Devastated By Fire, These Residents Geared Up To Fight The Next One. Are They Ready?

Everything changed for the residents of Bell Canyon on a hot, dry, and windy day on Nov. 8, 2018. At about 2:22 p.m., electrical equipment from Southern California Edison failed, and started what grew into the devastating Woolsey Fire.

The Woolsey Fire is seen looking towards the West Valley area on Nov. 9, 2018 in Porter Ranch, California.

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Tucked into the hills of the San Fernando Valley in eastern Ventura County, they could see smoke rising about 2 miles away.

“We were up at the top watching that plume of smoke coming towards Bell Canyon,” Garrett Clancy, a local resident, said. “And we waited and we waited and we waited.”

“It was like, 'Where are they?'” Clancy added, referring to firefighters.

The Woolsey Fire became a harsh reminder for many that fast-moving, wind driven blazes can quickly overwhelm resources, leaving residents on their own.

For some in Bell Canyon, including Clancy, it was the motivation they needed to form the Bell Canyon Volunteer Wildland Fire Department. It's a small, dedicated group of people from the neighborhood who've spent the past several years organizing, purchasing equipment and training, in part because they felt overwhelmed and helpless when the Woolsey Fire blew through. And they never want to feel that vulnerable again.

Los Angeles County firefighters work to extinguish flames from reaching a house on Dume Drive during the Woolsey Fire on Nov. 9, 2018.

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“A lot of us during Woolsey ended up fighting spot fires and trying to protect our homes with garden hoses and it really felt anemic when things started getting more serious,” said Bell Canyon resident Larry Little. “It was less a feeling of 'no one's going to help us' and more a feeling of 'there's not enough help to go around.'”

When Woolsey broke out, Ventura County Fire had limited resources, as they were overwhelmed by another fire that’d broken out just 20 minutes prior. And while it wasn't long before both L.A. County and L.A. City fire got involved, Woolsey moved fast.

The Woolsey Fire burned through Bell Canyon.

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By the time it finished tearing through Bell Canyon, the Santa Monica Mountains and Oak Park, 1,643 structures were destroyed and three people lost their lives.

Building a crew

The truth is — fires during Santa Ana wind events can become unstoppable, as strong gusts can throw embers more than a mile ahead of a fire front, starting up blazes all over. They can easily escape from departments with helicopters and airplanes, not to mention dozens of boots on the ground.

Clancy said the volunteer crew’s goal is to do as much as they can in their small area to keep fires at bay, potentially giving the professionals a few precious extra minutes to respond to the isolated canyon.

The Bell Canyon Volunteer Wildland Fire Department practices handling a hose.

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“It can take an extra 20 minutes for the fire department to get here, beyond what their normal response time is,” he said. “If it's a wind-driven fire, 10 minutes is an eternity. It can take out four or five homes in 10 minutes. But if we're there, you know, we can close that gap.”

The Bell Canyon volunteer crew has been training for the next big wildfire over the past few years.

On a warm October day back in the fall of 2022, I joined about a dozen people, some clad in yellow Nomex, standing around a brush truck.

The brush truck purchased by the Bell Canyon Volunteer Wildland Fire Department.

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Jacob Margolis

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“This rig is primarily for big water,” said volunteer firefighter Boris Donia, who was going over the basics of the equipment. “With the big orange nozzle, we can drain this tank and emit it in 15 seconds. So just think about if you're using a lot of water.”

Donia would go on to show them how to hook up to a hydrant and use a hose to extinguish hotspots that could kick back up after a fire rolls through.

Members of the Bell Canyon Volunteer Wildland Fire Department listening to instructions.

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Since the Woolsey fire, the volunteer crew has purchased three small trucks, over a mile of hose, equipment and pumps that’ll let them draw water from backyard pools. There are 27 volunteers who've gone through various levels of wildland firefighter training recognized by the Office of the State Fire Marshall, according to Clancy..

Stepping on toes?

Nevertheless, they aren’t recognized as a fire department by the county.

“We don't really work with them at all because they're not an affiliated agency and they're not recognized by the County of Ventura to operate as a fire department,” said Brian McGrath, a spokesperson for Ventura County Fire. “They are strictly a volunteer group.”

McGrath said the Bell Canyon crew would need to be recognized by both Ventura County Fire and County Supervisors to operate in an official capacity. Until then, he said, "When a fire does start we're going to be asking them to evacuate, just like any other community member and operate like any other community member.”

Because of the community's location near the L.A. County border, L.A. City Fire has provided services to the neighborhood since 1979.

“We maintain a professional relationship and have some communication with them. The LAFD does not endorse nor oppose community brigades,” wrote Erik Scott, a spokesperson for L.A. City Fire. He wouldn’t elaborate when asked what those communications included.

“We're here to augment and assist the existing fire agencies,” said Little. “And that's why we always tell people, when you make a call, you call 911 first, then you call us and then we'll respond.”

Waiting for the big one

So far, the Bell Canyon volunteers haven’t had to respond to any wildfires — but they say they have responded to around 500 calls, including accidents, downed trees and an awful lot of rattlesnake.

A volunteer firefighter in Bell Canyon walks past their brush truck.

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“I think we're gonna do well during a fire, but we'll see,” Clancy said. “As long as we stay safe and no one gets hurt, that’s a huge part of it.”

This coming month could be a major test for them, as big wind driven blazes could be right around the corner.