|
New Post-Fire Issues Surface
by Bobbi Zane
Several new post-fire issues arose during a Town Meeting, called and chaired by Supervisor Dianne Jacob on Wednesday, April 28.
About 150 Julian area residents gathered in Town Hall to discuss the latest issues involving the rebuilding process. To respond to questions, Jacob assembled a panel of experts. These included county staff members: Jeff Murphy, chief of the building department; Chandra Waller, Public Works; Mike McFredreis, Parks and Recreation; and Llew Munter, Environmental Health. Others on the panel from the community included: Bruce and Chris Tuthill; Julian Fire Safe Council; Kevin Dubler, Chief Julian-Cuyamaca Fire Department; Teresa Manley, Julian Recovery Center; Laura Lewis, Postmistress; and others.
Jacob addressed the Harrison Park boundary issues, one that brought a number of angry fire victims to the meeting, by saying, "We will hold as many meetings as necessary to solve the problems" of rebuilding in that neighborhood. She later said the first such meeting would be scheduled within two weeks.
The ongoing need for weed abatement and dead tree removal provoked a number of questions. In response, Kevin Dubler, chief of the Julian-Cuyamaca Fire Department, said that an ordinance to permit removal of vegetation on vacant property next to homes "is on our desk. But we don’t have the staff to enforce it. We are working with a private contractor to do the work." Basically, this includes removal of brush and dead trees that lie within the clearance area around homes, but are on someone else’s property. Dubler said that he’s applied for a $1 million grant from FEMA for this purpose.
This led to more questions about getting assistance with tree removal and chipping. Bruce Tuthill of the Fire Safe Council, responded by saying that "application forms for the free chipping program, being done by Mennonite Disaster Services, are on the website, www.julianweb.com/FireSafe." The website clearly instructs people not to apply for the chipping until they’re ready.
Many were concerned about the recently enacted code requirement that interior fire suppression sprinklers must be installed in all new construction. Dubler said, "It’s a life safety issue and we will enforce it immediately." Basically, the sprinklers are intended to give firefighters time to get to the site of a structure fire before the building is consumed and people inside are injured or killed.
At the same time he said, "we are not requiring most roads to be upgraded and we are not requiring water tanks if the sprinklers can provide 300 gallons per minute pressure." Further discussion centered around costs for the systems (about $1.25 to $2 per square foot, according to Dubler), diameter of the water line required to make the systems work, and the need for individual design/ engineering for each structure.
Jacob concluded the meeting by saying that the county was still waiting for nearly $30 million in grant money to come from the federal government for fire relief.
| 
