Dry hydrants doomed up to 5 Yorba Linda homes, officials say
As many as five homes were lost to wildfire in an upscale Yorba Linda neighborhood last weekend because firefighters had no water, leaving them no choice but to let the homes burn, fire officials said Friday.
Firefighters were forced to abandon the upper portion of Hidden Hills Estates because when they hooked their hoses to hydrants, no water came out, said Orange County Fire Authority Battalion Chief Kris Concepcion.
Officials of the Yorba Linda Water District, which maintains the water system for the area, acknowledged this week that the area of upper Hidden Hills Estates had suffered weak water pressure for at least several months before the fire, but insisted that the problems Nov. 15 were due to the overwhelming water demands of the blaze.
More than 180 homes were destroyed or damaged when fire tore through Yorba Linda that day, 19 of them in the Hidden Hills neighborhood where firefighters encountered the dry hydrants. The ridge-top homes are adjacent to Chino Hills State Park, a 14,100-acre expanse of oaks and dry grasslands.
"They decided to fight the fire where they had water," Concepcion said, explaining why strike teams headed for lower ground. Although crews were able to use water tenders to shuttle some water up the hill, Concepcion blamed the loss of three to five homes on the lack of water from hydrants.
In all, the Freeway Complex fire destroyed 192 homes and damaged 123 over the weekend when it ripped through parts of four counties, according to the latest figures from the Orange County Fire Authority. Wind gusts of up to 61 mph propelled the fire through heavy brush, and many homes were ignited by floating embers.
The hillside areas of Yorba Linda sustained the worst damage.
Yorba Linda Water District officials continued to face heavy criticism Friday from Hidden Hills Estates residents, who said they have complained for years about water pressure problems.
"It's a joke up there: Don't have your sprinklers going when you're taking a shower," said Larry Goodnough, who was able to save his home by filling buckets of water from a backyard pool. "I'm bitter. You can't blame the firemen. If there's no water, you can't fight the fire."
Water district officials said no distribution system is capable of sustaining the water demands of such an intense and widespread fire. Hydrants are connected to the same potable-water system as home faucets, hoses and shower heads.
