Rolling Hills Council adopts updated CAL FIRE fire hazard severity map, says inspections will target ‘very high’ zones

The Rolling Hills City Council voted unanimously to adopt updated fire hazard severity maps prepared by CAL FIRE and introduced ordinance No. 387 at the meeting, council members said during a roll-call vote.

Council members and county fire officials told residents the maps are based on updated modeling and climate inputs; the Los Angeles County Fire Department said only areas designated “very high” on the CAL FIRE maps will be subject to annual defensible-space inspections and enforcement.

The new maps, described by Assistant Fire Chief Bridal Kane of the Los Angeles County Fire Department as CAL FIRE’s updated LRA (Local Responsibility Area) maps, use a 2-kilometer grid of climate data covering about 2003–2018 and refine how ember transport and extreme-weather fire behavior are modeled. Kane said the maps evaluate “hazards, not risk,” and that hazard classifications reflect long-term physical…