Fire exacerbates housing plan

Twenty-one fire engines, approximately 200 firefighters and two water-dropping helicopters doused a three-alarm wildfire n a Montebello Hills oilfield that’s slated for a housing development.

In the wake of the July fire, the Save the Montebello Hills Sierra Club Task Force renewed its concerns about building a high density, residential development in hills surrounded by a dense ring of flammable coastal sage.

The proposal would place houses atop an active oil field, in close proximity to operating oil well cellars and their pumping units.

If the hills were developed, the task force says, firefighters and police officers would have been faced with the responsibility of evacuating frantic residents in addition to fighting the flames. Luckily less than a dozen workers needed evacuation.

And then there’s the danger of the flammables on the site. The oil company that operates the oil field was worried about the significant possibility of hazardous materials, oil and natural gas, being released into the environment during this fire. Plains Exploration & Production Company (PXP) took the unusual step of filing a pre-emptive Hazardous Materials Spill Report with the California Emergency Management Agency. Fortunately, a release did not occur, but the dangers are no less diminished for families if the development goes forward.

Linda Strong is chair of the Save the Montebello Hills Sierra Club Task Force

Photo by Alberto Perez