Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday, Feb. 6, called on the state Board of Forestry to speed up ember-free regulations ordered four years ago to help fire-proof homes.
A state law adopted in August of 2020 requires a “zone zero,” a 5-foot area surrounding homes in high fire hazard areas.
The new zone was added to the “defensible space” property owners are supposed to maintain around their homes. It’s designed to reduce wildfire ignitions by putting rock, brick or paving around structure perimeters and removing wood fences and vegetation that can wick wildfires into a house.
Also see: LA County wildfire losses seen as high as $164 billion, UCLA says
The law called on the state State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection draft regulations for how these ember-free zones should be implemented.
Newsom said in a statement that he would sign an executive order directing the forestry board “to advance implementation” of those regulations.
However, board Executive Officer Edith Hannigan told the Southern California News Group it will take another six to nine months before those regulations will be put out for public comment.
“There are rules about how to write and approve promulgations,” Hannigan said.
Fires that began on Jan. 7 consumed more than 38,000 acres in Los Angeles County, leaving 29 people dead and destroying more than 16,000 homes, buildings and other structures.
Under the latest proposal, existing homes would have three years to comply with the regulations, so it is not clear how many homes would have been saved, The Associated Press reported. But clearing the immediate area around homes likely would have made some difference, several experts said.
The ember-free law originally was set to take effect by Jan. 1, 2023, according to the AP.
Hannigan said she couldn’t comment on whether those rules could be accelerated because she hadn’t seen the governor’s executive order.
U.S. Rep Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), who authored the “zone zero” measure while in the state Assembly, hailed the governor’s action.
“We passed this bill … several years ago, and nothing happened after that. That is extremely frustrating to me today,” Friedman told SCNG. “As we rebuild in these areas, we need to have this in place now, because it’s a no-brainer in an existing home to have an ember-resistant zone built into your landscape.”
Having those standards in place would have saved people money and would help lower people’s insurance costs, Friedman said, adding that creating an ember-free zone was based on fire-resiliency studies showing that 5 feet of non-combustible space can reduce a property’s fire risk.
“We know that embers are the major cause of home loss, and up to 90% of home ignitions occur because of embers coming from the outside,” Friedman said. “The most important thing is to protect ourselves and our families and our properties. So, making just a few changes to your landscape can make a huge difference.”
The main purpose of the guidelines is to educate homeowners about fire risks and how they can mitigate them, she said.
“It’s common sense, but a lot of homeowners don’t realize this, because we’ve never put these guidelines into place for people,” Friedman said.
Hannigan said that while her agency began working on the regulations soon after the law was passed, they still are in the pre-rule-making phase, adding that the rules are complex because of the cost of retrofitting homes to meet the ember-free standard.
“The board recognizes that there are costs associated with doing this work around homes and structures,” she said. “Right now, we’re focused on identifying options for financial assistance as well as education and outreach to help owners prepare and prioritize mitigations.”
Asked if the regulations could have been completed sooner, Hannigan — who plans to leave her post Feb. 14 — said, “There are always things that could have been done differently.”
“This should have been done years ago, and we see now why this is so important,” Friedman said. “One house that is a fire risk can put a whole neighborhood at risk, and we know that. So this is about giving people guidance. This is about, hopefully, educating people.”
On another matter, Newsom also called on California Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant to release updated fire maps adding 1.4 million acres to the two higher tiers of fire risk, subjecting homeowners in those areas to fire mitigation rules, the AP reported.
A spokesperson said in an email that the Fire Marshal’s Office recently implemented new maps for “state responsibility areas,” and has been updating maps for local areas.
“With the Governor’s action, we will begin providing maps immediately,” the spokesperson said.