Messages obtained by LAist show that Orange County Public Works officials were alerted to high fire danger, yet failed to take precautions on the day a crew accidentally started the massive Airport Fire during a September heat wave. Over the next 26 days, the fire burned down more than 160 buildings, injured 22 people and resulted in nearly $400 million in claims county taxpayers could be on the hook for.

Sean Doran, a spokesperson for the Orange County Fire Authority, told LAist the fire was sparked the afternoon of Sept. 9 while the crew was using heavy equipment to move large rocks in Trabuco Canyon.

LAist’s review of messages sent on Microsoft Teams, obtained through a public records request, show Operations & Maintenance supervisors and a senior manager were informed at 10 a.m. that morning of high fire danger. By that time, work at the site had been underway for three hours, according to Doran.

Even after the high fire danger warning, no water truck was brought in. More than three hours after that warning, work at the site sparked the fire.

That work was taking place without a water truck present, according to an equipment log in the job’s work order obtained by LAist. However, in a chat log from Sept. 10, Edward Frondoso, the deputy director for operations and maintenance at O.C. Public Works, says: “I know yesterday morning Bud had asked them to take the water truck out.” Nina Quimsing, an operations and maintenance manager, responds by noting that using a water truck is a department best practice.

On Sept. 10, the day after an O.C. Public Works crew unintentionally started the Airport Fire, department managers discuss what one described as a request for the crew to take a water truck with them. An OCFA spokesperson told LAist the fire was classified as unintentional.

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Illustration by Olivia Hughes for LAist

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County of Orange public records

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The records prompted LAist to seek answers with the county officials to understand decisions made that day, including:

• What is the county’s protocol for doing field work when fire risk is high?
• Who was responsible for making sure the crew took appropriate precautions?
• What, if anything, is the county doing to make sure such a misstep isn’t repeated?

Shannon Widor, a spokesperson for O.C. Public Works, told LAist he couldn’t comment for this story “due to pending claims and the likelihood of litigation.”

James Treadaway, who was the head of O.C. Public Works at the time of the fire, left his job suddenly in late September without a public explanation.

LAist reached out to the public works departments of Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino counties and the National Forest Service to ask about their policies for limiting risk on days when fire danger is high.

Several agencies require supervisors to only schedule work on low fire risk days or halt work on high fire risk days. Riverside County both forbids work on high fire danger days, and requires a water truck to be present for roadside work that could start a fire.

In contrast, an LAist review of Orange County’s policies did not find any reference to wildfire prevention, nor requirements to bring water trucks or halting work when the fire risk is high.

Image shows a re-creation of Microsoft Teams messages sent Sept. 10, the day after an O.C. Public Works crew unintentionally started the Airport Fire.

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Illustration by Olivia Hughes for LAist

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County of Orange public records

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The Airport Fire burned more than 23,000 acres in Orange and Riverside counties before it was contained nearly a month later. It was officially declared out on Nov. 15.

The total cost of fighting the fire is expected to reach $95 million, according to Adrienne Freeman, a spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service.

Numerous families reported losing their homes and livelihoods in claims to the county, which now reach into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Among those injured in connection with the Airport Fire were eight firefighters, who rolled their vehicle as they were returning home from duty. Two of the firefighters were treated in a specialty neurorehabilitation hospital in Colorado. One was released last week after two months of treatment. The other continues to receive rehab treatment in Colorado.

A house burns in El Cariso Village along Ortega Highway during the Airport Fire.

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Wally Skalij

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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

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What the messages say

One thing that is clear: County officials have said the fire started when the crew was moving boulders to block off illegal paths and turnouts made by offroad vehicles along Trabuco Creek Road. An OCFA spokesperson told LAist two employees — a crew member and a supervisor — saw smoke coming from the basket of a truck loaded with boulders. They called 911 and used fire extinguishers at the scene in an unsuccessful attempt to put out the fire.

LAist’s review of Microsoft Teams messages between high-level O.C. Public Works managers detail some of their discussions after the fire started, and raise further questions about who’s responsible.

Fire officials received reports of a fire near a model airplane field in Trabuco Canyon around 1 p.m. on Sept. 9. About an hour later, at 2:08 p.m., Frondoso, the deputy director for Operations & Maintenance, sent a message through Microsoft Teams to his colleague Fiona Man.

“i kind of have something important to talk to KO about,” Frondoso wrote. Frondoso's boss at the time was Kevin Onuma, who is now is the interim director of O.C. Public Works.

The following exchange between Frondoso and Man took place over the next 15 minutes:

LAist tried to reach out to all supervisors and managers named in the messages by phone and email and reached 10 of the 12. No one responded to the requests for comment.

What the crew did, and didn’t have that day

A house in flames at El Cariso Village in Lake Elsinore on Sept. 10.

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Apu Gomes

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Getty Images

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Flames are seen near the side of a road as the Airport Fire gained ground near Lake Elsinore.

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David Swanson

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AFP via Getty Images

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LAist obtained the crew’s master work order for the Trabuco Canyon job via a public records request. The project to place boulders and barriers called K-rails began on Aug. 28 and was set to finish on Sept. 13, according to the work order. On the day of the fire, the equipment assigned were a CAT loader, dump truck, and pickup truck, the work order shows.

Records the county disclosed to LAist do not show an order for a water truck or tank associated with the work on the day the fire started, although work orders from previous weeks along the same road do include a water truck or tank.

Messages obtained by LAist via the California Public Records Act from Sept. 10, the day after the fire started, show managers trying to piece together why the crew didn’t have a water truck.

“On the work order, it shows what equipment will be used, but I know yesterday morning [a crew supervisor] had asked them to take the water truck out,” Frondoso wrote to his subordinate Nina Quimsing, an operations and maintenance manager.

Quimsing wrote back:

“Use of water truck or water buffalo would be considered a BMP. It is up to the crew to use BMPs where appropriate. But our Field Operations Manual activity guidelines state ‘Use appropriate BMP.’ For every maintenance activity.”

“BMP” refers to best management practice.

LAist requested from O.C. Public Works all of its written policies and procedures regarding fire prevention during the type of work the crew was doing that sparked the fire. County officials have turned over 99 pages of documentation, which include a fire prevention plan.

That policy specifies that “all heat-producing equipment/appliances shall be kept at a sufficiently safe distance from other combustible materials and have adequate space for air circulation.” But it does not specifically address fire hazards associated with field work, such as whether to bring a water truck or cancel work on high fire danger days. Those conditions are addressed in plans by other counties’ agencies.

Crew were informed of fire danger after work had already started

Garrett Keene stands in the rubble of his home in El Cariso Village on Sept. 12.

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Gina Ferazzi

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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

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Vintage cars destroyed by the Airport Fire.

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Etienne Laurent

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AFP via Getty Images

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At 11:48 a.m. on Sept. 10, Frondoso wrote to Quimsing: “have you ever heard of us delaying or deferring work due to fire safety concerns?”

Quimsing replied: “This is why we announce the fire danger ratings over the 800 Mhz in Silver 1 so crews are informed of the risks when operating equipment etc.”

The National Weather Service had issued an excessive heat warning for Sept. 9, the day the fire broke out, advising the public of “dangerously hot conditions” in the Santa Ana Mountains and foothills, which include Trabuco Canyon. Records show temperatures in the canyon reached 100 degrees that day.

Public records obtained by LAist document that a public works dispatcher followed the standard practice of radioing twice daily announcements about the level of fire danger to field crews, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Work at the site began at 7 a.m. A log of those announcements shows that on the day the fire started, the dispatcher warned in both announcements of “high” fire danger — the first warning of that level in 2024.

In addition, public records show “Darrell, Bud, Brandon and David” were sent an email and called about the high fire danger alert. In the organization chart obtained by LAist via a public records request, Darrell Wilson is an operations and maintenance manager and David Fernandez, Brandon Morgan and Erik Budzinski are all listed as maintenance supervisors. They are all listed in the chart as working under Frondoso.

The struggle to get records

LAist filed a public records request with OC Public Works for the Microsoft Teams chat logs on Sept. 12, three days after the fire started. Initially, county officials responded that no chat records were found and closed our request on Sept. 23. LAist asked again if there were relevant records. They then disclosed dozens of chat messages, saying the records were identified in a “subsequent search.”

County officials have told LAist that this is just one batch of records and more will be released in the coming weeks. Staff told LAist that all public records requests related to the Airport Fire are being reviewed by legal counsel because it is a “high visibility” item.

Chat logs reviewed by LAist also reveal how staff were directed to “pick up the phone” if they were discussing the fire. “As a reminder, please do not email, message or text any opinions or details,” Widor wrote via Teams to some managers.

Claims for damages and the fallout

As a result of the Airport Fire, Orange County has already received claims for damages amounting to close to $400 million. They range from people who say they lost their entire homes, to hotel costs due to evacuation orders.

“My entire retirement plans + future have been affected by this loss, and I have lost everything to plan for my future wellbeing,” one person wrote in their claim, seeking $1.8 million for losses.

Another man, who claimed $39,000 in damages, said his vehicle was torched with all of his construction equipment inside.

Residents wishing to file a claim against the county have six months to file from the date the damage was incurred.

How to file a claim

• If it is a claim related to personal injury or damage to property against the County of Orange, a claim form must be filled and mailed or hand delivered within six months to:

  • Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
  • 400 W. Civic Center Dr., 6th Floor, Santa Ana, CA 92701
• All other claims have to be filed to the same address within one year.

Residents with damages to their property caused by the Airport Fire can also file for property tax relief.

To apply, fill out this form and submit to the County Assessor’s office within 12 months from the time your property was damaged.

At some other SoCal agencies, work stops on high fire danger days

LAist reached out to the public works departments of Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino counties and the National Forest Service to ask about their policies for limiting risk on days when fire danger is high.

Notably, San Bernardino adopted fire guidelines in 2010. In a memo released to LAist, then-San Bernardino County Public Works Director Granville Bowman said the new guidelines were adopted due to two earlier fires caused by “vehicles and equipment being used to conduct field operation assignments.” The guidelines require supervisors to “schedule all non emergency activities that can start fires to a period of low fire risk and ensure all risks are considered before scheduling,” among other measures.

The county’s guidelines also say vehicles should not be operated in “high risk” areas defined by a combination of dry vegetation, temperatures over 85 degrees, and humidity of less than 25%. Failure to follow the guidelines can result in disciplinary action or dismissal.

The National Forest Service relies on a fire risk management tool called the “Project Activity Level” (PAL) system to determine which industrial activities, including timber harvesting and maintenance, can be safely allowed to proceed on a daily basis. On the day the Airport Fire broke out, the danger rating for the closest Forest Service stations, and most stations in Southern California, was “E” — the highest danger level.

Freeman, the U.S. Forest Service spokesperson, said “anything that’s not emergency work” is prohibited when the PAL system indicates that level of fire danger. “We actually can and do shut down things like utility work if we feel like there's a high potential for a fire to start based on that work,” Freeman said, referring to work on U.S. Forest Service land.

The Airport Fire started just outside of forest service land. But at least one local agency, San Diego County, relies on the Forest Service fire danger alert system to plan its own field work.

Donna Durckel, spokesperson for San Diego County’s Land Use and Environment Group, said the county’s senior equipment operators receive a text each day advising them of the current PAL level. They use that information to determine “what work is allowed to take place,” she said.

In Los Angeles, the public works department halts construction and maintenance activities in fire-prone areas during red flag days, according to Lisette Guzman, a spokesperson for L.A. County’s Public Works Department. O.C. was not under a red flag warning the day the Airport Fire broke out.

In Riverside, the county’s Transportation and Land Management Agency, which maintains county roads, has a written policy that requires a water truck be assigned to tractor mowers when trimming vegetation on roadsides. Felisa Cardona, a spokesperson for the agency, told LAist the policy also applies to other types of road maintenance work that has the potential to start fires.

Riverside’s policy also requires employees to check the weather forecast in the morning, and to postpone work when there’s low humidity and/or high winds that could spark fires.