FIRE MOP-UP PLAN STIRS DEBATE

State land accord addresses sensitive habitat, but it may not have affected LAFD response.

- BY JENNY JARVIE, ALENE TCHEKMEDYIAN AND NOAH HAGGERTY

FIREFIGHTERS battle the Palisades fire, which followed the Lachman blaze.

As the Los Angeles Fire Department and California State Parks face mounting scrutiny over their handling of a small brush fire that reignited into the deadly Palisades blaze, a newly released document details the agencies' agreement on restricting how fires were fought and mopped up in some parts of Topanga State Park.

The Wildfire Management Plan for Topanga State Park - a local operating agreement between California State Parks Angeles District, the L.A. Fire Department and other local and state firefighting agencies - outlines concerns about "sensitive" plants, animal species and tribal sites. It states that "modified mop up for ground fuels should be utilized where possible" and "spading should be minimized and restricted to hot areas near fire lines."

The document was released this week by the state to attorneys representing Palisades fire victims. It sets out some basic guidelines and restrictions, which fire experts say are pretty standard in agreements between land managers and fire agencies. But it remains unclear whether those procedures in any way restricted firefighters from fully extinguishing the Lachman fire.

In a move that could yield answers, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Samantha P. Jessner signaled Tuesday she would sign an order as early as next week for the depositions of 12 L.A. firefighters and up to five State Parks representatives.

When the firefighters and state employees are deposed, attorneys will probably question them about their personal observations responding to the Lachman fire, how the two agencies coordinated and whether the Fire Department agreed to any restrictions on tactics.