Tierrasanta Fire Safe Council
DRAFT
Tierrasanta Community Wildfire Protection Plan
San Diego County, CA
December 11, 2007
Tierrasantas WUI is defined to be the points where the boundary of canyons and wildland vegetated areas meets the outer limit of the defined minimum 100 ft defensible space boundary of all structures and ingress/egress routes in Tierrasanta.
Prepared by: Tierrasanta Fire Safe Council A 503(c)4 Corporation 4985 La Cuenta Drive San Diego, California 92124
Page 1 of 47
1.0 Introduction This Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) is developed by the Tierrasanta Fire Safe Council (T-FSC) with guidance and support from the County of San Diego, San Diego Fire and Rescue Department, Fire Safe Council of San Diego County, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), and the United States Forest Service (USFS).
1.1 Purpose of the Plan The CWPP has been prepared to help the community clarify and refine its priorities and define projects for the protection of life, property, and critical infrastructure in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) while protecting the environment. It will also lead community members through valuable discussions regarding management options and implications for the surrounding watershed. See figure B-1, Tierrasanta Watersheds. The Tierrasanta CWPP supplements County of San Diego Department of Planning and Land Use documents referenced in Appendix A.
The projects defined in this CWPP meet the federal Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) of 2003 for community fire planning by:
1. Collaboration: A CWPP must be collaboratively developed by local city and state government representatives, in consultation with federal agencies and other interested parties.
2. Prioritizing Fuel Reduction: A CWPP must identify and prioritize areas for hazardous fuel reduction treatments and recommend the types and methods of treatment that will protect one or more at-risk communities and essential infrastructure
Note This prioritization does not include Treatment of Structural Ignitability since Treatment of Structural Ignitability is a stand-alone requirement although they must be worked concurrently.
3. Treatment of Structural Ignitability: It is well known that during a fire, firefighters will attend to structures that show that the owners have best prepared their home and structures to reduce
Page 2 of 47 structural ignitability. A CWPP must recommend measures that homeowners and communities can take to reduce the ignitability of structures throughout the area addressed by the plan.
Following the fires of 2000 in which over eight million acres burned nationally, two reports addressing federal wildland fire management were initiated. The first, Review and Update of the 1995 Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy, (2001) prepared by a federal interagency committee, concluded that the condition of Americas forests continue to deteriorate. The second report, Managing the Impact s of Wildfire on Communities and the Environment: A Report to the President in Response to the Wildfire of 2000, was issued by the Bureau of Land Management and the USDA US Forest Service. This report sequentially became known as the National Fire Plan (NFP). This report identified and ensued congressional appropriations to require: x Response to severe fires x Reduce impacts of fire on rural communities and the environment x Ensure sufficient firefighting tactics
Public Pressure arose following the fire season of 2002 in which 1200 homes were destroyed and an estimated seven million acres burned. Consequently, the Bush administration announced the HFRA initiative to enhance measures to restore forest and rangeland health in reducing the risk to catastrophic fires such as those recently witnessed. The HFRA Act was signed into law in 2003.
It is through the NFP and the HFRA Act that Congress appropriates funding to address fire preparedness, suppressions, reduction of hazardous fuels, burned-area rehabilitation, and both state and local assistance to firefighters. The general concepts of these two critical pieces of legislation are reflected in the Tierrasanta CWPP.
1.2 Mission Statement The mission of the Tierrasanta Fire Safe Council (T-FSC) is to preserve Tierrasantas natural and man made resources by mobilizing residents and businesses to make their homes, neighborhoods and businesses fire safe and return the community open spaces to a safe healthy state. This is accomplished in part by collaboration with multiple agencies and organizations.
Page 3 of 47 1.3 Community Overview
Tierrasanta was founded in 1971 from land that was part of Camp Elliott, a military training area during WWII and subsequently the Elliot Community Plan. Most of the original Camp Elliott area was removed from the Elliott Community Plan and incorporated in the new Tierrasanta Community Planning area. The remaining portion of the Elliott community has remained undeveloped, but as of this writing there are current plans for development.
Tierrasanta includes in its 1982 community plan (currently being considered for update) includes five distinct partitions, as shown in Figure 1.3-1, Tierrasanta Community Plan Area. The San Diego River roughly forms the southerly boundary of the community and includes the Admiral Baker Field Golf Course. Now, at build-out, the vast majority of developed land in Tierrasanta is devoted to residential uses, with several small commercial centers scattered throughout the community and light industrial near the intersection of Interstate 15 (I-15) and State Route 52 (R-52). North of R-52 lies the majority of the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar. Also for the San Diego City community profile for Tierrasanta see http://www.sandiego.gov/planning/community/profiles/tierrasanta/index.shtml. The defined partitions of Tierrasanta fall under multiple authorities as shown in Figure 1.3-1 with regard to the fire safety programs of the partitions but agencies representing all partitions must be involved when considering the fire safety and environmental concerns of the Tierrasanta Community Plan Area.
Page 4 of 47
Figure 1.3-1, Tierrasanta Community Plan Area
1.3.1 Tierrasanta Residential and Business Areas
Tierrasanta is a suburb of the city of San Diego, California and located near the geographic center of the city in the 92124 ZIP code and consists of 800 acres of developed and undeveloped openspace, Canyon systems meander throughout the community, defining the transitions between some individual developed areas and interconnecting to the larger portion of Mission Trails Regional Park (MTRP) canyon systems and MCAS Miramar. Tierrasanta was the first master planned community in San Diego. It has a population of 31,257 people (2006 census) with approximately 8000 residential units. The ingress/egress for Tierrasantans are Santo Road due North from the western portion and West from North to South, respectively, Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, Tierrasanta Boulevard and Aero Drive.
Page 5 of 47 The Santo Road ingress/egress intersects State Route 52 (SR-52) and the three western ingress/egresses join Interstate 15 (I-15).
Figure B-2, Tierrasanta Neighborhoods identifies the 39 developed neighborhoods of Tierrasanta and Military Housing addressed separately below. There are approximately 119 businesses in the Tierrasanta 92124 ZIP code area. Tierrasanta has been built out since the 1990s.Tierrasanta has 14 churches, five middle schools, two junior high schools and one high school. There is one senior housing complex.x At the date of this document a 3000 unit Military Housing Development is proposed out side of the Tierrasanta Community Planning Area near the East Elliott portion of MCAS north of Santo Road and East along State route 52 by 2 miles; a 60 unit condominium complex is proposed at the east end terminus of Tierrasanta Boulevard at the site currently housing a church facility. In addition, the current San Diego General Plan proposes infill developments and densification through out the City even in built out communities such as Tierrasanta. The traffic on I-15 as projected in the 1982 Tierrasanta Community Plan for the year 2000 was documented as 100,000 trips per day. A recent traffic study completed in 2005 projects traffic in 2020 on I-15 to be 216,000 trips per day. With increased development within Tierrasanta and other City development affecting traffic at the ingress/egress intersections of Tierrasanta, the community will not be able to support safe emergency exit in case of disasters such as the Cedar Fire and the Firestorms of 2007.
MTRP, addressed separately below, is located to the north and east of the Tierrasanta residential and business community with a system of trails that supports hiking and bicycling. The Admiral Baker Field golf course is to the southeast; portions of the MCAS Miramar to the northwest and south of state route 52. Tierrasanta is bounded on the north by state route 52 which is in-turn bounded by MCAS, the east by the San Diego River and Mission Gorge Road; the west by Interstate 15, and on the south by Friars Road and canyons overlooking the San Diego River beyond the Admiral Baker Field Golf Course. Tierrasanta residents have adopted the Island in the Hills as their logo phrase because of these unique community bounding parameters and also it is a cul-de-sac community
1.3.2 Mission Trails Regional Park (MTRP) - consists of approximately 5800 acres which is more than half the Tierrasanta planning area. The MTRP is not populated. The more rugged, remote
Page 6 of 47 section east of Mission Trails Regional Park is now known as the East Elliott planning area and remains undeveloped and is not currently part of the Tierrasanta Community Planning area.
1.3.3 Murphy Canyon Military Family Housing consists of the 2,315 homes which accounts for approximately one-fifth of the total dwelling units in the planning area. The homes were originally constructed between 1972 and 1975 and consist of approximately 1,683 square feet each. All have been upgraded in the early 2000s. The community contains a small commissary and a community center. See Figure B- 2, Tierrasanta Neighborhoods
1.3.4 Admiral Baker Field Golf Course
Admiral Baker Field is not accessible from the residential and commercial portion of Tierrasanta except through the Tierrasanta Trail System. See Figure B-3, Tierrasanta Trail System.
1.3.5 East Elliott
Residential and other forms of urban development are impractical and uneconomical in most of East Elliott because of rugged topography, environmental constraints, lack of utility and road connections and other services, a multiplicity of small ownerships and proximity to the Sycamore Canyon Landfill. East Elliott is dominated by native vegetation including sage scrub, chaparral, native grassland and oak and sycamore woodland and constitutes one of the largest and biologically most important remaining open space areas in San Diego. The topography is characterized by a series of parallel north-south trending canyons and ridges. A number of endangered and threatened wildlife species inhabit this area. At the time of this writing there is a proposed development on the eastern portion of East Elliott and the Sycamore Landfill in the western portion has proposed expanding their landfill operations. See http://www.sandiego.gov/planning/community/profiles/eastelliott/pdf.
1.3.6 Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS)
A portion of MCAS Miramar lies within the Tierrasanta Community Plan area at the Northwest corner of the community with one small portion of the community lying on the South side of Clairemont Mesa Boulevard at I-5. These areas consist entirely of openspace and canyons with vegetation and
Page 7 of 47 topography similar to East Elliott. The remainder of the of the MCAS lies North of SR-52 with the air station developed area west of I-15 and the portion identified as East Miramar lying to the east of I-15. East Miramar consists of openspace and canyons with the exception of a gunnery range and a number of WWII era storage facilities.
1.4 Collaboration Community/Agencies/Fire Safe Councils
The three entities must mutually agree to the final contents of a CWPP: The applicable local government (i.e., Federal, counties or cities); The local fire department(s); and The state entity responsible for forest management.
Representatives involved in the development of the Tierrasanta CWPP with their organization, and roles and responsibilities are included in Table 1.1, CWPP Development Team. The organizations listed contributed to the CWPP, through review and technical support throughout the development process and act as advisors on a continuing basis, as available.
Page 8 of 47 Table 1.1 CWPP Development/ Collaborative Team
Organization Roles / Responsibilities
Tierrasanta Fire Safe Council Primary development of CWPP
CWPP Coordinator Decision-making Community risk and value assessment
Development of community protection priorities Establishment of fuels treatment project areas and methods
http://campbellot.com/fireSafe_tierrasanta/
Tierrasanta Community Council Official advisory group to the city of San Diego for Tierrasanta (TCC) community planning 503-c4 organization the umbrella organization for the T-FSC http://www.tierrasantacc.org/
City of San Diego Tierrasanta Firewise Assessment team member Maintenance Assessment District Manage, approve and oversee the openspace Fire Safe (MAD) coordinator projects Meet with homeowners on-site to discuss management of City-owned open space behind/adjacent to homeowners property Advise the homeowners with their private property projects The MAD is responsible for maintaining the open space canyons throughout Tierrasanta In addition to other openspace[parks] areas www.tierrasantacc.org/Open%20Space/brush%20clearance%2 0request.htm
Friends of Tierrasanta Canyons Assist in the identification of projects primarily in community
open space areas Assist the MAD coordinator Firewise Assessment team member
http://www.tierrasantacc.org/Volunteer%20Groups/canyon%20fr iends.htm
Page 9 of 47
Table 1.1 CWPP Development/ Collaborative Team (continued)
Organization Roles / Responsibilities
Fire Safe Council of San Firewise Assessment team member
Diego County Assist the T-FSC with council formation, education, and grant development Attend and participate in T-FSC meetings and community events
Fire Safe Council
California Department of Lead the Firewise Assessment team Forestry and Fire Protection assist the T-FSC with council formation, education
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
City of San Diego Fire- Partner providing advise for development of the CWPP in terms Rescue Department of community risk assessment Community protection priorities by reviewing the fuel reduction and structural ignitability treatments
City of San Diego Fire-Rescue Department
Firewise Communities/USA Facilitated collaboration with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
Firewise Communities/USA
United Parcel Service Store Assists with documentation production, canyon signage, and Tierrasanta event support.
Lincoln /Clark Military Housing Military housing in the Murphy Canyon Housing Complex is a separate community with in the Tierrasanta Community Planning area with many of the same concerns for fire safety as the Tierrasanta community
Page 10 of 47 Table 1.1 CWPP Development/ Collaborative Team (continued)
Organization Roles / Responsibilities
San Diego River Park Partner with goals of enhancing, restoring and protection of the San Diego
Coalition River while enhancing surrounding communities for safety, habitant, recreation and aesthetics. The San Diego River forms the eastern boundary of the Tierrasanta Community Plan. San Diego River Park Coalition
2.0 Tierrasantas Wildland Urban Interface (WUI)
The wildlandurban interface (WUI) is commonly described as the zone where structures and other human development meet and intermingle with undeveloped wildland or vegetative fuels. This WUI zone poses tremendous risks to life, property, and infrastructure in associated communities and is one of the most dangerous and complicated situations firefighters face.
In the absence of a CWPP, the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) limits the WUI to within 1/2 mile of a communitys boundary or within 11/2 miles when mitigating circumstances exist, such as sustained steep slopes or geographic features aiding in creating a fire break. Fuels treatments can occur along evacuation routes regardless of their distance from the community. At least 50 percent of all funds appropriated for projects under the HFRA must be used within the WUI as defined by either a CWPP or by the limited definition provided in the HFRA when no CWPP exists. However, in the preparation of this CWPP the HFRA limitations have also been considered in defining Tierrasantas WUI.
Tierrasantas WUI is defined to be the points where the boundary of canyons and wildland vegetated areas meets the outer limit of the defined minimum 100 ft defensible space boundary of all structures and ingress/egress routes in Tierrasanta.
2.1 Predominant Vegetation
The predominant vegetation in Tierrasanta is chaparral (brush) commonly referred to as Coastal Sage Scrub. Native plant species that compose Coastal Sage Scrub include California Sagebrush, White
Page 11 of 47 and Black Sage, California Buckwheat, Broom Baccharis, Scrub Oak, Toyon, and Lemonadeberry. Tree species often interspersed among the Coastal Sage scrub include Willow species, Cottonwood and Sycamore tress which are often found in riparian areas along the Tierrasanta Canyon Bottoms. Competing with the native vegetation are a variety of Eucalyptus tree species, Washingtonia palms, Brazilian pepper trees, pampas grass and both French and Spanish broom species. A great deal of non-native thistle and mustard grass flourishes in disturbed areas. Arundo donax has also been identified along the San Diego River corridor. See Figure B-4, Tierrasanta Vegetation Classification.
2.2 Condition of Vegetative Fuels
Located in the coastal zone of Southern California, Tierrasanta has a Mediterranean type climate characterized by hot, dry summers and mild winters with most rain occurring between November and April. Average rainfall measured a Lindbergh Field International Airport in downtown San Diego is reported as 9.9 inches. In the past few years rainfall has been less than 3 inches in total.. At different times of the year, particularly late summer and early autumn months, when vegetation is at its driest, Santa Ana winds bring hot dry air from the desert across San Diego County. These conditions create an elevated fire risk in Tierrasanta. The October 2007 fires occurred during a time when the Santa Ana winds were the strongest of many years. Figure B-5, defines Tierrasanta Vegetative Fuel/ Ranking Risks.
2.2.1 Fire Risk
The Mission Trails Regional Park is a natural non-maintained open space habitant to the North East where during the periods of the Santa Anna winds create an extreme concern for fire safety. The MCAS Miramar poses a similar threat. During the 2003 Cedar Fire, the fire swept across the eastern western MTRP and into Tierrasanta and destroyed and damaged homes. Figure B-6a, Extent of the 2003 Cedar Fire in Tierrasanta. Figure B-6b shows the history of fire in Tierrasanta 1900 -1997. Figure B-6c shows the history of fire in San Diego County the 2003 Fire Storm. The 2007 Firestorm history is shown in Figure B-6d with overlays on wildlands that were burned in the Cedar Fire just four years earlier. Scripps Ranch and Tierrasanta were out of harms way when the winds from Northeast shifted to winds from the East. 2.2.2 Terrain
Tierrasanta is a community interspersed with canyons that consisting of most of the land area which are densely vegetated with slopes greater than 25 degrees. See Figure B7. Tierrasanta Steep Slopes.
Page 12 of 47 Many of these canyons are walkable street level natural areas although some areas are challenging. They can be rated from moderately dense to maintained at a 50% ratio due to efforts of the Tierrasanta MAD, the FOTC and the T-FSC. Private properties exhibit the same characteristics. Housing and commercial developments are located along the canyon rims. Tierrasanta is approximately 200 feet above sea level.
3.0 Identification of Values at Risk
Using technology and local expertise, the Tierrasanta Fire Safe Council will prepare a series of maps depicting the site and situation of the Tierrasanta Community (Appendix B). The maps will act as a visual aid from which community members can assess and make recommendations.
The wildlandurban interface (WUI) is commonly described as the zone where structures and other human development meet and intermingle with undeveloped wildland or vegetative fuels. This WUI zone poses tremendous risks to life, property, and infrastructure in associated communities and is one of the most dangerous and complicated situations firefighters face.
Since Tierrasanta neighborhoods, shown in Figure B-2, are located on ridges adjacent to canyons Tierrasantas WUI is extensive and virtually covers the entire Tierrasanta community plan area. Figure B-3, Tierrasanta Trail System; B-8 Tierrasanta Developed Area and Parks and Openspace Assets at Risk; and B-9 Tierrasanta Developed Area - Fire Hazard Severity Zones identify the Tierrasanta developed area and parks and openspace assets at risk.
In addition the risk of fire there is risk after the fire due to the lack of rooted vegetation. Tierrasanta as is mot of the city of San Diego is subject to land slides. Figure B-10 shows the Tierrasanta developed area potential slide risk areas.
Figure 3.0-1 is a map of the Tierrasanta Community Plan Area showing composite risk areas requiring collaborative efforts with agencies of the City, U.S. Government that are external to the developed portion of the Tierrasanta Community Plan. Table 3.0-1 identifies the contact information for these agencies.
Page 13 of 47
Figure 3.0-1. Tierrasanta Area Map with Composite Risk Areas Requiring Collaborative Efforts
Page 14 of 47 Table 3.0-1. Contact Agencies for Risk Areas Within and External to the Tierrasanta Developed Areas
Collateral Risk Area / Map Color Code Contacts
Tierrasanta / San Diego City Canyons and Josh Garcia 619-533-6713, City of San Diego Natural Open Space Resource Manager MCAS Miramar- red Juan Lias- [email protected]; 858-577-6603; base fire tbd Mission Trails Regional Park tan, dark Josh Gacia, Deputy Director, Open Space, green and pink [email protected]; 619-533-6713 Admiral Baker Field pink Jan Larson- [619] 532-2764] of Navy Region Southwest for Natural Resources Management Programs; [email protected]; - [619] 532-2764] Murphy Canyon Military Family Housing Kevin Simerly Lincoln Clarke pink Jan Larson- [619] 532-2764] of Navy Region Southwest for Natural Resources Management Programs East Elliot light green Not Known
The result is that Tierrasantas WUI is defined to be the points where the boundary of canyons and wildland vegetated areas meets the outer limit of the defined 100 ft defensible space boundary of all structures and ingress/egress routes in Tierrasanta.
4.0 Local Preparedness and Firefighting Capability
The City of San Diego Fire-Rescue Department provides response to all fire, medical, and associated emergencies throughout the City including Tierrasanta. The Fire-Rescue Department uses graduated percentage response times (fractal times) to depict the percentage of the first unit to arrive at the scene of an incident within five minutes of receiving the alarm as shown in Figure B- 9 for Tierrasanta. Fractal times provide the best indicator of response time.
Page 15 of 47 The Citys varied topography presents considerable demands on Fire-Rescue services and can also affect response times. For additional support, the City relies on numerous Automatic Aid Agreements with jurisdictions adjoining the City of San Diego. These agreements assure that the closest engine company responds to a given incident regardless of which jurisdiction they represent. Mutual Aid agreements with county, state, and federal government agencies further allow the City, and any other participating agency, to request additional resources depending on the complexity and needs of a given incident. Currently, there are 47 fire stations strategically located throughout the City to provide emergency service coverage for all communities. However, during a failed attempt to gain national accreditation in 2005, it was noted that the Citys inability to achieve compliance with national emergency response time standards of five minutes at 90 percent to the time, weighed heavily in the decision to deny accreditation. The City conducted an analysis of response models which indicated that an additional 22 fire stations would need to be built and appropriately staffed to meet this national standard. For Tierrasanta this is calculated to be 1.5 stations in addition to the current station on La Cuenta near Tierrasanta Blvd. (See Figure B-9.)
It has been proposed that Tierrasanta close the La Cuenta station and bu-ld a new station near the corner of Santo and Clairemont mesa Blvd. Another proposal has been to move the station to Clairemont Mesa Blvd near I-15. The U. S. Government is in the process of developing a Military Family Housing (MFH) complex North of Santo Rd. at a location 2.5 miles from the Santo I-52 intersection with a 2 lane road access. A Military fire station is proposed to be located at the 2.5 mile entrance to the MFH. The Tierrasanta Fire Safe Council considers that:
x the La Cuenta fire station must not be closed and should be expanded x the location of a new fire station at Santo and Clairemont Mesa Blvd. in addition to the La Cuenta station would provide an additional station needed. x a new station on Clairemont Mesa Blvd would add an additional ½ stations to Tierrasanta x the proposed MFH fire station would be of little benefit to Tierrasanta.
4.1 Prioritizatied Fuel Hazard Treatments
The hazard reduction priorities in Tierrasanta have been defined in categories from the overall community risk assessment (See Appendix C, Figure C-1 and Table C-1). The categories are
Page 16 of 47 ingress egress, high vegetation in structure proximity, and the worse case fire response time locations (See Figure B-11., Tierrasanta Fire Response Times).
Fuel Reduction Treatments
Fuel reduction treatment has shown to reduce the devastation of wildfires both in with structures and in the wildlands by not supporting the intensity and the extent of the fire. Fuel reduction must be accomplished both in the proximity of structures and across an effective distance from the structures. The City of San Diego requires 100 foot defensible space from a structure as a minimum, but at times it is warranted that the defensible space be expanded or fuel breaks. This is especially applicable to structures close to steep slopes where the fire is subject to a chimney affect. With a special permit the city of San Diego will allow the defensible space to be extended to 150 feet.
1. Measures to reduce structural ignitability 1. Brush abatement inspections conducted by USFS and forced abatement by the County of San Diego. 2. Construction enhancements through County building and fire code requirements. 3. Class A re-roofing through County building and fire code requirements. 4. Encourage the installation of soffits (eave enclosures) on all residential structures. 5. Ensure that roofs are properly sealed
2. Map all roads, road markers, and water sources in the communities
4.1.1 Projects
4.1.1.1 Tierrasanta Fire Safe Council Projects
Tierrasanta Fire Safe Council projects consist of: x Brush abatement projects x Educational projects x Political Projects x Coordination with agencies of the City and County Governments and the collaborating organizations. See Table 1.1.
Page 17 of 47 A. Brush Abatement Projects - Existing
All Tierrasanta Fire Safe weed abatement projects are in collaboration with the Tierrasanta Maintenance Assessment District (MAD) and the Tierrasanta Friends of Tierrasanta Canyons. The main effort of the T-FSC is to work in collaboration with the agencies identified in table 3.0-1 to ensure that weed abatement projects are conducted on their property. This collaboration effort is considered an ongoing project.
B. Brush Abatement Projects - Proposed:
The Tierrasanta Fire Safe Council Proposed Brush abatement projects in collaboration with the San Diego City Park and open Space Department are listed in Table 4.1.2
Table 4.1-2 Tierrasanta Fire Safe Council Proposed Brush Abatement Projects
Rank Project Location Reasons for Abatement Action Plan Selecting 1a Calle De Vida Steep Chimney Park and Open Space; Friends of [site B] Canyon Tierrasanta Canyons; Code Compliance Currently abated by HOA; T-FSC to monitor / 1b educate to ensure continued process MTRP at Calle De At interface to Vida [site 20] MTRP abutting houses 2 Rueda/ Promesa - Ingress / Egress Friends of Tierrasanta Canyons; T-FSC [site 19] 3 Portbella / Bellavista Near Interface Currently abated by HOA; T-FSC to monitor / - [site 22] to MTRP; Steep educate to ensure continued process south facing slope 4 Clairemont Mesa Ingress / Egress Park and Open Space; Code Compliance Blvd.- [site 5] 5 Serra High School Ingress/ Egress Park and Open Space; Code Compliance (Via Monterey/ at Clairemont Mesa Blvd) [site 4] 6 La Morada [site 2] Interface to Park and Open Space; Code Compliance MCAS Miramar property
Page 18 of 47 4.1.1.2 T-FSC Educational Programs/ Projects
A. Educational Programs/ Projects Existing:
1.) Tierrasanta Firewise Garden The Tierrasanta Firewise Garden was proposed for a parcel of open space owned by the City of San Diego. This parcel was burned by the Cedar ire in 2003 and has been overgrown with weeds and has abandoned piping left by a developer during the 1970 era community development. A grant for 6000 dollars has been received from the office of San Diego County Supervisor, Pam Slater-Price. The scope of the project is to remove the abandoned pipe, clear the invasive plants, install a temporary sprinkler system and renegotiate the parcel using fire- wise and water-wise native plants per guidelines defined by the City of San Diego Park and Recreation Department. The project will be completed within one year from the date of the grant award expected early November 2007.
2. Public Bulletin Board A Public Bulletin Board is proposed for the outside library wall to display fire safe notices, flyers, contact information, etc. Coordination has begun with the library officials. The project is being be funded with part of a 2,500$ education grant from the San Diego Natural History Museum. Approval by the San Diego City library is expected by January 2008 and project completion will be by June 2008.
B. Educational Programs/ Projects Proposed:
These programs/ projects will be funded with part of a 2,500$ education grant from the San Diego Natural History Museum and money received as donations from the annual Taste of Tierrasanta event.
1. Tierrasanta Specific pamphlets and flyers promote reduction of structural ignitability, trails, brush abatement regulations, fire abatement projects, evacuation procedures.
2. T-FSC Meeting materials handouts maps media materials, etc.
3. T-FSC web site currently the site is being donated, by Parker Web Solutions. However materials such as graphic preparation may be needed.
4. Event materials e.g., tables, posters, banners, handouts and survey materials.
5. Grant training educate T-FSC volunteers in grant writing and procedures
Page 19 of 47 4.1.1.3 Tierrasanta Fire Safe Council Political Projects
The Tierrasanta Fire Safe Council has ongoing interests that will need political action:
1. Educate professionals on fire wise landscaping and fire resistant buildings 2. Firefighter Advanced Wildland Training 3. Continued Park and Recreation program for canyon and 100ft defensible space 4. Consider increasing the defensible space for steeper slopes 5. Coordinated Military/City / County collaboration and training for wildfire disasters 6. Evacuation Plan including evacuation in place policies and procedures. 7. Eucalyptus removal program (perhaps patterned after Federal Government Policy) and replacement with native trees with consideration for proper fire safe spacing. 8. Ingress/Egress brush thinning in line with the Cal Fire policies 9. More San Diego City fire stations 1 ½ to 2 for Tierrasanta 10. Advanced fire warning system such as an infrared detection system 11. Increase the City Fire Department staff with increased responsibility 12. Encourage more code compliance citations 13. Wildland fire breaks 14. Advocate for mandatory fire resistant buildings
4.1.1.4 Tierrasanta Maintenance Assessment District (MAD) Projects
The Tierrasanta MAD is the organization that performs ongoing tasks by contracting with landscape contractors: x Open Space Maintenance Tierrasanta openspace includes the medians, parks , joint use fields, trail entrances see figure B- x Trail Maintenance Several trails in Tierrasanta (See figure B-9 ) have been reopened through the efforts of the MAD and the Friends of Tierrasanta Canyons volunteers. This effort continues. The MAD oversees the maintenance of the opened trails. x Exotic weed removal in all openspace areas including canyons x Coordination with the Park and Recreation and San Diego Fire Rescue Departments for fire safety in the canyons and other openspace
Page 20 of 47 x Prepare right of entry permits and instruction for citizens wishing to complete their 100 ft defensible space into City openspace property. x Eucalyptus sucker and dead tree removal for fire abatement and other public safety reasons. x Current and Proposed Herbicide Usage in Tierrasanta MAD
4.1.1.5 San Diego Fire and Rescue Department and Park and Recreation Projects
Existing Projects
The San Diego Fire Rescue Department current weed abatement projects are listed below. Inspection after abatement is pending.
Table 4.1-1 City of San Diego Fire Rescue and Park and Recreation Existing Projects
Location Status
Repecho and Clairemont Mesa done
Seda and C-mesa done
Baroque Lane done
Viacha Way done
These projects extend the defensible space beyond private property lines to the minimum 100 foot limit as specified by City code.
Proposed Projects
A prioritized list of additional parcels will be prepared approximately by January 2008 for work in 2008.
Page 21 of 47
4.1.1.6 Friends of Tierrasanta Canyons
The Friends of Tierrasanta Canyons was organized in 2003 as an all-volunteer group dedicated to preserving local canyon habitats. The Friends hold events monthly to remove invasive plants; they also advocate through the Tierrasanta Open Space Committee for the use of herbicides and for tree removal as needed for canyon health. This group has become a partner with the Tierrasanta Fire Safe Council to work on fire safety, particularly with regard to brush management.
Past and Existing Projects: Considerable thinning of eucalyptus trees in the Seda-Rueda corridor, the one-mile greenbelt west of Santo Road, and the south corner of Portobelo Drive and Villarica Way. Invasive and flammable Washingtonia palm trees in the greenbelt east and west of Santo Road have been treated and are dying, as are many pampas grasses in the canyon bottoms. These projects are ongoing and new ongoing projects will be added as they are identified.
Proposed Projects: New projects will be decided on by members at a forthcoming Friends meeting. The partnership with the Fire Safe Council will be a strong factor for future work parties due to common concerns regarding fuel load, much of which comes from eucalyptus.
The Friends also support a trail-opening project. To date a trail has been established in the canyon west of Rueda Drive, facilitating such canyon improvement activities as brush thinning and herbicide application. A loop trail from the south side of Tierrasanta Blvd. to Admiral Baker Field is currently in progress that will open two canyons - west of Viacha Drive and west of La Cuenta Drive.
4.1.1.7 MCAS Projects
MCAS Miramar has contracted with a public relations firm related to the fire hazards at MCAS Miramar for public outreach. No schedule has been provided to but the MCAS liaison has stated that projects are in the initial stages.
Scope:
Page 22 of 47 The scope of the projects is unknown at this time. Requested information includes: x relationship to the fire safety, x safety precautions and x projects of any kind in the high fire risk areas of the base which is almost the entire base. i.e., will the clean up improve the fire safety on the base and surrounding areas
Existing Projects: No projects a re currently active.
Proposed Projects:
The MCAS liaison has been contacted requesting information on project. This request has been transferred to other departments at the base. The following was requested by the T-FSC:
1. current, planned, and past [ since cedar fire and the fires of 2007] projects on the base regarding fire safety and abatement. also are there any areas now or in the future planned to be fire breaks. 2. history of archeological projects 3. efforts that have been completed or planned for watershed management. 4. are there any of the above projects that are being coordinated with the city or county. 5. location of environmental mitigation areas on the base
See figure B-8, Tierrasanta Developed Area - Fire Hazard Severity Zones, that identifies the fire hazard severity zones surrounding and some included in the developed portion of Tierrasanta.
4.1.1.8 Murphy Canyon Military Family Housing The Fire Safe Council has been informed that a Request for a proposal has been delivered to various contractors for brush abatement on the Murphy Canyon Military Family Housing (MFH) and parts of Admiral Baker Field. No schedule has been provided Scope:
The scope of the projects is unknown at this time. Requested information includes:
Page 23 of 47 1. relationship to the fire safety, 2. safety precautions and 3. projects of any kind in the high fire risk areas which consists of the base.
Existing Projects: Currently the MFH property manager Lincoln Clark has done some brush abatement on the military property along Tierrasanta Boulevard at Santo Road as part of contracted maintenance.
Proposed Projects:
The MFH has no projects identified beyond those that may be described in the RFP identified above. The T-FSC has not been privy to the RFP.
4.2 Treatment of Structural Ignitability
Partnering with the County of San Diego, and the City of San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, the T- FSC supports and educates its citizens in ways to reduce structure ignitibility through meeting City and County of San Diego Building and Fire Code requirements.
The partnership that exists between the listed organizations (federal, state, local, and citizens) allows the community of Tierrasanta to reduce hazardous vegetative fuels that could ignite residences and commercial facilities during Santa Ana wind fire conditions. Maintaining properties with the appropriate defensible space is a key factor not only in protecting lives and property in Wildland Urban Interface, but also in reducing structure ignitability.
4.2.1 Project Goals:
1.) Encourage use of fire-resistant construction materials, compliance with access requirements, adequate water supply, and incorporation of fuel breaks into new and existing development within the designated Wildland Urban Interface areas. Specifically address shake replacing shingle roofs and wooden fences and enclosing eaves. 2.) Annual maintenance in and around homes, including gutters and chimneys by providing notice homeowners with assistance from the San Diego Fire Rescue Department .
Page 24 of 47 3.) Replacing Hazardous plants with fire resistive/ drought tolerant species by providing educational materials to home and business owners.
4.) Reduce arson by educating and reminding that playing with fire in canyons burns homes.
5.) Develop and provide educational materials to developers/builders and homeowners regarding fire code standards for access, water supply, fuel breaks and vegetation in the wildland interface areas.
5.0 Tierrasanta Community Wildfire Protection Plan Certification and Agreement The Community Wildfire Protection Plan developed Tierrasanta was collaboratively developed. Interested parties and land management agencies in the vicinity of Tierrasanta have been consulted.
x This plan identifies and prioritizes areas for hazardous fuel reduction treatments and recommends the types and methods of treatment that will help protect Tierrasanta. x This plan recommends measures to reduce ignitability of structures throughout the area addressed by the plan. x The following entities attest that the standards listed above are proposed to be met and mutually agree with the content of this Community Wildfire Protection Plan:
______Tracey Jarman, Chief, The City Of San Diego, Fire-Rescue Department
______Kelly Zombro, Battalion Chief California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
Page 25 of 47 ______Division Chief California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
______Lee Campbell, Facilitator Tierrasanta Fire Safe Council
______Marty Leavitt, President Fire Safe Council of San Diego County
Page 26 of 47
Appendix A Documentation Affecting Fuels Reduction, Building Construction, and Community Fire Protection
Page 27 of 47
REFERENCES:
1. County of San Diego Building Code, Attachment B (2004) 2. County of San Diego Fire Code, Attachment A (August 2004) 3. San Diego of County Code of Regulatory Ordinances, Title 6 Health and Sanitation, Division 8. Sewage and Refuse Disposal, Chapter 4. Removal of Combustible Vegetation and Other Flammable Materials (August 2004) 4. County of San Diego, OES Hazard Mitigation Plan (2004) 5. County of San Diego, Fire, Defensible Space and You (2005) 6. County of San Diego, Fire Safety and Fuels Reduction Program Overview (2005) 7. http://frap.cdf.ca.gov for additional maps, data, and documents 8. http://www.cafirealliance.org California Fire Alliance website for additional documents. 9. http://wildfire.cr.usgs.gov/fireplanning California Fire Alliance mapping tool for additional planning and documents. 10. http://www.iafc.org/grants/wildland_fire.asp#downloads 11. http://www.livingwithfire.com Sample of information from Nevada Living with Fire program. 12. Review and Update of the 1995 Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy, (2001) 13. Managing the Impact s of Wildfire on Communities and the Environment: A Report to the President in Response to the Wildfire of 2000 became known as the National Fire Plan (NFP)
Page 28 of 47
Appendix B
Maps Pertaining to Tierrasanta for Fire Safety
Page 29 of 47
Figure B-1 Tierrasanta Watersheds
Page 30 of 47
Figure B-2 Tierrasanta Neighborhoods
Page 31 of 47
Figure B-3, Tierrasanta Trail System
Page 32 of 47
Figure B-4a Tierrasanta Vegetation Classification
Page 33 of 47
Figure B-4b Tierrasanta Vegetation Classification
Page 34 of 47
Figure B-5, Tierrasanta Vegetative Fuel/ Ranking Risks.
Page 35 of 47
or PDF version of the xtent of the 2003 edarFire in Tierrasanta e the following link: tp://www.tierrasantacc.org ews/2003%20fire/Erosion 20Control/Erosion%20Ma pdf
Figure B-6a. Extent of the 2003 Cedar Fire in Tierrasanta
Page 36 of 47
For higher resolution version of Fire History of San Diego County see link:http://map.sdsu.edu/images/relfireh.jpg
Figure B-6a. History of Fire in Tierrasanta 1900 -1997
Page 37 of 47
Figure B-6b. History of Fire in San Diego County The 2003 Fire Storm
Page 38 of 47
Figure B-6d. 2007 San Diego County Fire Storm (Preliminary)
Page 39 of 47
Note: Steep slopes 25% or greater are shaded in gold color
Figure B-7. Tierrasanta Steep Slopes
Page 40 of 47
Figure B-8 Tierrasanta Developed Area and Parks and Openspace Assets at Risk
Page 41 of 47
http://frap.cdf.ca.gov/webdata/maps/san_diego/fhszl06_1_map.37.pdf
Figure B-9 Tierrasanta Developed Area - Fire Hazard Severity Zones
Page 42 of 47
Figure B-10 Tierrasanta Developed Area Potential Slide Areas (Pink); Landslides (yellow)
Page 43 of 47
Figure B-11. Tierrasanta Developed Area Graduated Percentage Fire Response Times
Page 44 of 47
Appendix C
Risk Assessment (Overall Tierrasanta Developed Area)
Page 45 of 47
Figure C-1. Tierrasanta Risk Assessment Site Locations
Page 46 of 47
Figure C-1.-1 Community Overall Risk Assessment
Page 47 of 47