Glendale (PDF) - Hazard Mitigation Web Portal - State of California

Natural Hazards Mitigation PlanCity of Glendale, CaliforniaSection 7 – Wildfires• California Fire Plan: The 1996 California Fire Plan is a cooperative effort between theState Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and the CDF (California Board of Forestry,1996). This system ranks the fire hazard of the wildland areas of the State using fourmain criteria: fuels, weather, assets at risk, and level of service (which is a measure ofFire Department’s success in initial-attack fire suppression). The California Fire Planuses GIS data layers to conduct the initial evaluations, and local CDF Ranger Units arethen tasked with field validation of the initial assessment. The final maps use a Fire Plangrid cell with an area of approximately 450 acres, which represents 1/81 of the area of a7.5-minute quadrangle map (called Quad 81). The fire hazard of an individual cell isranked as moderate, high or very high. This system is expected to replace the currentState Responsibility Areas process, but at the time of this writing, the California FirePlan has not been implemented. For additional information regarding this system referto http://www.fire.ca.gov/FireEmergencyResponse/FirePlan/FirePlan.asp.• FireLine System: The Insurance Services Office (ISO) developed a program used bythe insurance industry to identify those areas where the potential loss due to wildfire isgreatest (ISO, 1997). ISO retained Pacific Meridian Resources of Emeryville, Californiato develop the FireLine software, which uses satellite-imagery interpretation to evaluatethe factors of fuel types, slope and roads (access) to develop the risk rating. Mostinsurance companies that provide insurance services to homeowners in California nowuse this system. This software is only available through ISO. Updated versions of thissystem are being developed that include the factors of elevation, aspect, and relativeslope position.• National Fire Plan: Funding for the National Fire Plan was authorized by Congress inOctober 2000 in response to the wildfires of that year. The plan is a cooperative effortof the US Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, the Department of the Interior,and the National Association of State Foresters. National Fire Plan maps showcommunities that are within the vicinity of federal lands that are at high risk fromwildland fire. The plan uses hazardous fuel reduction treatment techniques (includingprescribed fire alone, mechanical treatment alone, mechanical treatment plus prescribedfire, and other/wildland fire use, such as allowing lightning-caused fires to burn) toreduce the impact of wildland fire on communities within the urban-wildland interface.For additional information refer to http://www.fireplan.gov/.A major component of the National Fire Plan is funding for projects designed to reducefire risks in developed areas and at the urban/wildland interface. A fundamental step inrealizing this goal was the identification of areas that are at high risk of damage fromwildfire. Federal fire managers authorized State Foresters to determine whichcommunities were under significant risk for wildland fire on Federal lands. The CDFundertook the task of generating the state's list of communities at risk. WithCalifornia's extensive Wildland-Urban Interface situation, the list of communitiesextends beyond just those on Federal lands. The CFA has identified 1,264 firethreatenedcommunities in California, one of which is Glendale. For additionalinformation refer to http://www.cafirealliance.org/.• FARSITE, BEHAVEPlus and FlamMap: These are PC-based programs that can beused by local fire managers to calculate potential fire behavior in a given area using GISdata inputs for terrain and fuels. The purpose of these models is to predict fire behavior.Data inputs that can be used in the analyses include elevation, slope, aspect, surface fuel,canopy cover, stand height, crown base height and crown bulk density.2006 PAGE 7 - 9