The California Division of Forestry and Hearth Safety has launched up to date statewide fire hazard maps for the primary time in 14 years, rating hearth probability in sure areas from reasonable, excessive to very excessive.
Southern California’s mapping got here out on Monday, with the next eight counties included: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Imperial, Mono and Inyo. Cal Hearth had already launched hearth maps for Northern and Central California this yr.
The brand new 2025 maps replace the earlier 2007-2011 fashions, with zone rankings based mostly on vegetation, terrain, hearth historical past and native climate, in keeping with Cal Hearth.
The maps are meant to be proactive, slightly than reactive. Cal Hearth mentioned they’re for use in wildland-urban interface constructing requirements for brand new development, pure hazard actual property disclosures on the time of sale, and level metropolis or county leaders the place to use mitigation measures.
Constructing requirements within the excessive and very-high hearth zones require that newly constructed properties have fire-resistant roofs and rain gutters, outer partitions able to withstanding warmth and flames for as much as an hour, double-pane home windows with tempered, shatter-proof glass and ember-resistant attic and storage vents.
Residents in very excessive zones even have to fulfill landscaping necessities. A 100-foot defensible house clearance round properties and adjoining decks should be maintained, timber should be trimmed, lifeless or dying vegetation should be eliminated and flammable brush should be cleared. Property improvement requirements additionally embody street widths, water provide and signage.
On a broader scale, the maps are to be informative for metropolis and county future improvement plans and assist strengthen hearth security insurance policies.
Particular options make some areas extra hazardous than others, and Cal Hearth is required by legislation to map areas with important hearth hazards.
The brand new maps are interactive and present comparability information from previous (2007-2011) Hearth Hazard Severity Zones with new (2025) zones. Customers can even enter particular addresses to see what zone they fall into if any in any respect. One other new characteristic of the 2025 maps reveals what company is answerable for every space, state or native firefighters.
Cal Hearth 
