Glendale (PDF) - Hazard Mitigation Web Portal - State of California
Glendale (PDF) - Hazard Mitigation Web Portal - State of California
Glendale (PDF) - Hazard Mitigation Web Portal - State of California
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Natural <strong>Hazard</strong>s <strong>Mitigation</strong> PlanCity <strong>of</strong> <strong>Glendale</strong>, <strong>California</strong>Section 7 – Wildfireshazard assessment systems have been developed for the purpose <strong>of</strong> identifying and quantifyingthe severity <strong>of</strong> the hazard in a given area. Those that have been developed or used in <strong>California</strong>are described further below. Early systems characterized the fire hazard <strong>of</strong> an area based on aweighted factor that typically considered fuel, weather and topography. More recent systemsrely on the use <strong>of</strong> Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to integrate the factorslisted above to map the hazards, and to predict fire behavior and the impact on watersheds.• HUD Study System: In April 1973, the <strong>California</strong> Department <strong>of</strong> Forestry and FirePrevention (CDF) published a study funded by the Department <strong>of</strong> Housing and UrbanDevelopment (HUD) under an agreement with the Governor’s Office <strong>of</strong> Planning andResearch (Helm et al., 1973). As is <strong>of</strong>ten the case, the study was conducted in responseto a disaster: during September and October 1970, 773 wildfires burned more than580,000 acres <strong>of</strong> <strong>California</strong> land. The HUD mapping process relied on informationobtained from US Geological Survey (USGS) 15- and 7.5-minute quadrangle maps onfuel loading (vegetation type and density) and slope, and combined it with fire weatherinformation to determine the Fire <strong>Hazard</strong> Severity <strong>of</strong> an area.• <strong>California</strong> Department <strong>of</strong> Forestry and Fire Protection – <strong>State</strong> ResponsibilityAreas System: Legislative mandates passed in 1981 (Senate Bill 81, Ayala, 1981) and1982 (Senate Bill 1916, Ayala, 1982) that became effective on July 1, 1986, required theCDF to develop and implement a system to rank the fire hazards in <strong>California</strong>. Areaswere rated as moderate, high or very high based primarily on fuel types. Thirteendifferent fuel types were considered using the 7.5-minute quadrangle maps by the USGeological Survey as base maps (Phillips, 1983). Areas identified as having a fire hazardwere referred to as <strong>State</strong> Responsibility Areas (SRAs) (Public Resources Code Section4125). These are non-federal lands covered wholly or in part by timber, brush,undergrowth or grass, for which the <strong>State</strong> has the primary financial responsibility <strong>of</strong>preventing and suppressing fires.• Bates Bill Process: The Bates Bill (Assembly Bill 337, September 29, 1992) was adirect result <strong>of</strong> the great loss <strong>of</strong> lives and homes in the Oakland Hills Tunnel Fire <strong>of</strong>1991. Briefly, the <strong>California</strong> Department <strong>of</strong> Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF), incooperation with local fire authorities was tasked to identify Very High Fire <strong>Hazard</strong>Severity Zones (VHFHSZs) in Local Responsibility Areas (LRAs). To accomplish this,the CDF formed a working group comprised <strong>of</strong> state and local representatives thatdevised a point system that considers fuel (vegetation), slope, weather, and dwellingdensity. To qualify as a VHFHSZ, an area has to score ten or more points in thegrading scale.Once the boundaries <strong>of</strong> a VHFHSZ have been delineated, the CDF notifies the local fireauthorities that are responsible for fire prevention and suppression within that area.Since the <strong>State</strong> is not financially responsible for Local Responsibility Areas, localjurisdictions have final say regarding whether or not an area should be included in aVHFHSZ (Government Code Section 51178). As a result, although several areas in<strong>California</strong> have adopted the <strong>State</strong>-developed fire hazard maps, many local jurisdictionsdid not acknowledge the Bates system, and developed their own maps instead. Localjurisdictions that do not follow the Bates system are required to follow at a minimumthe model ordinance developed by the <strong>State</strong> Fire Marshal for mitigation purposes. TheCity <strong>of</strong> <strong>Glendale</strong> is one <strong>of</strong> the cities that has developed its own fire hazard map and hasadopted stringent hazard mitigation programs that have <strong>of</strong>ten been years ahead <strong>of</strong> <strong>State</strong>regulations. This will be discussed further in the following sections <strong>of</strong> this report.2006 PAGE 7 - 8