Stewart Huntington and Paris Wise
ICT
Firefighting crews from at least five tribal nations are on the ground in Los Angeles, helping battle the most destructive fires in Southern California history and lending support for area residents impacted by the unprecedented wildfires.
A beefed-up firefighting force was staged around Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 14, with anxious residents prepared for more fire danger as winds began to build, a week after two massive infernos destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people.
Among the tribal nations sending fire crews are two California-based tribes — the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and the Yurok Tribe — and the Klamath Tribes in Oregon, the Navajo Nation and Montana’s Blackfeet Nation. Other tribes are offering personal support, and the Pechanga Tribe is contributing $500,000 to help fire victims in conjunction with the Los Angeles Rams Foundation.
“As a fire department, our job is just to go out there and protect lives,” said Rod Mendes, a Karuk tribal citizen who is the Yurok Tribe’s fire chief. “We want to make sure that we can do the best job we can possibly do down there for those folks that are impacted by this disaster and want them to know that our hearts are with them. We pray for them and we’ll do the best job we can on their behalf.”
Mendes said he is also looking out for the safety of his crew and urging them to be careful.
“The environment itself is very hazardous,” he said. “The smoke that’s being generated from burned structures … is very dangerous.”
Keith Alexander, the San Manuel Fire Department chief, has sent six crew members to fight both the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire, saying this is a career-defining moment for firefighters. He said the dry, off-shore Santa Ana winds annually cause problems for wildland firefighters, but this year is different.
“The thing that really makes this uncommon is just the amount of devastation and the amount of fires raging out of control all at the same time within a relatively close proximity of each other,“ he said. “Anybody that’s on any of these fires hasn’t seen anything like this in their career … We’re not out of the woods yet.”
The San Manuel tribal council issued a statement about the decision to send help to the Los Angeles fires.
“Our hearts go out to our neighbors as they face the overwhelming challenges of the devastating SoCal wildfires in Los Angeles County,” according to the statement. “In response to mutual aid requests, our dedicated San Manuel Fire Department is at the Palisades fire in Los Angeles and the Eaton fire in Altadena, supporting those bravely battling the flames. In this difficult time, we stand united with all courageous first responders, fully committed to helping safeguard homes, loved ones, and the spirit of community.”
Dry winds gusted early Tuesday to 40 mph in coastal and valley areas and 50 miles per hour in the mountains, said meteorologist Todd Hall of the National Weather Service. Gusts up to 65 mph were forecast to continue through midday Wednesday.
The weather service issued a rare warning that the winds combined with severely dry conditions created a “particularly dangerous situation,” indicating that any new fire could explode in size. Hall said the conditions could lead to extreme fire behavior that could spread embers 2 to 3 miles ahead of flames or even cause fire tornadoes.
But the danger is not solely the result of weather conditions, said local tribal leaders.
Matthew Teutimez, a biologist with the Kizh Nation, or Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians, a state-recognized tribe in the Los Angeles Basin, said the catastrophe was decades in the making.
“The wildfires right now are an example of how our lands have been kind of left to create a fuel capacity,” he said. “And so now we’re seeing the effects of allowing the lands to have a bunch of … flash fuels or non-native vegetation that was never part of our landscape of the past, but now is everywhere.
“And now is the fuel that causes these huge crown fires, these extraordinarily catastrophic fires that are occurring.”
The tribe’s chairman, Andrew Salas, agreed.
“What you’re seeing here is a sign,” he said. “There is a disconnection between the Creator and humanity here on Earth.”
Salas spoke with ICT last week he was on his way to visit with community members affected by the fires.
“We think it’s within our duty,” he said. “It’s who we are, you know, as a people, as Indigenous people. We’ve been brought up in the community in a time of community. And this is when the community needs everybody the most.”
On Monday, planes doused homes and hillsides with a bright pink fire-retardant compound, while crews and fire engines were placed near particularly vulnerable spots with dry brush. Dozens of additional water trucks rolled in to replenish supplies after hydrants ran dry last week when the two largest fires erupted.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other officials — who have faced criticism over their initial response to the fires — expressed confidence Monday that the region was ready to face the new threat with scores of additional firefighters brought in from around the U.S., as well as Canada and Mexico.
“We’re absolutely better prepared,” Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said, when asked what will be different from a week ago when hurricane-force winds propelled multiple fires across the parched, brush-filled region that has seen almost no rain in more than eight months.
Although winds were not expected to reach hurricane-force like last week, they could ground firefighting aircraft, Marrone said, warning if winds reach 70 mph, “it’s going to be very difficult to contain that fire.”
More than a dozen wildfires have broken out in Southern California since Jan. 1, mostly in the greater Los Angeles area. In less than a week, four fires around the nation’s second-biggest city have scorched more than 62 square miles, roughly three times the size of Manhattan.
The latest outbreak started Monday night in a dry riverbed in an agricultural area of Oxnard, about 55 miles northwest of Los Angeles, and tore through tall brush before firefighters stopped its progress, the Ventura County Fire Department said.
A large part of southern California around Los Angeles is under an extreme fire danger warning through Wednesday, including densely populated Thousand Oaks, Northridge and Simi Valley.
Fire officials advised residents in high-risk areas to leave home — and not wait for formal evacuation orders — if they sense danger.
That’s exactly what Tim Kang of La Crescenta did last Wednesday. Feeling sick from the smoky air and fearful of nearby fires spreading, Kang and his brothers packed up and stayed away from their neighborhood.
“Everything just felt like, ‘Oh man, the world’s ending,’” said Kang, who’s staying with his girlfriend in Pasadena.
The Eaton Fire near Pasadena is roughly one-third contained, while the largest blaze in Pacific Palisades on the coast is far less contained.
In addition to fighting fires, tribes are offering other support as well.
The Pechanga Tribe in Southern California announced Jan. 11 it will be contributing $500,000.00 to help victims impacted by the Palisades and Eaton fires. The tribe is joining with the Rams Foundation to contribute $250,000 to help the American Red Cross Los Angeles Region, the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation and the World Central Kitchen.
The tribe will also contribute another $250,000 to the Red Cross.
“From ancient times to now, Southern California has always been and will always be our home,” said Mark Macarro, Pechanga tribal chairman. “The loss and devastation that continues to take its toll on our region from these catastrophic fires is heartbreaking. Our reservation has been impacted by fires in the past, and we know the importance of coming together to lift up people in need.”
Dylan Goodwill, a Diné, Lakota and Dakota resident of Los Angeles whose home had so far escaped the blaze, said community members are also helping others with smaller needs as well.
“We have such a really tight knit community here, especially the Native community,” Goodwill said. “It’s been very supportive of each other. We’re asking each other if you need places to store things, too … or even if you need to stay.”
This story contains material from The Associated Press.
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