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Wildfires demonstrate need for preparations

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Wildfires demonstrate need for preparations

LOS ANGELES—Recent wildfires north of Los Angeles should serve as a reminder to risk managers to be prepared well ahead of time for the often fast-moving peril, according to experts.

As of Friday, the fires that authorities said were set intentionally had ravaged 147,000 acres, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The blazes had destroyed 64 houses and 27 outbuildings and other structures, but only three commercial properties and two communications sites.

Observers credit the paucity of commercial development in the area of the blaze and weather conditions for the relatively light commercial losses.

“It's still very smoky,” said Alexandra Glickman, area vice chairman for Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services Inc. in Glendale, Calif. “But it's relatively far away from any commercial exposures.”

“This is a very big fire. Fortunately, it is not occurring during the Santa Ana winds or it would be a much more severe event and pose an even more drastic risk for commercial and industrial properties,” said Lou Gritzo, vp and manager of Factory Mutual Insurance Co.'s FM Global Research in Norwood, Mass.

“This is just yet another time for risk managers to identify interdependency, identify ingress/egress routes, and to preplan for any restoration services they might need, particularly smoke removal,” said Ms. Glickman. “It is most germane for companies with clean rooms and other operations that require ultrafiltered air.”

One of the few major commercial facilities threatened by the fire stands atop Mount Wilson. There, a man-made metal forest of antennae and other broadcasting equipment appeared vulnerable as the flames spread.

Some of the equipment belongs to KABC-TV, the Los Angeles ABC affiliate that is owned by a subsidiary of Burbank, Calif.-based Walt Disney Co.

Preparation against the wildfire peril began with construction of the facility, Joe Mannetta, director-loss prevention and business continuity planning in Disney's corporate risk management department, said in an e-mail.

Because fires are prevalent in the area, the transmitter building was constructed with noncombustible, steel-reinforced concrete, and the antenna tower can withstand environmental conditions, Mr. Mannetta said.

“Protection also includes fire prevention and suppression that is feasible in the area. The station works with our property and business-interruption insurance carrier, FM Global, to mitigate exposures such as replacing combustible vegetation with noncombustible landscaping within the allowable perimeter of the property and as allowed by the U.S. Forest Service,” he said.

Because the volume of water needed to suppress a fire can be in short supply, the transmitter equipment is protected using a gas suppressant, and the station can shut down the outdoor air dampers to prevent smoke and embers from entering the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, Mr. Mannetta said.

“Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the firefighting teams...the suppression system did not activate and the station was able to close those outdoor air intakes to prevent smoke from infiltrating the sensitive transmitter equipment,” wrote Mr. Mannetta.

He said an initial engineering impact inspection “revealed no obvious smoke or fire damage to the transmitter structure and its contents. There was also no evidence of burned or scorched vegetation in the area around the antenna tower and transmitter. Such assessments will continue until well after the fire threat is gone.”

Risk managers in wildfire-prone areas can take several steps to mitigate the impact before a blaze occurs, said FM Global's Mr. Gritzo. These include some of those taken by KABC.

For example, the site for a facility needs be considered before it's built, he said. “Try to avoid slopes because fire spreads very quickly up slopes,” he said.

Clearance zones should be created around all structures, with a minimum of 100 feet for grass fires and 330 feet for woodland fires, he said.

In the recent fires, authorities said brush in some areas had not been cleared for decades.

“If a risk manager finds himself in the position of having a fire in his backyard or region, there are three things they can do right away,” said Mr. Gritzo.

“The first is to remove any debris, clear the yard and anything on their roof—pine needles, leaves, refuse” to avoid it being set ablaze by burning embers, he said.

Facilities also should be protected from smoke, he said. Winds can carry smoke into sensitive interior areas, so seal windows and doors to keep ventilation systems working right.

Have a plan in case the fire gets closer, he said. This includes how to evacuate operations, maintain business continuity, and recover once the fire is out, he said.

Of course, risk managers also need to review property policies, said Arnold Mascali, managing director-rapid response for Aon Horizon Consultants in New York.

“If a risk manager is going to look to his property policy, the key is to look if there's a trigger of coverage, he said. “You have to have damage at an insured location before that property policy is triggered.”

“Once you determine there has been damage at an insured location, some of the issues we see are issues regarding smoke damage,” Mr. Mascali said.

For example, if a clothing retailer is inundated with smoke, damage to cloth and material can be more significant than damage to the building, he said. “You need to determine whether the clothing was damaged beyond repair,” he said.

Senior Editor Roberto Ceniceros contributed to this report.