Rio Hondo Fire, July 8, 2013

The "cover photo" for this edition of The Montebello Hills Blog Magazine comes courtesy of two brave explorers who dared to tramp through the underbrush in search of the burn site.  They decided this was close enough after meeting two helpful cowboys who pointed out the presence of a coyote hiding in the brush just ahead of them!

Howdy friends and neighbors of the hills!

 Well folks, it's happened again.  On the eve of the one year anniversary of the "Montebello Hills Fire of 2012", another fire in the nearby Whittier Narrows Dam lit up the wee hours of the morning.

According to EGP News,  on July 8, 2013 at 12:37 a.m. a fire broke out along the banks of the Rio Hondo River near Lincoln Ave. and San Gabriel Blvd.  Firefighters from Montebello, Monterey Park, Downey and Los Angeles County along with a water dropping helicopter put out the 7 acre fire.

A photojournalist from OnSceneTV took some downright scary video of the blaze!  Just look at them flying embers!

Once again we owe our firefighters a HEAP of APPRECIATION for their hard work and willingness to put themselves in harm's way to keep the rest of us folks safe!!!!!

View from the Whittier Narrows Dam.  The Montebello Hills oil field is in the far distance.  Lincoln Ave, a small two lane street, is the only "firebreak" separating the hills from these dangerous, dry brush conditions.

Now folks, I urge y'all to read the comments that follow the EGP News story about this latest fire.  Then go back and take a second look at the video.


I reckon it's high time we started asking Cook Hill Properties LLC  to answer some tough questions about their notion of "acceptable risk" when it comes to the fire danger from the Whittier Narrows Dam!

Which brings us to what the LAW has to say about "Defensible Space."  CalFire says:

In January 2005 a new state law became effective that extended the defensible space clearance around homes and structures from 30 feet to 100 feet. Proper clearance to 100 feet dramatically increases the chance of your house surviving a wildfire. This defensible space also provides for firefighter safety when protecting homes during a wildland fire.

 Wait a gosh-darned minute!  This law took effect in 2005!!!

 The Fire Protection Program is dated "October, 2008!!!

So why does "Section D" of the proposed project only have 70 feet of defensible space and "Section E" only has 55 feet? 

Something smells bad here and it ain't the charred brush!

Close up of the dry brush near Lincoln Ave. and San Gabriel Blvd.

By the by, did y'all have trouble with your electricity this week?  Chances are y'all probably sat in the dark for at least a couple o' hours during the past few months.  This past May, NBC reported a whopper of an outage that affected more than 5,000 folks in Montebello.  A month later,  NBC reported another doozy that affected 3,337 folks in the cities of Montebello, Covina, Ontario, Chino, Corona and La Puente.

Folks living near the hills report the last outage happened this past Thursday, July 11. Power outages happen so often here in Montebello, we kinda take em in stride.

Unfortunately, this isn't a good omen for the proposed housing project.  In yet another "What were they thinking!" kinda facepalm realization, it turns out this proposal's water system will rely on just three electric powered pumping stations to force water uphill.  I guess somebody thought an old-fashioned water tank "a la Green Acres" was too low brow for this fancy-shmancy development.

The problem is, Cook Hill's "On-Site Domestic Water Supply System" says that only one of these three pumps will have a back up generator in case of a "power failure!"    Do you really think one pump station working on a back up generator will be strong enough to fight a major fire in the hills?

 Lord have mercy on us all.

Seriously folks, this is the stuff nightmares are made of and it's not just our skins we gotta be thinking about.

I'd like to end this post in memory of the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots who made the ultimate sacrifice.  May the good Lord welcome you home and grant comfort to your families.

Daisy Mae

Firefighter's Prayer / Creed 

  

When I'm called to duty god
wherever flames may rage
give me strength to save a life
whatever be its age


Help me to embrace a little child
before it is too late
or save an older person from
the horror of that fate


Enable me to be alert
to hear the weakest shout
and quickly and efficiently
to put the fire out


I want to fill my calling and
to give the best in me
to guard my neighbour and
protect his property


And if according to your will
I have to lose my life
bless with your protecting hand
my children and my wife

The Calderon Connection

News vans camp overnight outside the Montebello office of Senator Ron Calderon, June 4, 2013.

Howdy friends and neighbors of the hills!

Hooey, the temperature in Montebello is on the rise and I'm not just talking about the weather!

Yesterday, the FBI raided the Sacramento office of Senator Ron Calderon (Dem. Montebello).  The internet has been buzzing with reports from news agencies all over California and the story has been picked up by CNN and the Huffington Post.  The photo above shows t.v. news vans from Channels 2, 9, 4 and 7.  (The office was closed but I guess the tv folks wanted to stake out a good spot for their morning broadcasts.)

The  Los Angeles Times has been printing out new "updates" or related stories just about every couple of hours.  According to the LA Times:

 A day after FBI agents raided the Capitol office of Sen. Ron Calderon (D-Montebello), local officials from Southern California said they have been interviewed by federal agents about the senator’s connection to a local water board. LA Times: Calderon family's ties to Central Basin water board probed by FBI

 The "connection" refers to former Montebello City Planning Commissioner, Tom Calderon, Senator Ron Calderon's brother.  Tom Calderon was a consultant to the Central Basin Municipal Water District. 

 Los Cerritos Community News has been following this "Calderon Connection" for several years now and had this to say:

Records obtained by Los Cerritos Community Newspaper from Central Basin Municipal Water District via a public records request show that Tom Calderon, brother of California State Senator Ronald Calderon, and their company The Calderon Group, was paid in excess of $11,000 per month, over  $438,000, in “Government Consulting” fees between 2009 and 2013.
 LCCN:  Dirty Water: Calderon’s Cashed in on Relationships at Water Agency

Now you may be asking yourself, "What does this have to do with the Montebello hills?"

The water for the proposed Montebello Hills Specific Plan would be supplied by the San Gabriel Valley Water Company.

Hhhhmmm, remember this LA Times story from 2009?

Opponents have questioned the chairman of the city Planning Commission over his work as a paid consultant for the San Gabriel Valley Water Co., which would supply the development with more than 800 acre-feet of water annually. Tom Calderon, the chairman, has denied any conflict of interest.
LA Times:  Opposing sides on Montebello project find common ground: City Hall turmoil

 Channel 2 News sent a reporter to Senator Calderon's Montebello residence.  A car with official state plates was parked in the driveway but nobody answered the door.  Surprise, surprise.

Something tells me this is gonna be a long, hot summer here in Montebello.


Daisy Mae

Community Alert for February 27, 2013

Howdy friends and neighbors of the hills!

Does this look right to you?

Tomorrow night the Montebello City Council will be holding it's regularly scheduled meeting.

The Save the Montebello Hills Sierra Club Task Force sent out the following email alert to their supporters list:

At this February 27, 2013 Wednesday's Montebello City Council Meeting the council will consider a fifty thousand dollar economic development contract with Kosmont Companies and Kosmont Realty Corporation. This contract includes specific types of work regarding the proposed Montebello Hills high density housing project. Larry Kosmont, president of the two companies, will be present to answer questions.

The city council agenda for this meeting does not mention either the Montebello Hills proposed project or the fact that Mr. Kosmont will be speaking. Once again the community is not being appropriately informed. To figure out what the Kosmont entities would be doing to earn their fees, it is necessary to read the contract and an Attachment/Memorandum which lists specific tasks for each of several listed projects.  Imagine our surprise when we read, in the Memorandum:

Task 1:  Montebello Hills, d) Solicitation of anchor tenant interest in retail component of Montebello Hills

Why should all of us be concerned about this item?  Well, here's a few reasons:

1. The CEQA required evaluation process is far from over. A revised Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) has not been finished and issued for comments.

2.The public has not had the opportunity to make comments on the revised DEIR or attend study sessions on the revised DEIR.

3. Montebello City Planning Commission and City Council hearings are still far in the future.

4. The final decisions regarding what will happen to our hills are also far in the future. Also, the alternative plan to have a retail component in the hills is a recent addition and not part of the original DEIR.

So why does the proposed contract have Kosmont Companies acting as a rental scout for something that may not ever exist? Isn't this putting the cart before the horse, to use an old fashioned expression. At a recent city council meeting one member of the public asked if Mr. Kosmoint was working for the city or for the would-be developer of our last remaining open space hills. That's an interesting question.

Mr. Larry Kosmont will be at this Wednesday's meeting. Perhaps you can think of a few questions to ask him yourself. We encourage concerned persons to attend the city council meeting.

LET'S SAVE OUR HILLS.


Linda Strong
Chair, Save the Montebello Hills Sierra Club Task Force

The agenda for tomorrow night's meeting can be found at the City of Montebello's website here.
 Y'all have to scroll down quite a ways to find the "supporting documents" for the council meeting that mention the Montebello hills.  

Something tells me Mr. Kosmont is going to get an earful tomorrow night!

Another way to express your opinion is to sign the Sierra Club's brand new ONLINE PETITION. 


Y'all come back later for a report on what may turn out to be a mighty interesting meeting!


Daisy Mae
 

Montebello City Council Meeting Jan. 9, 2013

Howdy friends and neighbors of the hills!

Beware the dog and pony show!

Well folks, the first Montebello city council meeting of the new year has come and gone but it sure was a doozy!

The posted agenda for last night's meeting looked innocent enough.  There was the usual legaleeze and cere-moan-ial language along with descriptions of all the stuff that was going to be discussed in "closed session."  The meat and potatoes portion of the menu included agenda items about Prop A funds, a memorandum of understanding with city employees, the monthly investment report and the payment of bills.

No big deal, just the same ole same ole, nothing to see here folks, jes keep moving along . . .

Yeah riiiiiiiiiiiiight!!!!

Buried in the middle of the agenda under the laughable title "Item 19:  Staff  Communications on Items of Community Interest" was something called:

 Economic Development Update - Larry Kosmont - Kosmont Companies.

Members of the Save the Montebello Hills Task Force smelled a skunk when they noticed how many "suits" started to flood into the council chambers to speak on the mysterious Item 19.


You see folks, this here "update" was actually a full blown, 30 page power point presentation featuring three projects:

1.  The Montebello Hills Specific Plan  (The lion's share of the presentation!)
2.  The Monterey Park Market Place
3.  The Costco Gas Station


If this was supposed to be an "item of community interest" then why didn't city hall do a decent job of notifying the community??????  How did the developer's supporters know this "update" was actually a chance for them to speak in support of the Montebello Hills housing project?

Tsk, tsk, shame on you Montebello city hall!  In this fresh new year are y'all going back to the same ole dirty tricks?

To the credit of our new Mayor, Christina Cortez, several outraged members of the public were allowed to speak out about this apparent injustice even though they hadn't submittted a speaker's card ahead of time.  The last public speaker of the night was Linda Strong, Chair of the Save the Montebello Hills Task Force.  Her reference to the seemingly endless parade of Cook Hill boosters as a "dog and pony show" prompted a loud shout of agreement from the back of the room!

Even Montebello City Councilman Bill Molinari was appalled by the lack of candor in the description of Item 19.  He wanted to know why the agenda didn't clearly list the three projects since so many folks in Montebello are keenly interested in these things. 

Good question.

Fortunately, the evening wasn't a total disaster.   Providence intervened in the form of Dr. Clyde Thomas Williams.

First, Montebello resident, Yvonne Watson, shared her concerns about fracking in the Montebello hills and asked why images of the hills (taken straight out of the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Montebello Hills Specific Plan) were used in a 2010 oil industry presentation on hydraulic fracturing called:

Environmental Issues for Shale Gas Development: Lessons Learned

Then Mrs. Watson introduced Dr. Williams.

Dr.Williams is a retired oil and gas expert with an impressive "curriculum vitae" a mile long.  Dr. Williams is a highly sought after public speaker and was part of a panel of experts during a recent South Coast Air Quality Management District workshop on the subject of hydraulic fracturing ("fracking.")

           *Dr. Williams speaks before the Montebello City Council.  Used by permission.

Dr. Williams is a very busy man but he agreed to speak to the Montebello City Council on how fracking affects Montebello.

You see folks, on December 18, 2012, California's Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) released a "discussion draft" of new fracking regulations and next week, the South Coast Air Quality Management District is holding another meeting to discuss new air quality regulations regarding fracking.  Here is the info:

Public workshop 

January 15, 2013

10:00 am PST

AQMD Headquarters

Conference Room GB 

21865 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar 

California 91765

Dr. Williams spoke during the public comments portion of the Montebello city council meeting which came before the now infamous "Item 19," and his comments must have hit a nerve with Larry Kosmont because (miracle of miracles!)  Kosmont mentioned the word "fracking" during his power point presentation!

It's too bad all the Cook Hill cheerleaders weren't paying attention during this part of the meeting.

I reckon they were all too busy memorizing their lines.


Daisy Mae



UPDATE:

The Sierra Club's Save the Montebello Hills Task Force issued an email response to their supporters about what happened at the January 9, 2013 Montebello City Council meeting.  Y'all can read a copy of this email at the Sierra Club - Angeles Chapter website.

*The KCET episode mentioned by Dr. Williams in his comments, The "F" Word: Unregulated Fracking at Oil Wells Raising Concerns, can be viewed at The Montebello Hills Blog post for Tuesday, March 27, 2012, Is PXP "fracking" our hills?

Tribute to Jason Rivera

Dear friends and neighbors of the hills,

Jason Rivera

It is with a heavy heart that I inform you of the passing of Jason Rivera, a Montebello resident and avid community activist.

Jason was received into the arms of the angels last Friday, November 2, 2012.

Please see the update at the end of this post.  
2nd update posted.
3rd update posted.

Despite his rather rough-looking exterior, Jason was a very soft-spoken and gentle young man with a huge heart and a passion for standing up to injustice wherever he found it.  He was a self-described "defender of the Montebello Hills" and was often seen at city events or just riding around town on his bicycle with his hand-made "Save the Montebello Hills" flag streaming in the air behind him.  Jason was a member of the Save the Montebello Hills Task Force, Sierra Club/Angeles Chapter and a participant in the Occupy L.A. movement.

Jason's hand-made flag fluttering in the wind over Montebello City Park.

Jason will be sorely missed by his family, friends and fellow activists.

My heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Jason Rivera.

Daisy Mae



If you have any information about what happened to Jason Rivera, please contact the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau, which is assisting Montebello police in the investigation, at 323-890-5500.


Pasadena Star News


UPDATES:



1.  The family of Jason Rivera has posted the following message at Topix.com:

Fundraiser this Saturday In Honor of Jason M Rivera. A car wash will be held, and we will also be selling drinks and tacos.
400 W. Whittier Blvd. Montebello,Ca 90640
10am-???? Rain or shine,
Please come and show your support. It would be greatly appreciated.
"Justice for Jason!" 

For y'all living in Montebello, this is the tire business at the corner of Whittier Blvd. and 4th St.


2.  Jason's family posted a notice that this week's "drum circle" at Venice Beach will be held in Jason's honor.

Venice Beach Allstars
Sunday, Nov. 11, 2012
12:00 (noon) to sunset
Venice Beach - Venice and Washington
[On the beach, look for Jason's famous flag.]

YouTube video of Venice Beach Allstars

3.  On behalf of the family of Jason Rivera, the chairperson of the Save the Montebello Hills Task Force, Sierra Club/Angeles Chapter sent out the following email:

On Friday night November 2, 2012 one of the Save the Montebello Hills Task Force's most passionate supporters, Jason Rivera, was shot to death on the embankment of the Rio Hondo River at the gazebo, a place where he loved to spend time. His friend Melissa Hernandez has provided the following information:

 "Jason was a very big supporter of the Save the Montebello Hills project.  He rode around on his bike, flying his "Save the Montebello Hills - Defend and Preserve" flag proudly and gladly took every opportunity that came his way to voice his opinions at meetings, public forums and to anyone within earshot.  He was a true lover of the land.  

At this time, the family has set up an account to help with arrangements.  Any donations will be greatly appreciated."

Jason participated in numerous task force outreach events. I will remember his sweet smile, good humor and positive attitude. His tragic death leaves us all poorer. He will be missed.

A memorial fund for Jason (to help the family with final expenses) has been established at the Bank of America Montebello branch office on Whittier Blvd., account number 325000998800. However donations can be made at any Bank of America branch.

The name on the account is Jason M. Rivera.

View to a Hill (Just don't look too closely!)

 Fire?  What Fire?

Howdy friends and neighbors of the hills!

Montebello Hills after the fire.

Well folks, I'm starting this post off with a great big sigh of disbelief.

A new edition of the Montebello Chamber of Commerce's "Spotlight on Montebello" arrived in my mailbox this afternoon.  As usual, I was expecting to see another full page ad from Cook Hill Properties LLC praising the dubious "merits" of it's proposed Montebello Hills Specific Plan housing development.  Unfortunately, my expectation was not disappointed.

Cook Hill's latest paid advertisement, "View to a Hill," is on page 15.

It's a pretty straight-forward "before and after" piece of propaganda to say, "You see?  Nothing will change if you let us lop off 100 feet from the top of the highest hills, fill in all the canyons/arroyos, then plant a whole bunch of non-native trees and landscaping!  From these "selected vantage points", everything will look just the same!"

Well ain't that a hoot?!  Yeah riiiiiiiiiiiiiight!!!!

First off

One of the 3 pairs of "before and after" shots wasn't taken in Montebello. Don Bosco Technical Institute is located in ROSEMEAD!  Now I mean no disrespect to the fine City of Rosemead or Don Bosco Tech but why would these folks care about their view of the Montebello Hills?

As a resident of Montebello, the feature that interests me the most about the "after" shot shown in the Don Bosco recreation are the very tall, high power transmission towers running along the ridge of the hills.  This is the first time I've seem them in one of Cook Hill's advertisements!

So what are they? Those towers are part of Southern California Edison's Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project.   Cook Hill has known about this project for a long time and even wrote a letter of concern to the California Public Utilities Commission!

My firm has responsibility for developing a 488+/- acre project in the City of Montebello, owned in fee by Montebello Land Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Plains Exploration & Production Company.  A Southern California Edison easement encumbers approximately 37 +/- acres of our property, and is subject to certain improvements associated with the Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project.  Our property lies to the east of the Mesa Substation, along Segment 7, as we currently understand the project.

Because of conflicting information we have been given, we are unclear exactly what modifications to the existing towers will be required, as well as any temporary impacts that might affect the existing Coastal Sage Scrub (CSS) habitat found on site.  Aside from the potential aesthetic impacts of the permanent structures, we are concerned about any health impacts that may be associated with additional voltage on our residential neighborhoods.

Letter dated October 8, 2007.
Norman E. Witt, Jr.
Senior Vice President

Secondly

I noticed something missing from the "after" shot of the intersection of Montebello Blvd and Paramount Blvd.  Where is the traffic light with the left turn signal for Paramount?  Hhhmmmm. 

Lastly

The bottom set of photos shows the view of the hills from Yorktown Avenue at Iguala Street in Racquet Mountain.  What's up with that after shot?  Did somebody pour a couple million gallons of Minoxidil on the Hills?  All those extra, non-native trees marching along the familiar tree-less ridgeline look down right unnatural and, given the recent fire in the hills, all those extra trees also look rather "ominous."

Which brings me back to the reason why I started off this blog entry with a sigh.

Fire?  What fire?

I was more than a mite bit curious about what sorta coverage this edition of the "Spotlight" might give to the recent fire in the Montebello Hills.  I read through the entire 28 page publication and finally, on page 24, I found a paid advertisement from the City of Montebello.

Buried in this paid ad, in teensy weensy print, is the ONLY REFERENCE to the recent fire in the Montebello Hills!!!!!  The information is worth repeating, this time in print folks can actually read:

At approximately 2:48 pm on Monday July 9, 2012, Montebello Fire units were dispatched to a reported fire in the Montebello Hills area by the PXP project.  A large column of smoke was visible to firefighters as they left the station headed for the fire.  First arriving crews found a rapidly growing fire in heavy fuels. A second alarm fire response was requested which brought additional fire units from Downey, Santa Fe Springs, Vernon, Monterey Park and Los Angeles County Fire Departments.  As the fire continued to grow due to the heat of the day, wind, and old vegetative growth, an additional request was made for fire resource that included helicopters and hand crews from the Los Angeles County Fire Department.  There would be 3 more requests for additional equipment and manpower totaling 5 alarms.  After almost 5 hours, firefighters finally had control of the incident but would have many hours of mop-up work ahead to make sure the entire fire was out.

In all, over 200 firefighting personnel were on the scene to battle this blaze.  There were 20 engine companies, 4 water tenders, 2 helicopters, 5 hand crews and 10 chief officers on hand to control this fire.  Assisting the Montebello Fire Department were the following fire agencies:  Los Angeles County, Monterey Park, Downey, Santa Fe Springs, Vernon, San Gabriel, Alhambra, Monrovia, Glendale, Pasadena, Sierra Madre and South Pasadena Fire Departments.

Costco and Von's donated water to the fire crews and the information above was printed as part of their "Thank You" to the fire agencies who risked their own safety to protect the rest of us.

Well, here's a great big "THANK YOU" to Costco, Von's and the unknown author of this report. 

Of course, I can't say enough "THANK YOU's" to the Montebello Fire Department and all the other agencies that came to our rescue that day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another view of the burnt hillsides.

The published news reports of the day never mentioned there was a 5 alarm fire in the Montebello Hills!


Now just sit a spell and let that information sink in a bit.  Don't it just make you feel even more grateful to our firefighters?

So why in blazes didn't ANYBODY at the Montebello Chamber of Commerce feel inclined to write a follow up news story about the fire?  Just who the heck is editing this so-called "publication" anyway????

Shame on you "Spotlight on Montebello!"

Let the "sighing" begin.


Daisy Mae

Fire in the Hills!!!

Howdy friends and neighbors of the hills!

Flames in the Montebello Hills above  Hibiscus St. in Montebello.
Photo courtesy of Alberto Perez.

Fire season has arrived with a vengeance here in the City of Montebello.

On Monday, July 9,  a 10-20 acre wildfire broke out in the Montebello Hills oil field just after 3 p.m.  For those of us living near the hills, it seemed like the baleful sound of sirens just kept coming one after another after another all afternoon.  By nightfall the conflagration had grown into a 3 alarm fire and the Montebello Fire Department was working side by side with fire units from 11 other agencies along with 2 prison fire crews and 2 water dropping helicopters.

Two power poles were burnt exposing their live wires but thankfully there were no injuries nor any other structures lost; however, the fire did come uncomfortable close to several oil wells.  The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.

THANK YOU!

Montebello Fire Department

Montebello Police Department

Montebello Police Volunteers

And all the other supporting Fire Departments and support crews!

Y'all did an AWESOME job!!!!!!

The Montebello Hills oil field fire as seen from Rose Hills Memorial Park.
Photo courtesy of M. Popoff, Save the Montebello Hills Task Force

Early media reports about the fire were mighty skimpy on details but members of the Save the Montebello Hills Sierra Club Task Force started their own "breaking news" grapevine to share information amongst their neighbors and the media.

Fire crews remained on the scene overnight to monitor hot spots.  Note the drill rig at the upper left corner of the photo.  Photo copyright: The Montebello Hills Blog

 The Montebello Hills oil field is owned and operated by Plains Exploration & Production (aka: PXP) based out of Houston, Texas.  This is the same company that was charged with 8 misdemeanor counts of violating state water pollution laws for not reporting a 2010 oil spill from the Montebello Hills that reached the nearby Rio Hondo River.  The Task Force was instrumental in bringing this unreported spill to the attention of the media. 

This past March, PXP was found guilty and fined $75,000. 

Well, I reckon that $75,000 fine for "not reporting" an actual spill must've spooked PXP because somebody filed a "just in case" hazardous materials spill report with the California Emergency Management Agency!  So, while most of the media seemed to be downplaying the fire's risk to the oil field, PXP was quietly evacuating 11 of it's own employees and letting the state know the brush fire could “impact infield piping, potentially releasing oil and gas into the environment.” Thank God Almighty PXP's "concerns" didn't come to fruition!

Once again, it was the Task Force that found this bit o' information and leaked it to EGP news.

 EGP News
Montebello Brush Fire Rattles Nerves
By Elizabeth Hsing-Huei Chou, EGP Staff Writer

The burnt hillside as seen from Montebello Blvd.  According to EGP News the fire started near the PXP offices.
   Photo copyright:  The Montebello Hills Blog

For the past 6 years or so, Cook Hill Properties LLC (a subsidiary of PXP) has been working to "monetize the surface rights" of the Montebello Hills oil field by trying to push through a 1,200 unit housing development known as the Montebello Hills Specific Plan.  Now this  here "specific plan" is very "unspecific" when it comes to all sorts o' safety issues, including fire protection but that's a LONG story best saved for another post.

According to the Montebello Hills Specific Plan's  Draft Environmental Impact Report (the section entitled "Wildfires" on p. 4.7-8):

Historically several small fires have occurred in the project site, most recently in July 2008. Due to the generally sparse vegetation, brush fires have been limited to areas less than two acres in extent. No structures or oilfield equipment have been involved in fires for at least 15 to 20 years due to fuel modification measures around oil well pads.5

Uh oh, looks like somebody's gonna have to rewrite this section!!!!

Now tell me, would YOU buy a home here?  Personally, I find the thought of maybe someday having to race oil field personnel to the nearest exit not very appealing.

Daisy Mae


More photos of the fire can be found at the Whittier Daily News Photo Gallery.

Update:  Another Montebello resident has posted their photos of the fire at this blog:
The Perry