California Wildfire Regulations Spark Debate Over Home Defensibility
PASADENA,โ Calif. โข- A proposal too โขcreate “ember-resistant defensible zones” around homes in โhigh-risk areas isโ generating โboth support andโฃ criticallyโ important oppositionโ across California, as the state Board of forestry and Fire Protection races to finalize the regulations by year’s end. Ordered โby Governor Newsom to expedite โthe process, the โboard is weighing rules focused on the area promptly surrounding structures -โข dubbed “Zone Zero”โฃ – to โคmitigate wildfire damage.
Zone zero specificallyโข targets the space within five feet of a home’s perimeter. The proposed regulations would require this area within “very high fire hazard severityโ zones” to be maintained to resist ember intrusion, a โคprimary cause of wildfire-related home destruction.
According to the forestry board’s executive Director, Tony anderson, the focus is โon maintaining healthy vegetation, โnot โฃnecessarilyโข removal.โค “No dead orโข dying branches,make sure debris is off of your roof,” Anderson explained,adding that wood mulchโฃ close to the home might need to be raked back.
However, opponents argue the rules โare overly โrestrictive and could negatively impact urban tree canopies, possibly โincreasing temperatures and โcreating a greater fire risk. Thelma Waxman, โคpresident of theโ Brentwood โHomeowners Association, stated, “Zone โZero would devastateโข our neighborhood, stripping shade,โ destabilizing hillsides, โraising energy bills and straining the grid, and it would do allโ of this without making us safer.”
The forestry board acknowledges the regulations will affect โคapproximately two million structures, representing 17% of all buildings in California. Compliance is projected toโข be costly, with Los Angeles City Councilmember Traci Park’s โขrepresentative, Sarahโข Flaherty, โestimating โremoval of an estimated โฃ2,000 acres of vegetation across los โคAngeles alone, at a cost of โroughly $13,000 per property owner.
The board is currently accepting public feedback on the proposed regulations,โ with a final decision expected in โขDecember. theโ rules are slated to go into affect in January, with a phased implementation over the following threeโ years.