Lake County board advances state fire-hazard maps, sets June 17 for adoption vote

The Lake County Board of Supervisors on June 10 moved to read in title an ordinance adopting updated fire-hazard severity zone maps for Local Responsibility Areas and set the ordinance for consideration and possible adoption on June 17.

The maps, prepared by the California Office of the State Fire Marshal and provided to the county in February 2025, reclassify parts of the unincorporated area into moderate, high and very-high fire-hazard severity zones. Community Development Director Maria Turner told the board the maps were published for a 90-day public comment period and that written comments are posted on the county website.

County staff and the county’s chief climate resiliency officer, Terry Logsdon, walked the board through the state methodology and local implications. Logsdon said the state’s modeling incorporates vegetation, fire history, terrain and wind patterns — including Lake County’s locally important strong winds — and that the maps are intended to represent hazard rather than the short-term risk of a given property.

"These designations are determined using the best available science and data," Logsdon said. "They identify levels of fire hazard — not risk — which includes topography, wind patterns and vegetation."

Turner and Jack Smalley, the county’s chief building official, told the board that the primary technical effect of the maps is to trigger state and local building standards in the Wildland-Urban Interface and that much of the county is already designated WUI. They also noted the maps are used principally for building standards and disclosure, not insurance determination.

Several supervisors and members of the public pressed staff for clarity about parcels that contain more than one hazard designation — so-called "split parcels." Turner said state guidance does not require an automatic elevation to the highest zone for a whole property and that local jurisdictions must make that policy decision. "Cal Fire does not make recommendations on this topic because it is a local decision made in collaboration with local legal counsel," Turner said, quoting guidance from a Cal Fire land-use planning contact.

Lakeport Fire Protection District Chief Patrick Reitz and Cal Fire representative Paul Duncan urged the board to adopt the maps as submitted, calling the state maps an unfunded mandate but cautioning that local mitigation and defensible-space work remain essential. Reitz told the board his district supports adoption so the county can move forward programmatically.

Supervisor discussion focused on whether to adopt the state maps as-is and revisit local ordinance tweaks later. The board first approved reading the ordinance in title only, as amended, with a 4-1 vote. A subsequent motion to advance the draft ordinance as amended to the June 17 meeting for consideration and possible adoption carried 5-0.

County staff said the ordinance cannot reduce a state-designated hazard level but can adopt more stringent local requirements. Turner said the county will prepare a letter and bring public comments forward alongside any proposed local refinements.

The board directed staff to return the ordinance for the June 17 meeting, when members will have the option to adopt it or to make local increases in hazard designation where they believe evidence supports that step.

Ending: The board’s action advances statewide hazard mapping into local law while reserving for future meetings any policy choices about whether split parcels should be treated at the highest mapped designation. The county will publish staff responses to public comments and bring the ordinance back June 17 for possible final adoption.