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Montebello officials briefed on new wildfire rules, "Zone 0" defensible‑space guidance
Summary
Fire officials told the City Council Montebello has areas mapped as very high fire hazard severity and outlined new state-driven building- and vegetation-management requirements, including a focus on the first 5 feet around a structure called "Zone 0."
Montebello officials and residents heard a detailed public briefing on wildfire risk, new state building standards and neighborhood-level vegetation management Tuesday night as the city was identified in parts as a very high fire hazard severity zone.
Retired fire marshal Captain Rich Snyder, who led the presentation, said homeowners must combine vegetation management with “home hardening” to reduce risk from embers and radiant heat. “We are not going to be able to stop these fires, but we can keep them from destroying the homes,” Snyder said, summarizing the state’s approach of preventing structure ignitions rather than relying on suppression alone.
The presentation described three main ignition paths — direct flame contact, radiant heat and embers — and emphasized that embers…
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