Gov. Newsom orders updates to California wildfire maps
A month after wildfires erupted in Los Angeles, destroying more than 12,000 structures and burning roughly 40,000 acres, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Thursday to protect urban areas from extreme firestorms.
His executive order directs the Office of the State Fire Marshal to publish updated Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps, areas under local government responsibility that are more prone to wildfires due to natural vegetation, fire history, proximity to wildland, blowing embers, terrain type and yearly weather patterns. California’s most recent maps were updated last April.
“We are living in a new reality of extremes. Believe the science – and your own damn eyes: Mother Nature is changing the way we live and we must continue adapting to those changes,” Newsom said in a press release. “California’s resilience means we will keep updating our standards in the most fire-prone areas.”
Last week, the Palisades, Eaton and Hurst fires, which broke out in early January, reached 100% containment, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The fires killed at least 24 people and displaced more than 100,000 people in Los Angeles County.
Newsom’s order also requires the Office of the State Fire Marshal to add 1.4 million new acres of land into the two highest tiers of fire severity. It also directs the State Board of Forestry, which protects the California’s forest and wildland resources, to mandate ember-resistant zones within 5 feet of structures located in the highest fire severity zones.
According to CalFire, ember resistant zones are part of defensible spaces around properties, with the urgency of vegetation management increasing with proximity to structures. The goal, according to the agency, is to have space between grass, shrubs and trees in order to slow the spread of fire, starting at the building and working outward, up to 100 feet away or the property line.
California’s wildfire building code, which went into effect in 2008, requires all new builds to have fire-resistant siding, tempered glass, vegetation management and vents for attics and crawlspaces designed to resist embers and flames.
According to the announcement, once the updated zones and maps are released, local government jurisdictions have 120 days to incorporate the state fire marshal’s recommendations.
