The agency is now in the process of updating its hazard maps, with an expected draft publication date of next summer.įor state Sen. Coffey Park, the suburban subdivision of Santa Rosa that burned in last year’s firestorms, was designated a low fire risk area by Cal Fire. With wildfires growing ever more ferocious-a product of a changing climate, forests increasingly packed with dead and dry kindling, and the encroachment of development into state’s wilderness-it can be hard to tell which parts of California should be considered safe anymore. But what we’re paying this week is a very small fraction of what is needed over the years and decades.” “The zoning and the planning has to take into account the threat of fires, the building of appropriate shelters, so that people can always find a way to escape, and then of course, all the things we’re doing to mitigate climate change. Jerry Brown said at a press conference with U.S. “We’ve got to take intelligent precautions in how we design our cities,” Gov. Which presents lawmakers with a dilemma: impose costly and politically unpalatable regulations on homeowners and rip up existing infrastructure-or simply accept the risk. “It is not a great feeling…to have highlighted an area for its vulnerability, and then having this come to fruition,” said Dave Sapsis, a Cal Fire researcher who helped designate the state agency’s “Fire Hazard Severity Zones.”Īs California grapples with an increasing possibility that the once-in-a-century wildfires that have torched Paradise and Malibu are becoming once-a-year occurrences, larger swaths of the state’s population may find themselves living in the crimson regions of those maps. In color-coded fire hazard maps maintained by Cal Fire, Paradise is a bright red island in a churning sea of pink, orange, and yellow, all denoting various levels of danger. State lawmakers have been aware of the risk too. A sudden wind shift allowed firefighters to cordon off the flames, but the experience left residents intimately aware of the risks of living in Paradise. Thousands scrambled to evacuate, clogging the single road to safety. That June, a fire broke out in one of the canyons southwest of the Butte County town and quickly roared east, up and over the ridge. (To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Camp Fire, including the most recent, click here.As California grapples with an increasing possibility that once-in-a-century wildfires are becoming once-a-year occurrences, larger swaths of the state’s population will find themselves living in the crimson high-risk regions of state maps now being revised. If the map above fails to work, an alternative is to view it here.ĬAL FIRE reports that 6,453 residences and 260 commercial structures have been destroyed in the Camp Fire.Ĭongratulations to ESRI and CAL FIRE for developing and releasing this useful tool. After you read the Information, you may want to click on the “X” to remove the box that covers half of the screen. ![]() To see the map, click above on the “Terms” and then “OK”. ![]() ![]() It appears that the data is not restricted to just structures in Paradise, CA. ![]() The information from the field inspections is subject to change. The data is work in progress and not all areas have been surveyed for damage. (To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Camp Fire, including the most recent, click here.) The blaze has burned more than 117,000 acres at Paradise, California east of Chico. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) has released a map that shows the status of structures affected by the Camp Fire. Example of data collected about damage to structures in the Camp Fire.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |