These San Diego areas now considered ‘very high fire hazard’ zones by Cal Fire

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — For the first time in more than a decade, Cal Fire officials have released an updated fire hazard severity zone map for communities across the state.

The new map, which is intended to illustrate the potential for fire activity in certain areas over a multi-decade period, expanded the state’s “very high fire hazard” zones by millions of acres to nearly all of Southern California.

These zones, Cal Fire explains, have conditions with a significant potential to lead to fire activity over a 30 to 50-year period without taking into consideration mitigation measures — like home hardening and fuel reduction efforts — or scars from previous burns.

San Diego County was not immune to these changes: Most of the cities in the county saw an increase in the amount of land inside its boundaries now classified at the highest hazard level — “very high” — from the last assessment back in 2011.

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Now, more than 817,00 acres in San Diego County have been classified by Cal Fire as “very high” for fire hazard, up from 646,838 acres under the 2011 map. Nearly 3 million acres were labeled a “moderate” hazard, while 364,767 acres were found to have a “high” hazard level.

Consistent with the old maps, Poway has the greatest share of land in its boundaries considered to be a “very high” hazard out of all cities in the county, with almost 80% of its roughly 25,024 acres given the designation by Cal Fire under the update.

Cities with the biggest jumps in “very high” hazard zones included Carlsbad, Chula Vista and Del Mar, all of which nearly doubled their acreage from the 2011 map.

Only the cities of San Diego, El Cajon and Solana Beach now have less land considered at a “very high” fire hazard compared to the last assessment. The total land in unincorporated areas given this designation also decreased.

La Mesa and Lemon Grove, which previously had no land designated as a “very high” hazard, remained the same under the new maps.

Not loading properly? A PDF breakdown by city in San Diego County can be viewed here.

That’s not to say fires are inevitable in each of the locations considered to have a higher hazard, nor is the designation prescriptive of the potential impact should a fire break out. Fire officials stress these maps are a planning tool, similar to flood zone maps.

For instance, the maps are used to guide building or development standards, notify potential homeowners of the risk associated with the property, set defensible space clearance requirements around buildings, and more.

To find neighborhood-level details on fire hazard severity, San Diegans can search using the interactive map from Cal Fire below.

Map not displaying correctly? Click here.

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