Laguna Beach Community Wildfire Protection Plan And Other Natural Disasters Table of Contents I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 3 1. Laguna Beach History......................................................................................................... 3 2. Covered Area ...................................................................................................................... 3 3. CWPP Purpose .................................................................................................................... 3 II. CITY RECOMMENDATIONS.............................................................................................. 3 1. Fire ...................................................................................................................................... 3 2. Floods ................................................................................................................................ 39 3. Tsunamis ........................................................................................................................... 41 4. Earthquakes ....................................................................................................................... 47 5. Evacuation Plan ................................................................................................................ 53 III. PUBLIC RESOURCES .................................................................................................... 66 1. Utilities .............................................................................................................................. 66 2. Fire Safe Council .............................................................................................................. 67 3. Laguna Beach Unified School District ............................................................................. 67 4. South Coast Medical Center ............................................................................................. 68 5. Visitors and Non-Residents .............................................................................................. 72 IV. COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITIES ............................................................................. 72 1. Fire .................................................................................................................................... 72 2. Earthquake Preparedness ................................................................................................ 102 3. Utility Shut Off ............................................................................................................... 103 V. COMMUNICATION .......................................................................................................... 104 1. Communication Facilities ............................................................................................... 104 2. Emergency 9-1-1 Service ................................................................................................ 104 3. Interdepartmental Field Communications ....................................................................... 105 4. Countywide Communications ......................................................................................... 105 5. “CONTROL ONE” and “OCC” ..................................................................................... 105 6. Emergency Alert System (EAS) ..................................................................................... 105 7. Radio Amateur Civil Emergency System (RACES) ...................................................... 105 VI. ACTION PLAN .............................................................................................................. 106 1. Project Recommendations .............................................................................................. 106 2. Communication Improvement ........................................................................................ 107 VII. REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 108 2 I. INTRODUCTION 1. LAGUNA BEACH HISTORY California experiences large, destructive wildland fires almost every year. As demonstrated by the Oct. 27, 1993 firestorm in Laguna Canyon, Laguna Beach is extremely vulnerable to wildfires and major fires. The arson fire was started in the unincorporated area of Laguna Canyon during an extreme Santa Ana wind condition. Fueled with dry, dense fuelbeds, and pushed by hot winds, the fire blew south into Laguna Beach and Emerald Bay, consuming 16,683 acres, destroyed 366 homes (286 in Laguna Beach) and damaged 642 homes (City of Laguna Beach, 1997). 2. COVERED AREA This CWPP covers the city of Laguna Beach as well as El Morro, Emerald Bay, and Irvine Cove. In addition to fires, this plan expands to other disasters including floods, tsunamis, and earthquakes. 3. CWPP PURPOSE The CWPP identifies essential infrastructure in the city of Laguna Beach, which are at risk during fires. These identified assets are prioritized by importance and analyzed to create possible solutions, which reduces risk. The possible solutions are then analyzed resulting in plausible actions to reduce ignitability. By identifying these assets, the city can better prepare and protect businesses, landmarks, residential homes, and most importantly, life. In addition, the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) of 2003 encourages communities to engage in forest planning and prioritization. In turn, this legislation allows the US Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to give greater consideration to communities, which have or are in the process of creating a CWPP (California Fire Alliance, 2004). Therefore, the preparation of a CWPP allows the city and other entities to apply for future funding. II. CITY RECOMMENDATIONS 1. FIRE The following fire analysis and recommendations are prepared utilizing the Emergency Management Plan (1997) and the Wildland Fire Management Plan (2005) in conjunction with the Laguna Beach Police Department, Laguna Beach Fire Department, and the Orange County Fire Authority. Laguna Beach has the three key ingredients that together may contribute to a major wildland fire: fuel, topography, and weather. Fuel Laguna Beach is surrounded by nearly 15,000 of wildlands around its borders, in addition to numerous, densely vegetated inner canyons and slopes. Undeveloped open space is both a desirable and important component of Laguna’s unique character and quality of life. However, 3 the presence of dense, combustible fuels along steep hillsides also poses certain risks, which must be considered when evaluating the town’s fire safety. Fuel loading includes three classes. Light fuels represent flammable grass and annual herbs. There are only a few areas in Laguna Beach, which fit this category, most of which have been altered by man’s actions: cattle grazing, fuel breaks, etc. Medium fuels include brush and other perennial shrubs less than six feet in height with a crown density of 20 percent or more. This comprises the largest group in Laguna Beach. Heavy fuels are the heavier brush species, woodland types and timber types more than six feet in height with a crown density of 20 percent or more. In Laguna Beach, these areas are predominantly located on north facing slopes in the canyons where the moisture content is greater. Fuels and vegetation become a particularly critical fire risk following years of vegetation build- up. If the vegetation in the adjacent wildland areas is not periodically burned, the resulting fuel loads can create hazardous conditions. Topography The topography of Laguna Beach can be best described as dominated by hillsides and canyons with steep slopes and thick vegetation. This terrain can be a prime contributor to fire spread, and a threat for homes built on hillsides. Weather The most important factor of fire weather is wind. Like most of Southern California, Laguna Beach is subject to the Santa Ana winds, a seasonal phenomenon caused by very dry, hot air originating from high-pressure systems over California, Utah, and Nevada deserts accompanied by bone-dry humidity. Strong Santa Ana winds can reach 70+ miles and spread a fire, or lead to spotting, where flaming embers are carried up hillside slopes or onto roofs. There are other important issues influencing fire safety in Laguna Beach, specifically development patterns and access. Development Patterns In addition to wildland fires, Laguna Beach is also vulnerable to the possibility of a relatively small structure fire spreading into a major neighborhood conflagration. This is due primary to the town’s many densely, packed neighborhoods. These are neighborhoods in which homes are built on small lots with little space between structures. Some of the following neighborhoods have been identified as having critical development patterns with respect to fire are: Arch Beach Heights, Diamond/Crestview, Canyon Acres, Woodland/Milligan, Bluebird Canyon, and the interface areas of South Laguna. Access Also, at issue are questions of ingress and egress. Laguna Beach has several neighborhoods with narrow streets and long cul de sacs. Many residents insist on parking on the streets, making for even narrower ingress and egress. Such conditions could pose problems for fire fighting or emergency personnel as well as evacuating citizens. 4 Fire Fighting Capabilities