DOCSLIB.ORG

Wildfires City of Newport Beach, California SECTION 8: WILDFIRES

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Wildfires City of Newport Beach, California SECTION 8: WILDFIRES Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan Section 8 – Wildfires City of Newport Beach, California SECTION 8: WILDFIRES Table of Contents Why Are Wildfires a Threat to Newport Beach? ............................................ 8-1 Historic Fires in Newport Beach and Vicinity ......................................................................... 8-1 Historic Fires in California ............................................................................................................ 8-2 Wildfire Characteristics ..................................................................................... 8-6 The Interface ................................................................................................................................... 8-6 Fuel ..................................................................................................................................................... 8-7 Topography ...................................................................................................................................... 8-7 Weather ............................................................................................................................................ 8-8 Urban Development ....................................................................................................................... 8-8 Wildfire Hazard Identification and Regulatory Context................................. 8-9 HUD Study System ........................................................................................................................ 8-9 State Responsibility Areas ............................................................................................................. 8-9 Bates Bill Process .......................................................................................................................... 8-10 California Fire Plan ........................................................................................................................ 8-11 FireLine System .............................................................................................................................. 8-11 National Fire Plan .......................................................................................................................... 8-11 BEHAVEPlus, FARSITE, FlamMap and FSPro .......................................................................... 8-12 Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 ................................................................................................. 8-13 Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) ...................................................................... 8-13 National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy...................................................... 8-14 Western Wildfire Risk Assessment .......................................................................................... 8-14 Senate Bill 1241 (2012 Kehoe Statutes) ................................................................................... 8-15 Vulnerability and Risk ...................................................................................... 8-16 Community Wildfire Issues ............................................................................. 8-17 What Is Susceptible to Wildfire? .............................................................................................. 8-17 Elements Critical to Wildfire Fighting Success ....................................................................... 8-17 Road Access ..................................................................................................................................................... 8-17 Water Supply .................................................................................................................................................. 8-18 Interface Fire Education Programs and Enforcement .......................................................................... 8-18 The Need for Mitigation Programs ........................................................................................................... 8-19 Fires After an Earthquake - The Threat of Urban Conflagration ....................................... 8-19 Existing Wildfire Mitigation Activities ........................................................... 8-20 Fire Prevention .............................................................................................................................. 8-21 Vegetation Management .............................................................................................................. 8-22 Hazard Abatement Notices ........................................................................................................ 8-26 Legislated Construction Requirements in Fire Hazard Areas ............................................ 8-26 Public Awareness .......................................................................................................................... 8-28 2014 PAGE 8 - i Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan Section 8 – Wildfires City of Newport Beach, California Other Mitigation Programs and Activities ............................................................................... 8-29 Firewise .............................................................................................................................................................. 8-29 Wildfire Resource Directory ........................................................................... 8-29 Local Resources ........................................................................................................................... 8-29 County Resources ....................................................................................................................... 8-30 State Resources ............................................................................................................................ 8-31 Federal Resources and Programs ............................................................................................. 8-31 Other Federal and National Resources .................................................................................. 8-32 Additional Resources .................................................................................................................. 8-33 Publications .................................................................................................................................... 8-33 2014 PAGE 8 - ii Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan Section 8 – Wildfires City of Newport Beach, California SECTION 8: WILDFIRES Why are Wildfires a Threat to Newport Beach? Fires have always been a natural part of the ecosystem in portions of southern California due to the region’s weather, topography and native vegetation. The typically mild, wet winters characteristic of our Mediterranean climate result in an annual growth of grasses and plants that dry out during the hot summer months. This dry vegetation often provides fuel for wildfires in the autumn, when the area is intermittently impacted by Santa Ana winds, the hot, dry winds that blow across the region in the late fall. These winds often fan and help spread the fires. Furthermore, many of our native plants have a high oil content that makes them highly flammable. Although wildfires can be highly disruptive and dangerous, the fact is that wildland fires are a necessary part of the natural ecosystem of southern California. Many of the native plants require periodic burning to germinate and recycle nutrients that enrich the soils. Native Americans took advantage of this, and used fire extensively to control their environment by enhancing feed for wildlife, decreasing insects and pests that impact wild foods, increasing the abundance and density of edible tubers, greens and other useful plants, and clearing underbrush to ease travel and provide increased visibility (Anderson, 2006). Wildfires become an issue, however, whenever they extend out of control into developed areas, with a resultant loss of property, and sometimes unfortunately, loss of life. The wildfire risk in the United States has increased in the last few decades with the increasing encroachment of residences and other structures into the wildland environment, and the increasing number of people living and playing in wildland areas. The National Interagency Fire Center estimates that approximately 15 percent of all wildland fires in the United States are started by lightning strikes, with humans causing the rest. The most common human causes of wildfires are arson, sparks from brush- clearing equipment and vehicles, improperly disposed cigarettes, and children playing with matches. Wildfires pose a substantial hazard to life and property in communities built within or adjacent to hillsides and mountainous areas. As the 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009 and May 2014 fires in southern California have shown, the containment of wildfires that consume thousands to hundreds of thousands of acres of vegetated property require the participation of a multi- jurisdictional emergency response effort, with hundreds to thousands of people at or near the fire lines combating the flames, clearing brush ahead of the fire to establish defensible zones, and assisting evacuees. Under the right wind conditions, multiple ignitions can develop as a result of the wind transport of burning cinders (called fire brands) over distances of a mile or more. Wildfires in those areas where the wildland approaches or interfaces with the urban environment
Load more

Recommended publications
  • California Fire Siege 2007 an Overview Cover Photos from Top Clockwise: the Santiago Fire Threatens a Development on October 23, 2007
    CALIFORNIA FIRE SIEGE 2007 AN OVERVIEW Cover photos from top clockwise: The Santiago Fire threatens a development on October 23, 2007. (Photo credit: Scott Vickers, istockphoto) Image of Harris Fire taken from Ikhana unmanned aircraft on October 24, 2007. (Photo credit: NASA/U.S. Forest Service) A firefighter tries in vain to cool the flames of a wind-whipped blaze. (Photo credit: Dan Elliot) The American Red Cross acted quickly to establish evacuation centers during the siege. (Photo credit: American Red Cross) Opposite Page: Painting of Harris Fire by Kate Dore, based on photo by Wes Schultz. 2 Introductory Statement In October of 2007, a series of large wildfires ignited and burned hundreds of thousands of acres in Southern California. The fires displaced nearly one million residents, destroyed thousands of homes, and sadly took the lives of 10 people. Shortly after the fire siege began, a team was commissioned by CAL FIRE, the U.S. Forest Service and OES to gather data and measure the response from the numerous fire agencies involved. This report is the result of the team’s efforts and is based upon the best available information and all known facts that have been accumulated. In addition to outlining the fire conditions leading up to the 2007 siege, this report presents statistics —including availability of firefighting resources, acreage engaged, and weather conditions—alongside the strategies that were employed by fire commanders to create a complete day-by-day account of the firefighting effort. The ability to protect the lives, property, and natural resources of the residents of California is contingent upon the strength of cooperation and coordination among federal, state and local firefighting agencies.
    [Show full text]
  • Federal Funding for Wildfire Control and Management
    Federal Funding for Wildfire Control and Management Ross W. Gorte Specialist in Natural Resources Policy July 5, 2011 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov RL33990 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Federal Funding for Wildfire Control and Management Summary The Forest Service (FS) and the Department of the Interior (DOI) are responsible for protecting most federal lands from wildfires. Wildfire appropriations nearly doubled in FY2001, following a severe fire season in the summer of 2000, and have remained at relatively high levels. The acres burned annually have also increased over the past 50 years, with the six highest annual totals occurring since 2000. Many in Congress are concerned that wildfire costs are spiraling upward without a reduction in damages. With emergency supplemental funding, FY2008 wildfire funding was $4.46 billion, more than in any previous year. The vast majority (about 95%) of federal wildfire funds are spent to protect federal lands—for fire preparedness (equipment, baseline personnel, and training); fire suppression operations (including emergency funding); post-fire rehabilitation (to help sites recover after the wildfire); and fuel reduction (to reduce wildfire damages by reducing fuel levels). Since FY2001, FS fire appropriations have included funds for state fire assistance, volunteer fire assistance, and forest health management (to supplement other funds for these three programs), economic action and community assistance, fire research, and fire facilities. Four issues have dominated wildfire funding debates. One is the high cost of fire management and its effects on other agency programs. Several studies have recommended actions to try to control wildfire costs, and the agencies have taken various steps, but it is unclear whether these actions will be sufficient.
    [Show full text]
  • The 2007 Southern California Wildfires: Lessons in Complexity
    fire The 2007 Southern California Wildfires: Lessons in Complexity s is evidenced year after year, the na- ture of the “fire problem” in south- Jon E. Keeley, Hugh Safford, C.J. Fotheringham, A ern California differs from most of Janet Franklin, and Max Moritz the rest of the United States, both by nature and degree. Nationally, the highest losses in ϳ The 2007 wildfire season in southern California burned over 1,000,000 ac ( 400,000 ha) and property and life caused by wildfire occur in included several megafires. We use the 2007 fires as a case study to draw three major lessons about southern California, but, at the same time, wildfires and wildfire complexity in southern California. First, the great majority of large fires in expansion of housing into these fire-prone southern California occur in the autumn under the influence of Santa Ana windstorms. These fires also wildlands continues at an enormous pace cost the most to contain and cause the most damage to life and property, and the October 2007 fires (Safford 2007). Although modest areas of were no exception because thousands of homes were lost and seven people were killed. Being pushed conifer forest in the southern California by wind gusts over 100 kph, young fuels presented little barrier to their spread as the 2007 fires mountains experience the same negative ef- reburned considerable portions of the area burned in the historic 2003 fire season. Adding to the size fects of long-term fire suppression that are of these fires was the historic 2006–2007 drought that contributed to high dead fuel loads and long evident in other western forests (e.g., high distance spotting.
    [Show full text]
  • Major Fires in San Diego County History
    Major fires in San Diego County history September 1913: Barona fire burned 65,470 acres. September 1928: Witch Creek fire near Santa Ysabel charred 33,240 acres. September 1928: Beauty Peak fire near the Riverside County border in the North County blackened 67,000 acres. October 1943: Hauser Creek fire in the Cleveland National Forest, at least 9 firefighters dead (including 7 marines), 72 injuries and 10,000 acres burned. August 1944: Laguna Junction fire burned 60,000 acres August 1950: Conejos Fire charred 64,000 acres. [Month unknown] 1952: Cuyamaca fire burned 64,000 acres November 1956: Inaja fire killed 11 firefighters and burned 43,904 acres near Julian. September 26-Oct. 3 1970: The Laguna fire, the county's largest fire in modern times, burned 175,425 acres, killed eight people and destroyed 382 homes. In 24 hours the fire burned from near Mount Laguna into the outskirts of El Cajon and Spring Valley. September 1978: PSA Crash in North Park June 1985: Normal Heights fire destroyed or damaged 116 houses, causing $8.6 million in damage. October 1993: Guejito fire east of Escondido charred 20,000 acres and destroyed 18 houses. Estimated $1.25 million damage. October 1996: Harmony Grove fire burned 8,600 acres, from Harmony Grove west of Escondido to La Costa, destroying nearly 110 homes and killing one man. August 1997: Lake Wohlford fire northeast of Escondido - an arson blaze - destroyed seven houses and burned 500 acres. October 1999: La Jolla Fire (La Jolla Indian Reservation) burned approximately 7,800 acres and 1 firefighter died.
    [Show full text]
  • Review of California Wildfire Evacuations from 2017 to 2019
    REVIEW OF CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE EVACUATIONS FROM 2017 TO 2019 STEPHEN WONG, JACQUELYN BROADER, AND SUSAN SHAHEEN, PH.D. MARCH 2020 DOI: 10.7922/G2WW7FVK DOI: 10.7922/G29G5K2R Wong, Broader, Shaheen 2 Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. UC-ITS-2019-19-b N/A N/A 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Review of California Wildfire Evacuations from 2017 to 2019 March 2020 6. Performing Organization Code ITS-Berkeley 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report Stephen D. Wong (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3638-3651), No. Jacquelyn C. Broader (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3269-955X), N/A Susan A. Shaheen, Ph.D. (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3350-856X) 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. Institute of Transportation Studies, Berkeley N/A 109 McLaughlin Hall, MC1720 11. Contract or Grant No. Berkeley, CA 94720-1720 UC-ITS-2019-19 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period The University of California Institute of Transportation Studies Covered www.ucits.org Final Report 14. Sponsoring Agency Code UC ITS 15. Supplementary Notes DOI: 10.7922/G29G5K2R 16. Abstract Between 2017 and 2019, California experienced a series of devastating wildfires that together led over one million people to be ordered to evacuate. Due to the speed of many of these wildfires, residents across California found themselves in challenging evacuation situations, often at night and with little time to escape. These evacuations placed considerable stress on public resources and infrastructure for both transportation and sheltering.
    [Show full text]
  • Fire Department Department Department
    FIRE DEPARTMENT Organization Set ––– Sections Organization Set # • Fire Administration & Operations 010101-01 ---15151515----070070 • Fire Prevention & Life Safety 010101-01 ---15151515----073073 As of fiscal year 20082008----2009,2009, the Fire Department was “folded into” the General Fund. Refer to FunFundd ###32#323232 to see thethethe 2008 and 2002007777 ActualsActuals.... 2009 – 2010 Proposed Budget --- Budget Summary General Fund – Fire 2009 – 2010 Fire Department Transition volunteer participation payment for points from a Budget Highlights materials and services payment to McMinnville Fire Volunteers Association to personal services fringe benefits individual Conduct self-assessment to establish risk analysis and develop a payments, meeting the requirements of the IRS. Standard of Coverage document for the Fire Department. This Upgrade the training room to incorporate features necessary for a process will set community and council expectations for more suitable training environment. Upgrades will include a measuring existing service levels and planning for improvement. projector, audio visual screen and audio system. Re-align Fire Department operational staffing using existing personnel and hours to provide for a full time fire engine company, Full-Time Equivalents two 911 emergency ambulances and one 12 hour transfer ambulance. To better use department resources, part time 2008-2009 Change 2009-2010 employees will be transitioned to staffing a transfer ambulance. This allows a fire engine company with three career staff to be FTE Adopted Budget 16.75 available 100% of the time and provides an opportunity to Firefighter / Paramedic - PT+ - 0.18 integrate volunteers and students on the fire engine 24 hours a Extra Help - Drill Night + 0.01 day. The result will be more consistent staffing with faster Extra Help - Fire + 0.41 response times and a simplified internal scheduling process.
    [Show full text]
  • Cal Fire: Creek Fire Now the Largest Single Wildfire in California History
    Cal Fire: Creek Fire now the largest single wildfire in California history By Joe Jacquez Visalia Times-Delta, Wednesday, September 23, 2020 The Creek Fire is now the largest single, non-complex wildfire in California history, according to an update from Cal Fire. The fire has burned 286,519 acres as of Monday night and is 32 percent contained, according to Cal Fire. The Creek Fire, which began Sept. 4, is located in Big Creek, Huntington Lake, Shaver Lake, Mammoth Pool and San Joaquin River Canyon. Creek Fire damage realized There were approximately 82 Madera County structures destroyed in the blaze. Six of those structures were homes, according to Commander Bill Ward. There are still more damage assessments to be made as evacuation orders are lifted and converted to warnings. Madera County sheriff's deputies notified the residents whose homes were lost in the fire. The Fresno County side of the fire sustained significantly more damage, according to Truax. "We are working with (Fresno County) to come up with away to get that information out," Incident Commander Nick Truax said. California wildfires:Firefighters battle more than 25 major blazes, Bobcat Fire grows Of the 4,900 structures under assessment, 30% have been validated using Fresno and Madera counties assessor records. Related: 'It's just too dangerous': Firefighters make slow progress assessing Creek Fire damage So far, damage inspection teams have counted more than 300 destroyed structures and 32 damaged structures. "These are the areas we can safely get to," Truax said. "There are a lot of areas that trees have fallen across the roads.
    [Show full text]
  • Lessons from the October 2003 Wildfires in Southern California
    Lessons from the October 2003 Wildfires in Southern California Jon E. Keeley, C.J. Fotheringham, and Max A. Moritz The Southern California fires of late Oct. 2003 burned 742,000 ac and destroyed 3,361 homes is the focus of this article. and 26 lives. Factors leading up to this event were very different between forests, which com- prised about 5% of the area burned, and shrublands. Three lessons are (1) although these Separating Forest Fires from Shrubland fires were massive, they were not unprecedented, and future fires of this magnitude are to be Burning expected; (2) the current fire management policy is not effective at preventing these massive These southern California fires fires; and (3) future developments need to plan for these natural fire events much the same burned through diverse plant commu- way we currently incorporate engineering solutions to earthquakes and other natural cata- nities. The proportion of different veg- strophes. etation types was not proportional to ABSTRACT the media coverage and thus there is widespread belief that these were forest Keywords: firestorm; fuel mosaics; historical fires; Santa Ana winds; policy fires. However, coniferous forests com- prised only about 5% of the total acreage burned (frap.cdf.ca.gov). he southern California fires of interface. A total of 3,361 homes and 26 Media focus on these forest fires was late Oct. 2003 were, cumula- lives were lost in this event. It is without undoubtedly due to the fact that they Ttively, the single largest event in a doubt the costliest disaster to befall burned in unnaturally intense and California’s recent history.
    [Show full text]
  • Defining Extreme Wildfire Events: Difficulties, Challenges, and Impacts
    fire Concept Paper Defining Extreme Wildfire Events: Difficulties, Challenges, and Impacts Fantina Tedim 1,2,*, Vittorio Leone 3,†, Malik Amraoui 4 ID , Christophe Bouillon 5 ID , Michael R. Coughlan 6 ID , Giuseppe M. Delogu 7,† ID , Paulo M. Fernandes 4 ID , Carmen Ferreira 1 ID , Sarah McCaffrey 8 ID , Tara K. McGee 9, Joana Parente 4, Douglas Paton 2, Mário G. Pereira 4,10 ID , Luís M. Ribeiro 11 ID , Domingos X. Viegas 11 and Gavriil Xanthopoulos 12 1 Centre for Studies in Geography and Spatial Planning, CEGOT, Geography Department, Faculty of Arts, University of Porto, Porto 4150-564, Portugal; [email protected] 2 Engineering Health Science & Environment, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory 0909, Australia; [email protected] 3 Department of Crop Systems, Forestry and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Basilicata, Potenza 85100, Italy; [email protected] 4 Centre for Research and Technology of Agro-Environment and Biological Sciences, CITAB, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real 5001-801, Portugal; [email protected] (M.A.); [email protected] (P.M.F.); [email protected] (J.P.); [email protected] (M.G.P.) 5 National Research Institute of Science and Technology for Environment and Agriculture, IRSTEA, RECOVER Research Unit, Aix-en-Provence 13100, France; [email protected] 6 Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA; [email protected] 7 Regional Forest Corps of Sardinia, Cagliari 09131, Italy; [email protected] 8 USDA Forest
    [Show full text]
  • Wildfire Impacts of Poorly-Planned Development in San Diego County
    November 13, 2018 Via Electronic Mail and Hand Delivery (with references) San Diego County Board of Supervisors Attn: David Hall Clerk of the Board of Supervisors 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 335 San Diego, CA 92101 [email protected] Re: Wildfire Impacts of Poorly-planned Development in San Diego County Dear Supervisors: These comments are submitted on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity (Center) regarding the approval or pending approval of the following Projects: 1. Warner Ranch 2. Lilac Hills 3. Newland Sierra 4. Valiano 5. Harmony Grove Village South 6. Otay Ranch Village 14, 16, 19 7. Otay Ranch Village 13 8. Otay 250 Sunroad 9. Project Specific Requests (PSRs) While the Center has many concerns regarding the environmental impacts and inadequate analyses provided in the Environmental Impact Reports of the proposed Projects, the purpose of this letter is to voice our concern regarding the public safety impacts of these poorly-planned, sprawl developments in fire-prone chaparral ecosystems in San Diego County. The Center reviewed the Environmental Impact Report of each Project to determine the cumulative impacts of these developments on wildfire risk and analyze the adequacy of proposed mitigation measures. Project footprints were compared to the fire history and fire threat of the region, as identified by state agencies (the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection [Cal Fire] and the California Public Utilities Commission [CPUC]), and the total number of housing units and potential residents for all the developments were calculated. The proposed developments would be placed in natural landscapes dominated by fire- prone native chaparral and coastal sage scrub habitats that rely on wildfires to persist.
    [Show full text]
  • CFAST – Consolidated Model of Fire Growth and Smoke Transport (Version 6) Software Development and Model Evaluation Guide
    NIST Special Publication 1086r1 December 2012 Revision CFAST – Consolidated Model of Fire Growth and Smoke Transport (Version 6) Software Development and Model Evaluation Guide Richard D. Peacock Paul A. Reneke http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.1086r1 NIST Special Publication 1086r1 December 2012 Revision CFAST – Consolidated Model of Fire Growth and Smoke Transport (Version 6) Software Development and Model Evaluation Guide Richard D. Peacock Paul A. Reneke Fire Research Division Engineering Laboratory http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.1086r1 March 2013 SV N Re posit ory Revision : 507 T OF C EN OM M M T E R R A C P E E D U N A I C T I E R D E M ST A ATES OF U.S. Department of Commerce Rebecca Blank, Acting Secretary National Institute of Standards and Technology Patrick D. Gallagher, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and Director Disclaimer The U. S. Department of Commerce makes no warranty, expressed or implied, to users of CFAST and associated computer programs, and accepts no responsibility for its use. Users of CFAST assume sole responsibility under Federal law for determining the appropriateness of its use in any particular application; for any conclusions drawn from the results of its use; and for any actions taken or not taken as a result of analyses performed using these tools. CFAST is intended for use only by those competent in the field of fire safety and is intended only to supplement the informed judgment of a qualified user. The software package is a computer model which may or may not have predictive value when applied to a specific set of factual circumstances.
    [Show full text]
  • Wildfire Damages to Homes and Resources: Understanding Causes and Reducing Losses
    Wildfire Damages to Homes and Resources: Understanding Causes and Reducing Losses Kelsi Bracmort Specialist in Agricultural Conservation and Natural Resources Policy March 12, 2012 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov RL34517 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Wildfire Damages to Homes and Resources: Understanding Causes and Reducing Losses Summary Wildfires are getting more severe, with more acres and houses burned and more people at risk. This results from excess biomass in the forests, due to past logging and grazing and a century of fire suppression, combined with an expanding wildland-urban interface—more people and houses in and near the forests—and climate change, exacerbating drought and insect and disease problems. Some assert that current efforts to protect houses and to reduce biomass (through fuel treatments, such as thinning) are inadequate, and that public objections to some of these activities on federal lands raise costs and delay action. Others counter that proposals for federal lands allow timber harvesting with substantial environmental damage and little fire protection. Congress is addressing these issues through various legislative proposals and through funding for protection programs. Wildfires are inevitable—biomass, dry conditions, and lightning create fires. Some are surface fires, which burn needles, grasses, and other fine fuels and leave most trees alive. Others are crown fires, which are typically driven by high winds and burn biomass at all levels from the ground through the tree tops. Many wildfires contain areas of both surface and crown fires. Surface fires are relatively easy to control, but crown fires are difficult, if not impossible, to stop; often, crown fires burn until they run out of fuel or the weather changes.
    [Show full text]