CHAPTER 10 – HAZARDS AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS - sacog

Homeland Security
The Sacramento Police Department’s Office of Emergency Services and Homeland Security is a
multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional office that coordinates Homeland Security and Urban Area
Security Initiative grants, conducts regional threat and vulnerability assessments, develops
regional and agency terrorism response plans, coordinates and conducts regional
interdisciplinary terrorism response training, designs and coordinates training exercises, and
organizes volunteers to assist with disaster situations. The Office also coordinates with the
Regional Terrorist Threat Assessment Center (RTTAC) and the Terrorism Liaison Officer
Program. The Regional Community Policing Institute (RCPI) is also an integral part of the
Office of Emergency Services and Homeland Security, facilitating the instruction of core
community-based Homeland Security programs, including the Community Emergency
Response Teams (CERT), Neighborhood Emergency Training (NET), terrorist awareness
presentations, and the Cultural Community Academies (Sacramento Regional Office of
Homeland Security, 2011).
Fire Protection Services
The region faces a number of fire threats, especially from wildfires in the foothill areas, as seen
in the summer of 2008 when California experienced a record number of forest fires. Placer
County and Yuba County had significant fires, with over 1,000 acres burned. Described below
are the two types of fire threats the region faces.
Wildfires
The wildfire season typically lasts from early spring to late fall. Hazards arise from a
combination of hot weather, the accumulation of dried vegetation, and low moisture content in
the air. These conditions, if coupled with high winds and drought, can compound the risk and
potential impact of a fire. Fires are usually classified as either urban fires or wildland fires.
However, growth into rural areas has increased the number of people living in heavily-vegetated
areas where wildlands meet urban development, also referred to as the wildland-urban interface.
This trend is spawning a third classification of fires: the urban wildfire. The 1991 “Tunnel Fire”
in the East Bay hills above Berkeley and Oakland is an example of an urban wildfire. A fire
along the wildland-urban interface can result in major losses of property and structures.
In accordance with Public Resources Code Sections 4201-4204 and Government Code Sections
51175-51189, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) has
mapped areas of significant fire hazards based on fuels, terrain, weather, and other relevant
factors. These areas, referred to as Fire Hazard Severity Zones, represent the risks associated
with wildland fires. Figure 10.9 shows the Fire Severity Zones in the SACOG region. Eastern
portions of the SACOG region, are generally more rural and are more prone to wildfire hazards
compared to the rest of the region. Certain areas in and surrounding the region are extremely
vulnerable to fires as a result of dense, grassy vegetation combined with a growing number of
structures being built near and within rural areas.
MTP/SCS 2035
Sacramento Area Council of Governments
Draft Environmental Impact Report Chapter 10 – Hazards and Hazardous Materials – Page 10-29