Even as the fires in Southern California continue to burn, important lessons are emerging. Here on eastern Long Island, we hope that officials are seizing the moment to come up with new ways to reduce catastrophic risks in a region underprepared for large-scale wildfires. Fire does not pay attention to property lines or town borders, and, at the moment, there is no central official able to facilitate communication among all parties involved. Creating a high-level wildfire czar to coordinate among the many landowners and fire departments now appears necessary.
The dangerous patchwork of responsibility on land where wildfire could break out includes at least three state agencies, county parks, utility companies, the Long Island Rail Road, town officials, villages, businesses, and private homeowners. At the frontlines are the volunteer fire departments that would be called upon when the need arises on the properties of any and all of the stakeholders.
The ongoing ravages of the southern pine beetle have made the problem especially acute. Standing dead pines and, on the ground, the trunks and branches of trees felled in an ongoing attempt to limit the beetle are a disaster waiting to happen. In some places, workers have chipped or removed the dead wood, in others, piles have simply been left on the ground to rot. In a related threat, a new invasive pest is killing beech trees. Suffolk just had its driest fall on record. The woods are full of fuels and an errant spark away from catastrophe.
We are not alone in this observation — local fire chiefs have complained about a lack of dialogue with the state, which manages thousands of acres of pine woods on the East End. The state sent work crews to cut fire roads in the woods without consulting volunteer firefighters in the affected areas.
At the county level, there is a gap in wildfire preparation as well. The Suffolk Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Services office’s responsibilities may be too broad to meet the new wildfire challenge; its mandate includes fire personnel training, disaster relief, and a school alert warning system. Its Cold War roots can be seen in its role maintaining a national advance warning attack system and radiological monitoring and training.
When it comes to wildfire, it seems no one is in charge.