California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced plans to accelerate the implementation of regulations aimed at making homes in high-risk fire areas more fire-resistant in the wake of devastating wildfires in Los Angeles.
The rule requires homeowners in fire-prone regions to clear combustible materials, such as dead plants and wooden furniture, within 5 feet of their homes to reduce the risk of fire spreading.
Driving the news: The state Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, responsible for finalizing the regulations, has faced delays in drafting them.
- The requirements were initially passed by the Legislature in 2020 and scheduled to take effect by 2023.
The big picture: Neighborhoods affected by the Palisades Fire, including Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Topanga Canyon, will be mandated to adhere to state requirements on clearing combustible materials around homes due to their high fire risk.
- Under the proposed rules, existing homes would have three years to comply with the regulations, aimed at enhancing home resilience against wildfires by clearing immediate surroundings of flammable materials.
Zoom in: The executive order will expand fire-prone areas by 1.4 million acres, encompassing new regions subject to the home-hardening rules.
- The establishment of the “ember-resistant” zone, known as “zone zero,” prohibits materials like brush, wooden fencing, and mulch within 5 feet of homes to mitigate wildfire risks associated with flying embers.
- California’s stringent defensible-space laws require homeowners in fire-prone areas to maintain fire-free surroundings around houses as a preventive measure against wildfires, initially set at 30 feet in the 1960s and later expanded to 100 feet in 2006.
What he’s saying: “The devastation in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena aren’t new lessons,” Newsom said. “They are the latest lessons in urban firestorms that have devastated communities across the globe. To meet the needs of increasingly extreme weather, where decades-old buildings weren’t planned and designed for today’s realities, these proposals are part of a bigger state strategy to build wildfire and forest resilience from forest management, to huge investments in firefighting personnel and equipment, community hardening, and adopting state-of-the-art response technologies.”
