Plumas County opens public review of new Local Responsibility Area fire-hazard maps; adoption deadline set for June

Planning Director Tracy Ferguson introduced updated Local Responsibility Area (LRA) fire hazard severity zone maps at the March 11 Plumas County Board of Supervisors meeting and made the materials available for public review and comment.

Ferguson told the board the maps — produced by the Office of the State Fire Marshal under Senate Bill 63 (2021) — add “high” and “moderate” categories to the existing LRA “very high” designation and affect parcels in Quincy, East Quincy, Chester and Sierra Valley. She said county staff posted parcel-level maps and accompanying material online and in county offices and asked the board how it wanted staff to notify affected property owners and community groups during the 90-day review window.

The maps matter because a parcel’s LRA designation carries regulatory consequences. Ferguson said LRA “very high” and LRA “high” designations bring state minimum wildfire-safety regulations into effect, including Chapter 7A building-code requirements and expanded hazard-disclosure obligations for sellers. She explained that the state’s mapping work is based on hazard (long-term expected fire behavior) rather than “risk” (which accounts for mitigations such as home hardening or recent fuel reduction), and that the state’s methodology does not account for recent wildfires or local defensible-space efforts.

Ferguson said the county’s data show 2,695 parcels would be affected by the proposed changes. She noted that in Quincy the proposed map shows nearly the whole town as very high or high; Chester would shift from a small number of very-high parcels to a much larger very-high area; Sierra Valley remains mostly unaffected but sees changes at the edges. The state allows local governments to be more, but not less, restrictive than the state maps; Ferguson said any county change would be sent back to the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

Board members pressed for outreach. Supervisor Mimi Hall urged town halls and partnering with local Firewise and Fire Safe Councils for education about defensible space and Chapter 7A construction requirements. Ferguson said she had notified affected fire chiefs and the City of Portola and would contact CAL FIRE’s local unit to request assistance at community meetings. She offered to provide electronic copies of the maps for supervisors to share and to return with cost estimates for postcard mailings to affected parcels.

Ferguson emphasized that the county must adopt a local ordinance by June 10, 2025, and transmit it to the state by July 10, 2025, to complete the LRA adoption process. She recommended substantial public outreach between March and the ordinance hearing so parcel owners could review splits, site plans, or request clarifications prior to adoption.

The board directed staff to continue public outreach and report back with a public-notice plan and cost estimate for direct mailings and community meetings. No ordinance vote was taken on March 11; the item remains in the public-review phase.

Why this matters: The LRA designation determines which statewide wildfire-safety standards apply to property sales and new construction. Changes could affect building requirements, disclosure obligations, subdivision review and permitting for thousands of parcels across the county.

What’s next: Staff will host public outreach events, supply parcel-level maps on the county website, consult the affected fire districts and CAL FIRE local unit as available, and return to the board with recommendations and a draft ordinance for adoption before the June 10 deadline.