firefighter, and 2,200 structures destroyed.

KAGAN: And, finally, if you could talk a little bit about, and this is another thing I learned when I was out in Southern California, the way the firefighting community is set up, the departments in San Diego, it doesn't come all under one head. You have a lot of different fire departments fighting for political power here, and even in some places in San Diego County, it's still served by volunteer fire companies.

HAWKINS: Yes, you're correct, except fighting. I have to tell you, I was so proud on this incident. We used a concept here called unified command, which is essentially a corporate board of directors involving the very fire departments who had jurisdiction for these fires. And under the unified command, the CDF, the Cleveland National Forest, the San Diego City Fire Department, the Hartland Fire Authority, Talley (ph) Fire Department, San Diego County SO, the California Highway Patrol and the San Diego City Police Department all work as a corporate board of directors, and all determine what the prioritize incident objectives are such that we can go forth in a manner that provides for the most consistent integrated response to the emergency.

KAGAN: Let's talk about looking forward and preventing something as horrific as this happening again. You can't control things like weather conditions, but what are some certain things that you've done in the San Diego community to help avoid the devastation in the future?

HAWKINS: Well, I think things like public notifications, when the fire occurs, and brush reductions, both around structures by the residence, and in large removals of brush are possible. And I think that they continue to build on the great mutual aid system that exists in the state of California, and that's been in existence for a long time since the 1970 Laguna Fire, when the need was determined to make sure their integrated communications and people all worked together.

KAGAN: The White House says they don't expect to hear the president talk about his forest initiative. That is a controversial political topic as well. You mentioned brush clearance. Anything you can talk about in terms of that?

HAWKINS: You bet. I can just encourage the homeowner to clear the brush around their house. The more they do, the better they do and the better chances have -- the better the firefighters have a chance to save the house. We want to save houses, but we've got to have the homeowners help themselves by doing some clearance.

KAGAN: All right. Chief, thank you for your time. It looks like it's getting close to when you'll be meeting with the president or get a chance to see him.

Thank you, Chief John Hawkins.

HAWKINS: God bless CNN. Thank you for the coverage.

KAGAN: Thank you so much. Chief John Hawkins, of the California Department of Forestry.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com