The Duarte City Council adopted an ordinance on June 24 to bring the city into compliance with state law by adopting the fire hazard severity zone map produced by the state fire marshal and to incorporate the current Los Angeles County Fire Code into local regulation. Public Safety staff and the Public Safety Commission recommended the ordinance; the commission reviewed public comments and recommended unanimous adoption.

Public Safety Director Larry Bracida told council the city cannot reduce a state-designated severity zone but may expand it or add local regulations. The ordinance adds a new section that prohibits camping and "camping paraphernalia," which the staff described as items more likely to increase wildfire risk—"campfires and open flames"—in wildfire risk areas and on public facilities.

Councilmembers asked technical questions about the map and its implications. Councilmember Finley noted repeated fires in the riverbed and asked why the riverbed is not placed in a higher severity classification; Bracida explained Cal Fire’s model considers access and ability to isolate fires in addition to vegetation and probability, and that the riverbed’s concrete confines and access roads reduce the severity classification compared with hillside areas lacking access roads.

Council members also asked whether the severity map would increase homeowner insurance costs; staff said the city was told by insurers that they do not use this map for insurance calculations. Members asked about resource implications: Bracida said the map primarily supports prevention and enforcement of defensible-space rules and that LA County Fire has enforcement teams that issue warning notices and citations to create defensible space in high-severity zones.

A member of the public, identified as Mr. Hernandez, urged council to consider the riverbed’s changing risks, citing recent fires that crossed conventions and urging more attention to riverbed vegetation and access. The council closed the public hearing with no further speakers and voted to approve the recommended action. Mayor Garcia noted coordination with the Army Corps of Engineers in looking at riverbed risks.