Council member reports county and state wildfire-preparedness activity; mayor requests staff follow-up

Council Member Diana Hawkins (Hawkins Manuelian) reported out on wildfire preparedness and emergency-management activity at county and state levels and urged the council to consider a series of town policy and outreach responses.

Hawkins described multiple recent sessions: a UCLA expert panel after the Los Angeles-area fire, a San Mateo Emergency Services Council strategic planning listening session, a town-level fire-hardening meeting that prompted residents to request broader outreach, and a Senate briefing on statewide hardening programs and new rules including a governor's order (described by Hawkins as building on AB 3074) that could affect local regulations. She said Cal Fire will release updated fire-hazard severity maps for the area and recommended the town reexamine Atherton's tree and canopy management policies, public education on home hardening and the town's relationship with volunteer preparedness organizations such as ADAP and CERT.

"Following the recent extreme fire event that happened in LA, there's been a flurry of events and meetings on educating and preparing the public for wildfire, promoting fire home hardening, securing our county emergency response systems, some new regulations coming on the state level, and a new fire map from Cal Fire," Hawkins said. She asked the council whether to prepare a staff report or hold a council workshop to consider policy adjustments.

Mayor Lewis responded that staff should look at upcoming agendas and schedule a full council discussion in the near term and noted a community engagement meeting the fire district is arranging for early March that will follow the map release. Town staff confirmed the Cal Fire map will be publicly circulated and noted the district and town will coordinate public engagement; updates or ordinance proposals that follow would include public hearings as required.

Why it matters: State and county actions on wildland-urban interface rules and updated hazard maps could prompt required changes in local tree, canopy and land-use policies and affect homeowners' insurance and defensible-space obligations. Council direction on education and policy review will determine whether Atherton pursues code changes, outreach programs or other measures.

Next steps: Mayor asked staff to bring the matter to the next available council agenda for fuller discussion; staff and the fire district will coordinate community outreach tied to the map release.