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Title: |
California Regulations for Very High Fire Hazard Zoning and Defensible Space
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Type: |
Regulatory
Fuelbreaks
Designation of high risk areas
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Jurisdiction: |
State
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State: |
California
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Program Description: |
California Fire Hazard Zoning Laws
California has enacted statewide laws aimed at reducing wildfire hazards in Wildland-Urban Interface areas. For the complete text of the Fire Hazard Zoning Field Guide and the California Fire Hazard laws please view fire safe planning web site.
The laws are based on fire hazard assessment and zoning. The first step in regulating fire hazards is an acknowledgment of the existence of areas of severe fire hazard, i.e. assessment and mapping of high hazard and severe high hazard areas. There are laws for state-responsibility areas (SRA), and laws for local responsibility areas (LRA). The zoning laws apply to various aspects of land use, including but not limited to:
- structural components such as roofing;
- defensible space standards such as vegetative clearance around structures;
- infrastructure such as fire apparatus access and water supplies;
- preventative land use planning such as greenbelts and fuel breaks.
State and Local Responsibility Areas
State Responsibility Areas (SRA) are defined as areas of the State in which the financial responsibility of preventing and suppressing fires has been determined by the State Board of Forestry pursuant to PRC 4125, to be primarily the responsibility of the State (PRC 4102). SRA fire regulations are found in the California Code of Regulation, Title 14, Division 1.5, Chapter 7, Article 1, Sections 1220-1220.5, and can be found on the Firesafe Planning website. Lands not in the State Responsibility Area are lands owned or controlled by the federal government or any agency of the federal government, and lands within the exterior boundaries of any city (PRC 4127). Roughly one-third of California is classified as State Responsibility Area. Local Responsibility Areas (LRA) are incorporated towns and cities where land use and planning decisions are the responsibility of the local governing bodies.
Bates Bill 337 - Government Code 51175-51189
The Bates Bill, which became law January 1, 1993, added Government Code Sections 51175 et seq.. and amended Health and Safety Code Section 13108.5. It required the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) to identify and classify fire hazards in the LRA. This classification is the identification of "very high fire hazard severity zones" (VHFHSZ). The classification is based on the occurrence of a number of factors including: fuels, weather, topography and structural density. These VHFHSZ are shown on maps distributed to the towns and counties by CDF.
Participation of a local authority in the Bates plan is discretionary. Localities may disagree with the classification of very high fire hazard severity zones (VHFHSZ) and choose not to adopt the recommended legislation. Objections must be supported with substantial evidence that the land does not fit the VHFHSZ classification criteria, or show that the jurisdiction already has in place regulations that meet or exceed the Bates requirements.
The Office of the State Fire Marshal was required to develop and adopt a Model Ordinance for the Defensibility of Space and Structures, which could be used by local authorities as an example of a typical and desirable set of pre-fire safety regulations to be adopted and enforced at the local level.
Local jurisdictions which participate in the Bates project must adopt a local ordinance which requires defensible space and vegetation clearance minimums in addition to roof requirements and other safety measures. Two model ordinances are included in the Appendix to the Fire Hazard Zoning Field Guide.
The Fire Hazard Zoning Field Guide
The Fire Hazard Zoning Field Guide, published by the University of California Forest Products Laboratory, May 2000 contains a Model Ordinance for Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone Adoption, and the Model Ordinance for the Defensibility of Space and Structures, and supporting documents. These can be downloaded from the State Fire Marshal web site. The two model ordinances work together to create a framework for local governments to reduce wildfire risk in very high fire hazard severity zones.
Model Ordinance for Very High Fire Hazard Zone Adoption
The model ordinance says that the Fire Chief is authorized to designate Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones in the locality after receiving recommendations from the CDF. The Fire Chief may designate additional areas as VHFHSZ, and the Fire Chief may decline to designate areas identified by CDF as VHFHSZ, based on findings supported by substantial evidence. The Building Official shall enforce the provisions of Section 3203, Title 24 California Code of Regulations in all VHFHSZ designated by the Fire Chief.
Model Ordinance for the Defensibility of Space and Structures
Regulations dealing with the creation and maintenance of defensible space in the VHFHSZ are contained in the Model Ordinance for the Defensiblility of Space and Structures. The model ordinance is written so that county or local government could adopt it verbatim. It addresses new construction, and compliance must be ascertained before the issuance of a grading permit, or a building permit in instances where no grading permit is required. The Model Ordinance deals with a multitude of infrastructure issues, including public and private road standards, address signage requirements, and building construction standards. Those sections dealing with vegetation removal and management for the reduction of wildfire risk in WUI areas are included below:
First, a definition of defensible space is provided as "the area within the perimeter of a parcel, development, neighborhood or community where basic wildland fire protection practices and measures are implemented, providing the key point of defense from an approaching wildfire or defense against encroaching wildfires or escaping structure fires." Further: "The perimeter as used herein is the area encompassing the parcel or parcels proposed for construction and/or development, excluding the physical structure itself. The area is characterized by the establishment and maintenance of emergency vehicle access, emergency water reserves, street names and building identification, and fuel modification measures."
Guidelines for Reduction of Fire Hazards
Section 5 of the Model Ordinance offers specific guidelines for the reduction of fire hazard applicable to any person who owns, leases, controls, operates, or maintains any dwelling or structure in, upon, or adjoining any mountainous area, forest-covered land, brush-covered land, grass-covered land, or any land that is covered with flammable material, which area or land is within a very high fire hazard severity zone shall at all times do all of the following:
- Firebreaks. Maintain around and adjacent to the building or structure a firebreak made by removing and clearing away, for a distance of not less than 30 feet on each side thereof or to the property line, whichever is nearer, all flammable vegetation or other combustible growth. This paragraph does not apply to single specimens of trees, ornamental shrubbery or similar plants that are used as groundcover, if they do not form a means of rapidly transmitting fire from the native growth to any building or structure.
- Additional Firebreaks. Maintain around and adjacent to any such building or structure additional fire protection or firebreaks made by removing all brush, flammable vegetation, or combustible growth which is located from 30 feet to 100 feet from any such building or structure or to the property line, whichever is nearer, as may be required by the Fire Chief if he/she finds that, because of extra hazardous condition, a firebreak of only 30 feet around the building or structure is not sufficient to provide reasonable fire safety. Grass and other vegetation located more than 30 feet from the building or structure and less than 18 inches in height above the ground may be maintained where necessary to stabilize the soil and prevent erosion.
- Trees. Remove that portion of any tree that extends within 10 feet of the outlet of any chimney or stovepipe.
- Dead or Dying Wood. Maintain any tree adjacent to or overhanging any building free of dead or dying wood.
- Vegetative Growth. Maintain the roof of any structure free of leaves, needles, or other dead vegetative growth.
- Setback. All parcels 1 acre and larger shall provide a minimum 30-foot setback for buildings and accessory buildings from all property lines. For parcels less than 1 acre, jurisdictions shall provide for the same practical effect.
- Disposal of Flammable Vegetation and Fuels. Disposal, including chipping, burying, burning or removal to a landfill site approved by the local jurisdiction, of flammable vegetation and fuels caused by site development and construction, road and driveway construction, and fuel modification shall be completed prior to completion of road construction or final inspection of a building permits.
- Greenbelts. Subdivisions and other developments, which proposed greenbelts, as a part of the development plan, should locate said greenbelts strategically as a separation between wildland fuels and structures. The locations shall be approved by the authority having jurisdiction.
Exceptions to these vegetation removal requirements include the following:
- Habitat for endangered or threatened species, or any species that is a candidate for listing as an endangered or threatened species by the state or federal government.
- Land kept in a predominantly natural state as habitat for wildlife, plant, or animal communities.
- Open space lands that are environmentally sensitive parklands.
Finally, the model ordinance states:
The Provisions of this ordinance are reasonably necessary because of the following local climatic, geographical and topographical conditions:
- Very high fire hazard severity zones have been identified and adopted by local ordinance pursuant to Government Code Sections 51175 through 51178.
- The very high fire hazard severity zones are located in areas, which are subject to periodic conditions of high velocity winds and high temperatures with accompanying low humidity.
- The climatic conditions described above are further accentuated by the topographical features of the hill and canyon areas, and the presence of highly combustible vegetation in the identified very high fire hazard severity zones.
- The conditions described above make these areas nearly inaccessible and operationally difficult for fire suppression and evacuation activities.
Contact Information
For additional information, please contact Tom Hoffman at the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
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