Report: Terrain, brush to blame in huge wildfire

LOS ANGELES — The largest wildfire in Los Angeles County history raged out of control because it jumped into inaccessible terrain, not because the U.S. Forest Service scaled back firefighters and aircraft attacking the flames, a federal review found Friday.

The U.S. Forest Service study of decision-making during the Station Fire's first three days concluded that commanders used "best professional practices" while trying to knock down the fire that began Aug. 26 in Angeles National Forest.

It said bringing in aircraft without ground crews to help out would have been ineffective.

"Additional resources during the evening of Aug. 26 and morning of Aug. 27 would not have improved the effectiveness of operations during that operational period and would have resulted in needless exposure of firefighters to the hazards of wildland fire," the report said.

Government documents have shown the number of firefighters had been reduced on the first night of the fire, opening questions from residents and other critics about whether commanders misread the threat of the blaze that killed two firefighters, destroyed 89 homes and blackened 250 square miles on the edge of Los Angeles.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich challenged the review findings, insisting the Forest Service erred by not calling in more aircraft to drop water and fire retardant in the early hours of the fire.

Had more aircraft been used — including at night, when the Forest Service is hesitant to fly — "the fire would not have spread," Antonovich said in a statement Friday.

The review, however, concluded otherwise.

Opportunities to stop the blaze were hindered "not by the amount of suppression resources assigned to the incident, but by the inaccessibility of the fire, hazard of the terrain, and dry, dense brush conditions with extremely limited or no visibility," it concluded.

Forest Service Chief Thomas Tidwell ordered the review in September.