New Fire Maps Show Increased Hazard Zones In Riverside County

In the next few weeks, city officials across Riverside County will begin adopting new maps highlighting the region’s increased vulnerability to wildfires.

The new recommended Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps, released last month by the California Forestry and Fire Department (Cal Fire), designate thousands of acres as “moderate,” “high” and “very high” hazard zones, with some areas doubling or tripling in wildfire-prone spaces since 2011 when the last maps were released.

“The main purpose of these maps is to define the areas that have the likelihood of wildfire, and then connect important wildfire mitigations that protect people who live within those areas,” State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant said.

Some homeowners could also be facing new regulations as a result. Those in “high” hazard zones would need to disclose that to potential buyers when selling their homes, while those with a “very high” designation must comply with fire-resistant building standards and follow certain safety guidelines.

Cal Fire worked on the maps for several years, according to Berlant, combining data like local weather, topography and land use to create accurate extreme weather predictions. The latest releases cover areas where it’s the responsibility of local governments — counties and cities — to manage wildfire threats.

With the new maps released, local jurisdictions must make the maps publicly available for inspection and comment by the end of this month, Berlant said, with final maps and zones adopted by the end of July.

“They can extend areas,” Berlant said. “They can make areas into a higher level, but they cannot decrease the areas.”

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors, which governs the unincorporated communities, will follow the same steps, according to Kylie Tillema, assistant fire marshal for the Riverside County Fire Department. The agency plans to also be available for each city’s officials during this period, she said.

“Many of our deputy fire marshals who are responsible for the different partner cities are meeting with the jurisdictions to meet with city staff and some of the council members,” Tillema said. “Just to talk a little more in-depth about what this means before they post their maps.” 

Although the hazard zones grew significantly throughout the region, Riverside County Fire Chief Bill Weiser said Cal Fire’s findings were in line with what his department has experienced.

“Within our fire team, here in Riverside County, we absolutely do understand where some of the more troubled areas are,” Weiser said. “One thing that we’re going to continue [is] working with our cities [so] that [they’ve] got fire planning, ensuring communities are being planned in a wise and smart way.”

The maps are also an essential component for educational events and emergency preparation, according to Emergency Management Department Director Bruce Barton. His team plans to use the new data to identify locations for townhalls and preparedness events in the coming months.

“It’s another tool to create a sense of urgency with our preparedness and mitigation outreach to the communities,” Barton said. “We’re going to utilize these to once again reiterate our communications.”