Board OKs changes to ordinance designating ‘Fire Hazard Severity Zones’

RIVERSIDE, Calif.(KESQ) - The Board of Supervisors approved Riverside County Fire Department Chief Bill Weiser's request to draft a revised ordinance delineating which communities should be designated fire risk zones, encompassing large swaths of the county, where households are already feeling the impacts from escalating property insurance costs.

Changes to Ordinance No. 787 will reflect updates to the Fire Hazard Severity Zone Maps published in March by the Office of the State Fire Marshal, which is part of Cal Fire, the agency under contract with the county for fire protection services going back nearly a century.

The updated maps depict locations that rate "moderate," "high'' and "very high" under criteria established by Cal Fire.

The practice of classifying localities by zone began in the early 1990s, and since then, the Legislature has modified how classifications occur, focusing on ``local responsibility areas,'' in addition to ``state responsibility areas.''   

After the maps are ironed out, they're submitted to local jurisdictions -- counties and cities -- for consideration and approval after public hearings.

``The dramatic increase in areas designated as high fire risk, specifically within the city limits, has been exponential,'' Lake Elsinore Mayor Bob Magee said in a statement released Friday. ``The insurance industry has responded, raising rates and cancelling homeowners' insurance policies left and right.''  

Magee has been one of the most outspoken critics of the latest zone changes, complaining that the Office of the State Fire Marshal did not accommodate the city's and others' attempts to contribute to the rating process.

Magee said that as a member of the State Board of Fire Services, he and the lobbying organization the League of California Cities tried to arrange for an agendized hearing involving Cal Fire administrators.

``The Zoom link on the agenda was missing one digit, preventing remote participation from those wishing to comment,'' the mayor said.   

Magee expressed bewilderment over the updated maps and how they were arranged, pointing out that ``a significant portion of our lake -- underwater -- has been designated as a High Fire Risk.''

Comments from Cal Fire were requested several times, but as of Tuesday afternoon, the agency had not responded after acknowledging receipt of questions.

``Once again, the elites in Sacramento stiff-armed the ability for local officials with intimate knowledge of their communities to have a voice,'' Magee said. ``As a result, hundreds of taxpaying homeowners now face the very real possibility of being unable to obtain homeowners insurance to protect their largest investment.''   

Along with Lake Elsinore, other cities and unincorporated communities countywide now have high or very high Fire Hazard Severity Zone risk designations.

The thousands of homes ringing the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Park in Riverside, as well as properties within a large slice of the city's western border with Norco, fall into red-lined tiers.

The same applies to parts of Banning, Canyon Lake, Calimesa, French Valley, Mead Valley, Meadowbrook, Menifee, Moreno Valley and Temescal Valley. Segments of the Coachella Valley generally rank at the moderate level.   

Movable maps can be viewed at osfm.fire.ca.gov/what-we-do/community- wildfire-preparedness-and-mitigation/fire-hazard-severity-zones.   

Representatives in other cities were asked to comment on the changes but did not immediately respond.

Although the California Department of Insurance placed a moratorium on policy cancellations in January, the requirement only covers areas impacted by the major wildfires in Los Angeles County that resulted in thousands of damaged or destroyed properties amid the Santa Ana windstorm at the start of the year.  

``Fire Hazard Severity Zones are designated based on the likelihood of fire occurring and its expected behavior over a 30- to 50-year period,'' according to a county fire statement posted to the board's agenda Tuesday. ``These zones are determined using factors such as fuel loading, terrain, fire weather conditions, historical fire activity and wind patterns.''   

The revised county ordinance will include mandates regarding "defensible space'' around properties, land use planning, building code standards and full disclosures when real estate is sold, according to fire officials.