Siskiyou supervisors open 30-day public comment on state fire-hazard maps; staff to draft letter to legislators

Siskiyou County officials reopened a public review period for newly issued fire hazard severity zone maps from the State Fire Marshal and outlined a compressed local process to adopt a county ordinance by the state deadline.

County community development staff told the board that, under state law, the State Fire Marshal must identify fire hazard severity zones and that local agencies must make the maps available for public comment within 30 days of transmittal and adopt an ordinance designating moderate, high or very high hazard areas within 120 days. The county’s notice was issued Feb. 10; staff said comments are due by April 2, 2025, at 5 p.m. Pacific and that the county must submit its ordinance to the State Fire Marshal by June 9, 2025.

The timing and potential local impacts were the focus of most questions. Supervisor Harris said the county is being given “a short time frame” to complete public outreach and an ordinance process and worried that the maps could affect insurance and impose unfunded burdens on the county’s constituents. Community development staff confirmed that the county may not reduce a designation assigned by the State Fire Marshal but may increase a zone’s severity; increasing a designation to “very high” requires a finding supported by substantial evidence under government code section 51182.

Brian Schneider, director of emergency services, described data and modeling behind the maps, saying the State Fire Marshal’s modeling used a Scott and Bergen model (circa 2005) for certain fuel types and incorporated factors such as flame length and crown fire potential; Schneider added that California’s model did account for the 2022 drought in its inputs. Schneider also said Oregon used different modeling (Oregon State University/Landfire) when that state updated its maps.

Board members repeatedly raised the point that many local neighborhoods have completed fuel-reduction work and defensive-space projects. Supervisor Gossett said some neighborhoods that have undertaken Firewise or other mitigation work still appear marked “very high” on the maps and urged staff to press for finer-grain map detail. Community development staff acknowledged limitations in the public-facing map layers at street scale and encouraged commenters to provide addresses, map images or other locational details when submitting feedback.

Staff outlined next steps: county departments (community development, emergency services and the sheriff’s department) and affected fire districts will review the maps and public comments, and staff will draft an ordinance and present it for first and second readings (anticipated in May) to meet the June 9 deadline. Staff also said they will contact local fire districts to coordinate review and that many districts have limited capacity to meet state requirements.

At the close of the discussion the board gave direction—without a formal recorded vote—for staff to draft a letter to the county’s state legislators, the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) and the county’s Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) outlining concerns about the condensed timetable and local resource burdens, and to return the proposed letter to the board for approval.

The county’s web page contains the maps, background materials, frequently asked questions and instructions for submitting comments; staff emphasized that commenters provide specific locational information and any justification if they are requesting an increased designation.

Copies of the State Fire Marshal materials and the Cal Fire “flipbook” FAQ were cited by staff as sources to explain modeling inputs and review cycles; staff also noted that the State Fire Marshal is required to periodically review fire-hazard designations and that the review schedule for local-responsibility-area maps will coincide with periodic reviews of state-responsibility-area lands (staff cited a five-year review cycle for SRA lands).