(BCN) — Areas of Orinda, Richmond, Moraga, San Pablo, Lafayette, Antioch, Clayton, El Cerrito, Brentwood, Danville, Harmony, and Pinole are thought-about very excessive fireplace hazard severity zones, in keeping with new maps launched this week by the Workplace of the State Hearth Marshal.
All of these cities even have unincorporated areas close to them listed within the highest class of extreme fireplace hazard.
The state stated fireplace hazard zones in California have grown on account of climate-driven droughts and longer, extra harmful wildfire seasons.
After the disastrous Southern California firestorms earlier this 12 months, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the state to replace its statewide Hearth Hazard Severity Zone maps for the primary time since 2011.
“We are living in a new reality of extremes,” Newsom stated in a Feb. 6 assertion. “Believe the science — and your own damn eyes. Mother Nature is changing the way we live and we must continue adapting to those changes. California’s resilience means we will keep updating our standards in the most fire-prone areas.”
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Newsom’s order directed the State Board of Forestry to undertake laws generally known as “Zone 0,” requiring an ember-resistant zone inside 5 toes of constructions situated within the highest fireplace severity zones within the state.
Together with updating fireplace severity maps, the order provides 1.4 million new acres of state land into the 2 increased tiers of fireside severity, which can replace constructing and native planning necessities in affected communities.
The state is releasing the maps in phases. Maps together with the Bay Space had been launched Tuesday.
The zones might be discovered at https://bit.ly/3QDAHnk.
In accordance with the state fireplace marshal’s web site, the maps use a science-based and field-tested mannequin assigning a hazard rating based mostly on elements influencing fireplace chance and fireplace conduct.
Hearth historical past, current and potential gas (pure vegetation), predicted flame size, blowing embers, terrain, and typical fireplace climate.
There are three ranges of hazard assigned to areas of attainable fires: average, excessive, and really excessive. State legislation requires owners to clear at the least 100 toes of defensible area round properties in very excessive hazard zones, except native ordinances require extra.
The Contra Costa County metropolis with probably the most acreage within the “very high” class of extreme fireplace hazard is Orinda, with 5,241 acres, not together with close by unincorporated areas. That is greater than twice the acreage in 2011, when the state stated Orinda had 2,424 acres thought-about a really excessive hazard.
Orinda additionally has 803 acres within the “high” class and 928 “moderate” acres.
The fireplace marshal’s workplace stated the maps consider “hazard,” not “risk.”
“They are 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,” the workplace stated on its web site. “‘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.”
Contra Costa’s second largest “very high” hazardous space is in Richmond with 4,395 acres, up from 4,129 in 2011.
Each Orinda and Richmond’s highest threat of wildfires are in steep hillside areas.
Not surprisingly, Orinda’s neighbor Moraga — which borders the Las Trampas Wilderness Regional Protect — has the third most hazardous acreage with 2,290 acres, up from solely 419 acres in 2011.
Moraga has 2,238 acres thought-about “high” and 863 “moderate” acres.
The state stated Clayton has 1,302 very excessive hazardous acres, one other 359 thought-about excessive and 215 thought-about average.
Lafayette had extra acres within the very excessive class than some other metropolis in Contra Costa in 2011. By 2025, that quantity moved right down to 41, although Lafayette now has 5,309 acres thought-about excessive hazard — greater than any metropolis in Contra Costa.
Folks can see what zone they’re in by going to osfm.fireplace.ca.gov/FHSZ. Copyright © 2025 Bay Metropolis Information, Inc
