Board adopts state-updated fire hazard maps; officials promise phased inspections and outreach

Los Angeles County supervisors on Tuesday adopted an ordinance aligning county fire-hazard maps with the state’s updated fire hazard severity designations and approved related implementation steps, including phased inspections and an outreach campaign for newly affected property owners.

The board’s action, approved 4–0, follows state mapping updates by CAL FIRE that alter which parcels fall into very high, high and moderate fire hazard zones in the county’s Local Responsibility Area (LRA). The ordinance amends county Code Title 32 to reflect those state determinations and sets the framework for how the county will phase in inspections, fees and public education.

Chief Malcolm Moroney, Los Angeles County Fire Department chief, told supervisors the state’s mapping process considers “ember cast, fire history, flame length, terrain, slope, local weather, and the potential fuel load with over a 50 year period.” He said the department performed about 129,000 defensible‑space inspections in 2024 and expects that number to fall to about 114,000 in 2026 because some areas (notably parts of the Palos Verdes Peninsula) were removed from hazard zones in the update.

Why it matte…