Cal Fire's new Fire Hazard Severity Zone map allows Californians to search for an address and see the location's probability of being affected by fire. The map assesses fire hazard, rather than risk, based on the physical conditions that create a likelihood of fire behavior over a 30 to 50-year period. The map considers terrain, local weather, and fire history over 50 years. Areas are ranked as moderate, high, or very high fire severity. The map is effective as of April 1, 2024 and focuses on areas under state responsibility, excluding federal land like the Sierra Nevada Mountains and some parts of the Bay Area.
As wildfires continue to burn in Southern California, some residents may be wondering whether their home or business is an area more susceptible to fire. Cal Fire's Fire Hazard Severity Zone map allows Californians to search for an address and see the location's probability of being affected by fire.
The map specifically assesses fire hazard, rather than risk, the agency says. "The map is like flood zone maps, where lands are described in terms of the probability level of a particular area being inundated by floodwaters, and not specifically prescriptive of impacts," Cal Fire says. "‘Hazard’ is based on the physical conditions that create a likelihood and expected fire behavior over a 30 to 50-year period without considering mitigation measures such as home hardening, recent wildfire, or fuel reduction efforts."When assessing an area's fire hazard severity, Cal Fire looks at the probability of an area burning and "expected" fire behavior under extreme weather conditions. The agency looks at a variety of other factors, including terrain, local weather and fire history over a 50-year period.The agency's fire map looks specifically at areas under state responsibility, which does not include every part of the Bay Area or federal land like the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Mendocino National Forest and Lassen National Forest. Areas on the map are ranked either as moderate, high or very high as far as fire severity. The map was effective as of April 1, 2024.Some of the Bay Area is under state responsibility, while other areas are under local responsibility, the map shows.For the cities and addresses under local responsibility, the gray areas in the map above, residents can see maps of their individual cities and counties here. The California Public Utilities Commission also has its own fire threat map that looks at areas in the state that have a higher risk of a fire related to a utility, like PG&E or Southern California Edison."The CPUC map includes fire hazards associated with historical powerline-caused wildfires, current fuel conditions, and scores areas based on where fires start, as opposed to where potential fires may cause impacts," CAL FIRE said.
WILDFIRE CALIFORNIA FIRE HAZARD CAL FIRE RISK MAP
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