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Orinda council approves Ladrus wildfire-evacuation modeling; staff to comment on state "Zone 0" draft rules
Summary
Orinda approved a one-year agreement with Ladrus on July 15 to run wildfire-evacuation models and provide a public portal; staff also briefed the council on draft Board of Forestry "Zone 0" rules and will prepare comment, including a challenge to a draft prohibition on lawn grass within five feet of structures.
The Orinda City Council on July 15 approved a one-year contract with Ladrus (a wildfire and evacuation modeling firm) to provide AI-driven scenario modeling and a public portal to help the city plan evacuations and communicate wildfire risk.
City Manager explained the tool will let staff run wildfire- and traffic-evacuation scenarios, vary inputs (for example, vehicle counts and departure behaviors), and visualize how quickly fire or congestion could reach neighborhoods. The council approved the agreement unanimously. City Manager: "This tool will enable us to do a variety of things and will be incredibly valuable, for the city as we update both our emergency operations plan and continue our preparation efforts, working with the schools." (City Manager)
During the same meeting staff briefed the council on the Board of Forestry's draft Zone 0 rules, which define an ember-resistant zone extending five feet from structures and, in the current draft, would prohibit irrigated lawn grass in that Zone 0. Senior Management Analyst Nikki Crum summarized the draft and flagged two points for council consideration: the draft's exclusion of grass is not scientifically supported according to city staff discussions with local fire officials, and potted plants and certain trees would be allowed under prescribed restrictions. "Green grass will not be allowed within Zone 0," Crum said, then noted city staff intends to contest that specific exclusion in the Board of Forestry comment process.
Council members discussed whether the city should send formal comments to the Board of Forestry and asked staff to coordinate comments with the Moraga-Orinda Fire District on specific planting allowances and roof/material considerations. "We should comment on the grass question," a council member said during discussion, and council directed staff to prepare a letter addressing grass and other issues and to coordinate with MOFD on technical points.
Staff described an implementation timeline for Ladrus: an initial training and setup followed by scenario runs within 30' 60 days; a public portal will allow residents to visualize modeled evacuation flows. Ladrus' CEO (joining remotely) said the city could see useful scenarios quickly after implementation.
Ending: The council approved the contract for near-term modeling and asked staff to return comments on the Board of Forestry draft regulations, focusing in part on the scientific basis for prohibiting irrigated lawn in the five-foot Zone 0 surrounding structures.
