A giant wildfire torched 25,000 acres of brush northeast of Los Angeles last week, but the flames claimed only a few homes and no lives. Many disaster relief experts consider California's emergency response system a model for the rest of the nation.
ALEX CHADWICK, host: This is DAY TO DAY.  I'm Alex Chadwick.</s>ALEX CHADWICK, host: It's wildfire season out West.  Three fires are burning now in the      southern part of California.  Last week, a fire outside Los Angeles went      through nearly 25,000 acres, but only three homes were lost and nobody      was injured.  It was luck, experts say, but also a lot of planning that's      making California a model for the nation.  NPR's Carrie Kahn reports.</s>CARRIE KAHN reporting: It was about three in the morning last Thursday when sheriff deputies      pounded on the door of Bob Rosenzweig's Ventura County home.</s>Mr. BOB ROSENZWEIG (Ventura, California, Resident): And they said,      `You've got about 15 minutes and you need to get out.'  So immediately,      you know, you pack up what you can.  We got our dog and our wedding album      and left and headed off to my parents' in Tarzana.</s>KAHN: Rosenzweig was one of hundreds of residents evacuated over 48      hours last week as the wildfires spread over two counties and through      dozens of densely packed suburban subdivisions.  By the time he was      retelling his story to a reporter later that day, Rosenzweig and his      family and the dog were already back home.</s>Mr. BOB ROSENZWEIG (Ventura, California, Resident): What's amazing is how these firefighters, with how close      it is to our home, can protect the homes--it's shocking to me how they do      it.</s>KAHN: Residents weren't the only ones commending firefighters' quick      control of the blaze.  Politicians lined up at press conferences to      congratulate officials.  Even the media piled on the praise.  Los Angeles      County Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman says a lot went right in fighting      the fire.  Foremost, the winds died down and cooler weather prevailed.      But he says from the evacuations to setting up a unified command,      everyone followed the plans.</s>KAHN: Chief P. MICHAEL FREEMAN (Fire Chief, Los Angeles County Fire      Department): That means that we come together at a common point, we make      joint decisions, and we develop one plan of action, and then we executed      in a unified way.</s>KAHN: Executing disaster plans has become California's forte, says Eric      Lamoureux of the state's Office of Emergency Services, so much so that      federal planners are now using California's standardized emergency system      as the model for the nation.  Lamoureux says the key to the system's      success is getting all emergency personnel trained exactly the same way.</s>Mr. ERIC LAMOUREUX (Office of Emergency Services, California): No matter      what community they've come from, they can integrate into an emergency      and they're speaking with the same terminology that the commanders of the      incident are using.  They operate with the same operating systems and      same understanding of how to deal with that particular emergency.</s>KAHN: In California, that means taking care of the basics, like making      sure emergency responders from different agencies can always talk to each      other, something that was a major problem in New Orleans dealing with the      aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  LA County Fire Chief Freeman says every      year without fail he's dealing with another California natural disaster      and getting another chance to learn from his mistakes.  He says first      responders in other parts of the country have to find ways to practice.</s>Chief FREEMAN: To attempt to teach and to train first responders in      various agencies in incident command without some realistic practical      exercise, to me, is like trying to teach somebody how to ride a bike by      reading a book.</s>KAHN: Even with all its practice, California doesn't have a perfect      record. The response to a major fire in San Diego two years ago, a blaze      that claimed more than 2,000 houses and 14 lives, was found severely      lacking.  That disaster was claimed on scarce resources and bad      communication, two missteps that officials say were not repeated during      last week's fire.  Carrie Kahn, NPR News, Los Angeles.</s>ALEX CHADWICK, host: DAY TO DAY continues just ahead.  Stay with us.  I'm Alex      Chadwick.