Latest news with #FireHazardSeverity
Los Angeles Times
30-05-2025
- General
- Los Angeles Times
With resignation, Mission Viejo approves state fire map that shows hazard zones
After residents expressed concerns about the potential impact on fire insurance rates, a resigned Mission Viejo City Council moved forward with the adoption of an updated state map that identifies homes in 'very high' or 'high' wildfire hazard zones. Mission Viejo received the map from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, on March 24 and posted it on its website so residents could review the risk designations. The city hosted a workshop and a property insurance town hall in the lead-up to Tuesday's meeting. Residents frustrated by skyrocketing fire insurance rates — when not losing coverage altogether — viewed the map with skepticism, especially a very high wildfire hazard area around Wilderness Glen, unofficially dubbed the 'volcano' or the 'bullseye.' 'I'm a retired firefighter and I looked at this plan when they started implementing it a couple years ago and that 'volcano' was not there,' said Kenny Dossey, who lives in the very high hazard zone. 'All of a sudden, now it appears. For those of us that understand fire, we know that's bogus.' Dossey's comments echoed the frustrations of residents who found the map a top-down gift to insurance companies in the wake of the Eaton and Palisades fires. Councilmembers acknowledged frustrations expressed by residents while at the same time relaying information provided by representatives during the May 19 property insurance town hall. 'The maps that the insurance companies use are not those [Cal Fire] maps,' said Councilmember Wendy Bucknam. 'They actually utilize other maps. Will these [Cal Fire] maps have an effect on that? I don't know. I can just share with you what was stated by the experts at the town hall.' Bucknam also noted that fire insurance rates increased before formal adoption of the map. Located in the Saddleback Valley, Mission Viejo is one of 16 Orange County cities with very high wildfire hazard areas. Adoption of the Cal Fire map is mandatory and cities do not have the authority to change the risk designations, though they can offer feedback to scale an area's hazards upward. 'The Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps are vital for wildfire resistance in California and Mission Viejo,' said Cliff Jones, the city's planning manager. 'They support local and state fire planning and response and help protect lives, property and infrastructure.' Councilmember Trish Kelley, who noted that her own fire insurance doubled, wanted to know if mitigation efforts in Wilderness Glen — part of a $2 million Cal Fire grant awarded to Mission Viejo — could change the area's risk designation before maps are updated again in five years. 'No,' Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief Cheyne Maule said. 'The work that's being done mitigates the risk … but the maps are to be adopted as they are today until the next time they draw them up.' Kelley asked why the Wilderness Glen area evolved into a very high fire hazard zone from the previous map. 'The science and the modeling has changed, and that's what, essentially, produced the maps,' Maule said. Mayor Bob Ruesch said the California Department of Insurance is willing to look at residents who 'harden' their homes through brush and vegetation removal and sealing their attics. 'That alone is probably the most significant thing that you can do to save your home, to lower the rates,' he said. 'I want, in the event that we do have a fire, your home [to be] the one you come back to. That's not to mitigate what we need to do as a city. We need to do a better job.' Last summer, city officials observed brush-clearing goats at work at a Rancho Santa Margarita Water District site. San Clemente and Laguna Beach deploy goats to their dried out hillsides too. 'Goats are coming to Mission Viejo,' said Jerry Hill, assistant city manager, to applause from the chamber. Before welcoming a herd, councilmembers voted 5-0 to give initial approval of the Cal Fire map with decidedly less enthusiasm. 'That passes, unfortunately, unanimously,' Ruesch said.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Updated Cal Fire Hazard Maps Reveal High-Risk Zones in L.A. County
Cal Fire officials have released updated Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ) maps, marking the fourth and final round of hazard map updates since the previous release in 2011. The newly released interactive maps categorize fire hazard zones into three levels: Moderate, High, and Very High. These classifications draw from both science-based and field-based testing models, taking into account natural topography, past fire history, vegetation, and wind Fire explains these maps function similarly to flood zone maps, "where lands are described in terms of the probability level of a particular area being inundated by floodwaters, and not specifically prescriptive of impacts." The maps assess physical conditions to highlight wildfire probability rather than indicate potential fire impacts. They don't factor in mitigation measures such as home hardening or fuel reduction updated hazard zones are part of Cal Fire's "Phase 4" recommendations, focusing on fire severity across Southern California, including L.A. County. Significant portions of L.A., particularly in the foothills and canyon regions, have been designated as Very High Hazard Zones, marked in red on the updated maps. According to ABC News, "very high fire hazard" zones in Southern California have expanded by 26% since 2011, increasing from 646,838 acres to 817,212 acres. State Fire Marshall Daniel Berlant told CalMatters that climate change, improved data models, and state legislation updates likely contributed to this release of these updated maps comes just one week before the March 31 deadline for homeowners affected by January's wildfires to opt into a federal debris removal program. Homeowners need to sign up by this deadline to speed up recovery efforts.L.A. residents can check their neighborhood's fire hazard designation by reviewing Cal Fire's interactive map below or by clicking here. Never Miss a Beat! Subscribe to Los Angeles Magazine's The Daily Brief for daily updates delivered straight to your inbox. Join below or by clicking here.
