Governor Newsom Signs Executive Order to Further Improve Community Hardening and Wildfire Mitigation
Governor Newsom Signs Executive Order to Further Improve Community Hardening and Wildfire Mitigation
On February 6, Governor Newsom signed an executive order to launch key initiatives to continue adapting to future catastrophic wildfires and strengthen community resilience to urban conflagration. The executive order:
- Directs the State Board of Forestry to accelerate its work to adopt regulations known as “Zone 0,” which will require an ember-resistant zone within 5 feet of structures located in the highest fire severity zones in the state.
- Tasks the Office of the State Fire Marshal with releasing updated Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps for areas under local government responsibility, adding 1.4 million new acres of land into the two higher tiers of fire severity, which will update building and local planning requirements for these communities statewide.
- Requires CAL FIRE and Cal OES to work with local, federal and tribal partners on improvements to the Federal resource ordering system for wildfire response.
California Continues Quick and Effective Action to Assist Los Angeles Fires Recovery
California Continues Quick and Effective Action to Assist Los Angeles Fires Recovery
Governor Newsom has launched historic recovery and rebuilding efforts to accelerate recovery and signed legislation providing over $2.5 billion to support ongoing response and jumpstart recovery efforts for Los Angeles. The Governor has signed 15 executive orders that together are:
- streamlining rebuilding of homes and businesses;
- cutting red tape and suspending permitting requirements under the California Coastal Act;
- removing bureaucratic barriers to provide critical regulatory relief to help fire survivors rebuild, and access essential services;
- providing tax and mortgage relief to impacted communities and businesses, as well as extending tax deadlines;
- fast-tracking temporary housing and protecting tenants; and
- mobilizing debris removal and cleanup and protecting communities from flooding and landslides.
Additionally State resources have come together to accelerate a safe recovery for Los Angeles:
- The California Conservation Corps (CCC) responded quickly in recovery efforts by installing silt socks and straw wattles around storm drains in the burn zones to keep contaminants found in the ash from washing into the Los Angeles watershed. This was the largest deployment of Corpsmembers in CCC history targeting erosion and contaminant control.
- The California Department of Water Resources deployed over 30 watershed experts and engineers to Los Angeles to support fire mitigation work in burn scar areas and protect downstream communities by keeping toxic runoff out of local watersheds.
- The California Department of Conservation deployed its Watershed Emergency Response Teams to the front lines to quickly assess post fire hazards such as debris flows, flash floods, and falling rocks.
- The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is supporting intake of burned and impacted wildlife to rehabilitation centers, as well as relocating wildlife to help expedite recovery for both people and animals. CDFW also mobilized staff and volunteers to rescue a population of endangered Steelhead trout in Topanga Creek.
- California State Parks is working with US EPA, Cal OES, and CalEPA to help the recovery effort by hosting two temporary sites to safely process hazardous household materials removed from properties destroyed by the Palisades Fire.
Managing Wildfire Risk in Southern California’s Chaparral Landscapes:
THE PROBLEM: The largest and most catastrophic wildfires in Southern California strike during Santa Ana winds, when extremely dry conditions combine with high winds and ignitions along roadways and powerlines. Climate change has made these conditions more extreme and more likely, and the recent Los Angeles fires are among the most damaging natural disasters in the state’s history.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IS UNIQUE: Managing landscapes for wildfire resilience looks different in Southern California from the rest of the state. Unlike California’s conifer forests, Southern California’s chaparral-dominated ecosystems suffer from too much fire. Therefore, fuel treatments such as prescribed fire are generally not appropriate as a tool to reduce wildfire risks as more frequent fires lead to the conversion of chaparral into more flammable non-native grasses, which creates even greater fire risk. Accordingly, primary wildfire resilience tools in Southern California communities are preventing ignitions hardening homes and communities, and strategic fuel breaks.
What Works
1.
IGNITION REDUCTION:
Ignition reduction work focuses on reducing the potential sources of ignition and removing fuels in areas where ignitions are more common. Undergrounding of utility lines and restricting access to unauthorized trails are examples of reducing potential ignition sources. Where ignitions are more common, such as along roadsides, removing easily ignitable fuels, such as non-native grasses, can reduce the likelihood of an ignition becoming a wildfire. All Californians can prepare for wildfires and take steps to prevent human ignitions. Actions such as mowing dry grass before 10 a.m., ensuring debris burns and campfires are completely extinguished, and ensuring vehicles are properly maintained before travel help reduce ignitions.
“Most of the fires that are started here in Southern California are not in fact lightning caused, they’re caused by people.”
– Scott Tangenberg, Forest Supervisor for Cleveland National Forest
2.
STRUCTURE HARDENING: Once a fire starts, pre-fire work to create defensible space and harden structures, especially removing flammable materials from Zone Zero (within 5 feet of structures) and installing ember-resistant vents, offers the best chance to reduce risk to homes near the flame front.
“We definitely know from our research and post-fire analyses of defensible space that zone zero is the most critical.”
– Steve Hawks, Senior Director for Wildfire at the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety
3.
STRATEGIC FUEL BREAKS: When placed strategically and properly maintained, fuel breaks can reduce fire risk and enable firefighters to protect communities safely and effectively. Three key factors – fire weather, strategic placement, and continued maintenance – determine fuel break effectiveness.
“Fuel breaks are somewhat controversial, because there is a net ecological loss when you create them, but they are beneficial when they are strategically placed. “
– Megan Jennings, Research Ecologist at San Diego State University
What Doesn't Work
1.
FUEL BREAKS UNDER EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS: Under extreme fire weather conditions, such as the recent Santa Ana winds during the Los Angeles fires, fuel breaks, and other fuel reduction projects, play a smaller role in reducing fire spread as wind carries embers well in front of the active flame front.
“All of the brush clearance, fuel breaks — they’re very effective on what we would consider a normal day, but what you’re talking about here is probably less than 1% of all the fires that we respond to in Southern California. You could have put a 10-lane freeway in front of that fire and it would not have slowed it one bit.”
– Chief Brian Fennessy, Orange County Fire Authority
“I do not believe there is anything that wildland management could have done to qualitatively or substantially alter the outcome of these fires.”
– Alexandra Syphard, Senior Research Ecologist with The Conservation Biology Institute
“With any ignition and the fuels being so dry, those wind-driven fires are almost unstoppable when the winds are that high. For the fires we’re seeing, I think you’d have a hard time arguing those could be prevented with fuels treatments.”
– Lenya Quinn-Davidson, Director of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network
2.
WIDESPREAD BRUSH CLEARING: Strategically-based fuel breaks can be highly effective at reducing fire risk, but more widespread chapparal clearing can also cause damage by completely removing vegetation, affecting habitat and increasing the risk of spreading more flammable non-native species, which can also indirectly increase fire risk.
“Large-scale attempts to preemptively thin or burn these coastal areas could therefore actually make the landscape more flammable in the long run.”
– Max Moritz, Wildfire Specialist at UC Santa Barbara
“Unlike in forested areas, fuel reduction in the region’s chaparral shrublands risks harming the ecosystem rather than making it healthier.”
– Patrick T. Brown, The Breakthrough Institute
3.
UNMAINTAINED FUEL BREAKS: Unmaintained fuel breaks and disused roads create places for flammable non-native grasses to thrive, which increases ignition risks. One-time treatments and unmaintained fuel breaks can have the unintended effect of actually increasing fire risk.
4.
PRESCRIBED FIRE IN CHAPARRAL LANDSCAPES: Unlike many other parts of California, prescribed and managed wildfire in Southern California is not a widespread solution because fires are occurring MORE frequently than they did historically. Too much fire is leading to conversion to more flammable non-native grasses, resulting in even greater fire risk.
“In our shrublands we have too much fire, and we want to have less. Too much fire means shrublands turn to grasslands”
– Megan Jennings, Research Ecologist at San Diego State University
Resources:
*Information included in this document was sourced from the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force’s Southern California Regional Profile.
Find practical ways to protect your home from wildfire: Defensible Space | CAL FIRE
Senator Padilla Introduces Three Bipartisan Bills to Bolster Fire Resilience and Proactive Mitigation Efforts
Senator Padilla Introduces Three Bipartisan Bills to Bolster Fire Resilience and Proactive Mitigation Efforts
On February 3, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) introduced a package of three bipartisan bills to bolster fire resilience and proactive mitigation efforts. The package includes:
· Wildfire Emergency Act— Would reduce the threat of destructive wildfires through forest restoration, firefighter training, energy resilience retrofits, and wildfire-hardening home modifications in low-income communities. Specifically, the legislation would:
- provide the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) with a pilot authority to leverage private financing to increase the pace and scale of forest restoration projects;
- authorize funding for programs to expand the forest conservation and wildland firefighting workforce;
- establish an energy resilience program at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to ensure that critical facilities remain active during wildfire disruptions, authorizing up to $100 million for necessary retrofits;
- expand an existing DOE weatherization grant program to provide up to $13,000 to low-income households to make wildfire-hardening retrofits;
- expedite the placement of wildfire detection equipment on the ground, such as sensors or cameras, as well as the use of space-based observation;
- establish a prescribed fire-training center in the West and authorize grants to support training the next generation of foresters and firefighters; and
- authorize up to $50 million to support community grants of up to $50,000 for locally focused land stewardship and conservation.
· Fire-Safe Electrical Corridors Act— Would allow the USFS to approve the removal of hazardous trees near power lines on federal lands without requiring a timber sale, thereby easing the removal of hazardous trees, and reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire. This would allow the USFS to provide standing permission for electrical utilities to cut and remove hazardous trees near power lines within existing rights-of-way without requiring a timber sale. Utilities would be required to return any proceeds to the USFS.
· Disaster Mitigation and Tax Parity Act— Would further incentivize homeowners to proactively protect their homes from disasters by providing a tax exemption on payments from state-based programs. Specifically, the bill excludes qualified catastrophe mitigation payments made under a state-based catastrophe loss mitigation program from gross income calculations.
USDA California Climate Hub Provides Forestry Resource Repository for Land Managers
New Website Provides Forestry Resource Repository for Land Managers
The USDA California Climate Hub released a new webpage that compiles datasets and decision-support tools to help land managers and natural resource professionals with assessing the conditions of a landscape for project planning. The list is not exhaustive of all resources but focuses on data and tools available to the public, with an emphasis on resources available within the state of California. The repository also contains a series of factsheets, produced by the USDA California Climate Hub, that offer a succinct overview of the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force’s Regional Resource Kits and its constituent products.
Survey Open to Collect Input from Landowners on Prescribed Burning
Survey Open to Collect Input from Landowners on Prescribed Burning
In collaboration with the University of California Cooperative Extension, Pennsylvania State University is conducting a survey to better understand private landowner perspectives and potential intentions to use planned burning in California. The objectives of this project are to:
•Evaluate private forest landowners’ attitudes towards prescribed fire in California.
•Identify barriers and opportunities for prescribed fire adoption in the state.
•Develop tailored support strategies for California landowners.
•Assess the influence of policy and environmental factors on prescribed fire use in California.
Spring Regional Meeting
Spring Regional Meeting – Marin County, CA
The Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority and Fire Safe Marin are hosting the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force Regional Meeting March 27 at the Embassy Suites in San Rafael, California. A remote attendance option will be available via Zoom.
The meeting on March 27 will focus on critical issues related to community wildfire risk reduction and landscape management in Marin County. We will kick off the day with refreshments and a resource fair.
On March 28, Task Force partners will host field tours offering immersive opportunities to better understand the critical landscape health and wildfire resilience work being done in Marin County and the greater Bay Area.
New for this meeting! The Climate and Wildfire Institute and Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority are hosting special Keynote Speaker Event the evening of March 26 at the Embassy Suites.
EVENT SCHEDULE
March 26
Keynote Speaker Event
Sponsored by Climate and Wildfire Institute and the Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority
6pm at Embassy Suites
Details and registration coming soon!
March 27
Spring Regional Meeting
– Resource Fair – 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM
– Morning Session – 10:00 AM to 12:15 PM
– Lunch – 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
– Afternoon Session – 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM
– Reception at Embassy Suites – 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM (Meeting registration is required.)
March 28
Field Tours
Details and registration coming soon!
hotel information
RESOURCES
MARCH 27 AGENDA
COMING SOON!
MARCH 28 TOUR REGISTRATION
COMING SOON!
MARCH 26 KEYNOTE REGISTRATION
COMING SOON!
field tours
FIELD TOURS WILL BE OFFERED ON OCT 9 & 11
All tours will be accessed by bus. Parking/meet up locations TBD.
Lunch will not be served.
Tahoe Forest Products Mill
See the first new industrial-scale sawmill built in Sierra Nevada in several decades.
Destination: Tahoe Forest Products worked in partnership with the Washoe Development Corporation an affiliate of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada & California to construct the first new industrial-scale sawmill in the Sierra Nevada in several decades. The mill provides employment opportunities for local citizens and tribal members while supporting forest health and wildfire restoration efforts throughout the Central Sierra. Visit the mill and learn about both the innovative partnerships and engineering that made this long-envisioned opportunity a reality.
Three Tours: start times will be 12:30, 1:00 and 1:30 pm.
Tour lasts approximately 2.5 hours.
Caldor Fire Preparation, Response, and Recovery
Learn what happened before, during, and after one of 2021’s largest wildfires.
Destination: This tour will showcase projects and treatments implemented prior to the 2021 Caldor Fire, successes and lessons learned during initial response to the fire, as well as the significant efforts that have helped the impacted ecosystems recover and accelerated access to recreational opportunities in this post-fire landscape. Tour stops will include Echo Summit, Christmas Valley, Pioneer Trail, and Fountain Place.
Start/End Time: 9am – 1pm
West Shore Prescribed Fire and Indigenous Stewardship
See impacts of long-term prescribed burn projects and multi-benefit ecosystem restoration.
Destination: This tour will visit the renowned Sugar Pine Point State Park to view the effects of a decades-long prescribed fire program. The tour will then explore Máyala Wáta at Meeks Meadow to learn how the Washoe Tribe is partnering with diverse groups to restore ecosystems and habitat by addressing the detrimental impacts of historical cattle grazing, logging, and fire suppression.
Start/End Time: 9am – 1pm
East Shore Shared-Use Trail and Recreation Management
Recreate on a scenic shoreline trail and learn about managing forests in high-visitation areas.
Experience by foot one of Tahoe’s most scenic and historic shoreline trails. Participants will have the opportunity to walk all or part of this spectacular 3-mile pave path while gaining insights on the challenges and solutions for managing forests in high-visitation areas.
TIME: 9am – 1pm
Questions? Please contact foresttaskforce@fire.ca.gov
Thank You to our Hosts
Thank You to our Sponsors
Sugar Pine Point State Park
Sugar Pine Point State Park, Lake Tahoe
TOPIC: Beneficial Fire Long term benefits/results
HOST: Rich Adams, CA State Parks
Sugar Pine Point State Park along the West Shore of Lake Tahoe is an exemplary area showing impacts of long-term prescribed burn projects and ecosystem restoration. Under the management of CA State Parks (title tbd) Rich Adams, who has been living and working in the area for 25 years.
Rich spoke to us about the ups and downs, trials and eventual worthwhile tribulations of his experience conducting prescribed burns in this popular camping destination that is also in proximity to homes and recreation facilities.
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Timing & Milestones
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For more detailed information about the ongoing efforts please contact :
Rich Adams, CA State Parks
Task Force Launches New Work Group on Healthy Watersheds
Task Force Launches New Work Group on Healthy Watersheds
August 6, 2024 – The Task Force launched its newest work group which focuses on a critical aspect of the CA Wildfire & Forest Resilience Action Plan – the intersection between watershed health and landscape resilience to wildfire.
It’s well known that wildfires adversely impact watersheds. But it’s important to also recognize that healthy watersheds play a key role in mitigating catastrophic wildfires. The Watershed Work Group promotes fire resilience and watershed health programs that share these important priorities.
Visit the Healthy Watersheds Work Group webpage to learn more about the Work Group partnering organizations and to access a list of programs, plans, and strategies focused on California’s water supply and security.