City requiring 100-foot defensible space around homes in fire-prone areas

By Matthew Rodriguez

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    RIVERSIDE, California (KCAL/KCBS) — The Riverside City Council passed an ordinance requiring 100 feet of defensible space around buildings in high-hazard fire zones.

The ordinance also requires more fire-resistant landscaping and coordination across property lines. City leaders passed the new rule following the state’s new fire hazard severity zone maps, which placed portions of the Hawarden neighborhood in the highest category. Last July’s Hawarden Fire burned 13 homes. It started after teens allegedly lit fireworks in the brush.

Cal Fire’s new hazard maps also required residents in very high zones, like Hawarden, to maintain the 100-foot defensible space clearance around homes and adjoining decks.

Defensible space is a buffer zone that helps prevent a fire from burning a building or property. Similar to control lines, defensible space can potentially stop the flames from spreading to homes while also creating a safe space for firefighters to control the blaze.

Prior to the new maps, firefighters typically recommended a minimum of 30 feet of defensible space surrounding a property.

Residents can create buffers by removing flammable brush or vegetation surrounding their homes, such as dead or dying plants. Firefighters have created step-by-step guides for building defensible spaces.

While the council unanimously approved the new regulations, Councilmember Chuck Conder criticized the move, calling it a nonsensical plan “put together by the governor and his cronies.”

The Office of the State Fire Marshal’s Community Wildfire Preparedness and Mitigation Division updated the nearly 15-year-old fire hazard severity maps to help local governments identify areas susceptible to wildfires. Zones are evaluated by the likelihood and potential intensity of the fire.

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