After the October fires ravaged San Diego County, it was discovered that two-thirds of the area burned by the 2003 Paradise fire and one-quarter of the area burned by the 2003 Cedar fire were consumed again.
The history of San Diego mentions firestorms being a common occurrence in the late 1800s, driven by “strong winds from the northeast.”
n The 70-mile-wide County of San Diego is reported to be the most fire-prone environment on earth.
n 98 percent of the population (2.8 million) lives within 16 miles of the coast.
The remaining 50 miles leads eastward to mountains and desert flatlands that are classified as a borderline arid (desert) climate.
n The county averages eight months of sunshine per year without rain. When the pitifully brief period from December to March moistens the earth, chaparral (dense growth of shrubs and small trees) springs to life and then mostly dies during the next rainless summer, our region’s continuous climatic cycle.
During the early fall, the eastern Pacific Ocean has warmed through the summer months and the moist air above it heats, forming huge high-pressure areas, which follow the jet stream moving southeast towards Southern California.
Winds circulate in a clockwise direction around a high-pressure air mass. As it moves over desert areas and they are pushed upward by the desert’s warm, dry air, wind velocities accelerate westerly toward the southwest (the “Santa Ana”).
If the high happens to be huge, as it was in late October, meteorologists know intense easterly wind conditions will follow.
This time there was ignition, probably from broken electric lines, and the violent surge of wind turned an ordinary fire into an oxygen-driven lava of heat with temperatures over 1,000 degrees.
The inferno roared along the surface feeding madly on open mountains and valley surfaces covered by a multi-year accumulation of dry chaparral, the perfect fuel.
As the world watched their TV screens in disbelief, walls of white-hot flames, whipped by the wind, swept their way irreversibly across the landscape, consuming everything in their path.
We have the capability to deter and greatly reduce the impact of these firestorms in the future.
n Before the start of the March 2008 regrowth period, establish a fixed, three-mile-wide fire break inland, north to south, border to border.
n All of the unpopulated areas in this strip would be made sterile and maintained permanently without vegetation. In addition to ground control operations, crop duster-type airplanes would blanket the remainder.
n Homeowners on mountain crests would be required to prevent wild growth in perpetuity within a 300-foot radius around their properties.
In addition to 2.8 million citizens who deserve this protection, San Diego has the largest population of endangered animal species and plant life in the United States.
Preventing these fire disasters would be for their survival too.
We know the cycle of nature’s fire rampage will roar back again in San Diego County. If we have the will, determination and leadership from all levels of government, this firestorm barrier will significantly reduce the threat.
Jack M. Templeton
Former San Diego County Chief Deputy Assessor
Major, USAF, Ret.
USAF Weather Service