
Bay Area home building in Wildland Urban Interface areas increases residential wildfire risk
A data analysis by the CBS News Data Team shows a growing number of Bay Area homes are facing increased wildfire risk.
In the 1990s, about 917,000 homes in the Bay Area were in Wildland Urban Interface areas, or WUI. Those areas are on land that sits on the edge or within wilderness, putting it at high fire risk.
By 2020, there were 1.2 million homes in the WUI, a 27% increase.
In some areas, more than 80% of homes are in the WUI:
Lake County: 95%
Marin County: 88%
Mendocino County: 87%
Napa County: 84%
In terms of growth, Alameda County saw a 40% increase in the number of homes in the WUI (between 1990 and 2020).
Contra Costa County saw a 33% increase in the same time frame.
In Alameda County, about 1 in 3 homes are in the WUI. In Contra Costa County, about 2 in 3 homes are in the WUI.
The city of Brentwood, which has a population of 65,126, saw a 23x increase:
1990: 395 homes in the WUI
2020: 9051 homes in the WUI
Andy Bozzo, a battalion chief at the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, knew well about the WUI even before he was a firefighter. Bozzo, a biology major in college, wrote about "forest succession in a wildfire environment" for his final senior paper.
"Most plant species [native to California] are born to burn. They're evolved to burn and live in a fire environment. We also need to evolve to live in a fire environment in California. That can be tough sometimes," Bozzo said. "Now, we're creating these dense neighborhoods and pushing really deep into these wildlands that it's just a fact of life… When you push into wildland, you're going to have higher encounters with things like wildfire."
Last June, the Empire Fire sparked near homes in Brentwood, including Rodney Griffin's.
Griffin, who moved into his Brentwood home in 2002, said it was the worst fire he'd seen from his home.
"We've had fires within a couple of miles of the place that I've often watched from upstairs burn, but none have really quite threaded our home quite like (the Empire Fire)," Griffin said. "We could've had quite a lot of destruction."
No homes or structures were destroyed in the Empire Fire, which was fully contained after burning 250 acres.
"[These neighborhoods are] beautiful. They have beautiful views. But in the summer time, if a fire gets a good head of steam, it can spot ahead of itself," Bozzo said. "That's what we worry about in neighborhoods like this."
Separately, for the first time in 15 years, Cal Fire also released a new fire-risk map for the Bay Area. The red areas on the map represent very high-risk fire zones.
Sonoma County saw the biggest increase with that designation, while Oakland saw its fire hazards reduced.
Homeowners in the danger zones will eventually have to use more fire-resistant building materials and landscaping and create a five-foot "ember-resistant" zone around their homes.
In the Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year, fences fueled the spread of the flames.
The state will also require fences that connect to homes to be made out of something other than wood.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Eater
3 hours ago
- Eater
I Went on a Quest to Find the Best Seattle Dog Outside T-Mobile Park
As far as regional hot dogs go, the Seattle dog is a weird one. Chicago has dogs 'dragged through the garden' with all sorts of fixings. D.C. has its chili-covered half-smokes. Seattle chose a bizarre flourish of delicious whimsy. Though its origins are contested, the first documented mention of the city's namesake glizzy can be traced to The Stranger in 1999, when Traci Vogel reviewed the stand outside SoDo's the Showbox, writing, 'They make something which, when I first heard it described, sounded repulsive, but turned out to be sublime (and nothing endears me more to food than this turn of events): the cream cheese hot dog. This hot dog, nicely cooked, appears in a crispy bun smeared with cream cheese.' These days, hot dog stands in Seattle are almost required to come equipped with cream cheese, though it's the pairing with caramelized, slightly crunchy onions that make the flavor special. You'll find some of the best options during Mariners homestands, when seemingly endless Seattle dog purveyors crowd the neighborhood where the delicacy was invented. On game days, stands equipped with cream cheese start from Occidental Avenue on the west side of Lumen Field and extend all the way to Showbox SoDo. It can be hard to choose from the many vendors vying for your attention, so we tried all eight Seattle dogs available before a recent Mariners game to find what separates a quality dog from the rest of the pack. (For the sake of consistency, all dogs were eaten with cream cheese and onions only, without additional toppings. All stands have more toppings available.) The best tasting dog can be found at the blue tent of SoDo Grill. The default option is a massive Polish dog that's saltier, pepperier, and richer in flavor than the competition. The meats are steamed before they're grilled, and they're given ample time to develop texture through char. The business is busy — the secret is evidently out about the quality here — but a well-staffed tent ensures minimal wait times. Plus, there's a ludicrous array of toppings available, and it's one of the cheaper dogs at only $7. Al Griffin, owner of Al's Gourmet Sausage, has carried cream cheese without fail since 1994, when a sloshed patron outside the Bohemian Cafe in Pioneer Square came equipped with their own. 'He had it wrapped in aluminum foil,' says Griffin. 'I swear I stared at him for 10 minutes.' While other stands serve slippery onions with little pizazz or color, the onions at Al's are the kind you smell before you see. Deeply golden brown, with a rich, almost buttery flavor, they're the best on the block. Al's also has great reggae music, infectious vibes, and a generous hand with the cream cheese. There are two Al's in the Lumen Field row; be sure to visit the larger stand closer to the stadium to be served by Griffin himself. A small one-person stand located right outside SoDo Showbox, Monster Dogs distinguishes itself with thin, lightly crisped, caramelized onions and butterflied dogs. Slicing the meat may upset some purists, but ultimately it allows for more texture during grilling, and the shape functions as a mini-trough to more safely apply precarious toppings such as jalapeños or relish. Additionally, a butterfly cut avoids any risk of a disappointing, lightly cooked, waterlogged dog. At Seattle Sausage, onions marinated in barbeque sauce add a welcome distinction from the rest of the stands. The line moves quickly and the employees are friendly. You'll know Hot Dogs Sinaloa, on the corner of Edgar Martinez Drive and First Avenue (across the street from King 5), by the small depiction of Jesus on the front of the stand. While the flavor on the dog is fairly standard, its bacon wrapping and accompaniment of bell pepper, jalapeños, and mayo transform this offering into a sort of Tijuana/Seattle dog hybrid (albeit without as many toppings). This spot, as well as the stands on the corner of Royal Brougham near the left field gate, often change out frequently, but if you're on the lookout for a bacon-wrapped Seattle dog, you'll likely find one at these locations. See More:
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Crews respond to commercial structure fire in Paso Robles
Paso Robles Fire and Emergency Services responded to a structure fire at 2508 Spring St. on Saturday morning. The first unit arrived at 5:07 a.m. and found a deck and tree on fire that were threatening the structure, according to a news release. Two fire engines, one truck and one battalion chief from Paso Robles responded, as well as two fire engines and one battalion chief from Cal Fire and a truck from Atascadero Fire. The Paso Robles Police Department and San Luis Ambulance also provided support, the release said. Fire crews put out the fire before it extended to the building, and no injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation, according to the news release.


CBS News
7 days ago
- CBS News
New California fire maps show which areas in the Sacramento region are most at risk. See where your home stands
A recent CBS News study revealed that more homes in the Sacramento area are at risk of wildfire. The findings show that more than 90% of homes are in the Wildland Urban Interface, or areas where urban communities and houses meet forested or natural landscaped areas. "Well, it's very surprising," said Jenny Ferreira, who lives in Elk Grove. The findings come as a surprise to some residents like Ferreira. CBS News collected data that shows the number of homes in the WUIs has exploded in Elk Grove, specifically in the southern area near the Sky River Casino. According to the data, 85 homes were in the WUI in 1990 compared to close to 10,000 homes in 2020, and the area just keeps growing. Cal Fire recently released fire hazard severity maps, but on the maps, one part of Elk Grove is not highlighted as a severity zone. CBS News Sacramento got answers directly from the state fire marshal on why. "Hazard is really the likelihood of a fire and risk is really looking at the damage the wildfire is going to do," said California State Fire Marshal Chief Daniel Berlant. Berlant said the Cal Fire maps only look at hazards, which are based on long-term factors like topography, weather, fire history and vegetation type that cannot change, whereas fire risk can change. "What was the home built out of? Does that home have defensible space? Is there water supply? Is there a fuel break? Is there fire protection?" Berlant said. CBS News Sacramento asked him if it is safe to build communities in the WUIs. Chief Berlant responded, yes, as long as you follow Cal Fire's building codes, home harden and have five feet of defensible space. "The challenge is 90% of homes in wildfire-prone areas were built before this current code went into effect in 2008," Berlant said. "Our challenge is how can we help homeowners retrofit their home." Consumnes Fire defines most areas around Elk Grove as grassland. Cal Fire said if a fire were to ignite here, it would not burn as severely as in a mountain community that is surrounded by forest. Although that does not mean the homes are completely out of the woods. According to CBS News' data collected from the First Street Foundation, 35% of homes in the Sacramento region could be at "major risk" of wildfire in the next 30 years and 19% of homes at "severe risk." "I might look into converting my grass into rocks," said Vonn Lam, who lives in Elk Grove. Lam has lived in the area since 2005 and never felt threatened by fire, but it is on her radar now. "I do need to be mindful of all the vegetation near me," Lam said. "I am very worried about the insurance going up and a lot of insurance is not covering California because of the fires." Berlant said the issue is that there is no consistency with risk models, which are typically what insurance companies use to determine who to insure. "While we are mapping hazards, insurance companies are mapping risk," Berlant said. Cal Fire is researching how fire spreads from one home to another to better understand risk. "Regardless, if you live near an area that is near a field, a grassland, a forested area, you should be prepared," Berlant said. We cannot change the terrain, but we can change how we live in the terrain - working together to prevent another devastating wildfire.