Escondido council adopts updated state fire hazard severity map; new rules tied to map will guide building standards

The Escondido City Council on a 4-0 vote adopted an uncodified ordinance to accept the state'issued fire hazard severity zone map and designate moderate, high and very high hazard tiers within the city's local responsibility area.

The ordinance, introduced by Mayor Dane White and seconded by Councilman Christian Garcia, implements updated mapping produced by the California State Fire Marshal and Cal FIRE that adds two new tiers (moderate and high) to the prior 2009 map and will be used to guide local development standards, property disclosures and defensible-space requirements in the very high hazard areas.

Deputy Fire Marshal Lavonna Kretke, who presented the item, said the state'led mapping effort uses new science and climate data to model likelihood and fire behavior and that the map evaluates hazard, not current risk. "The fire hazard severity map evaluates hazard, not risk. Hazard is based on the physical conditions that create a likelihood and expected behavior over 30 to 50 year period without considering mitigation," Kretke said. She added that risk, by contrast, accounts for mitigation such as defensible space, recent fuel reductions or fire resistant construction.

Why it matters: the new map will trigger changes in building and disclosure requirements. In very high and high fire hazard severity areas, the city will apply development standards that increase required fire resistive features for new buildings, require property sellers to disclose the designation in real estate transactions and, in very high zones, require a 100'foot defensible buffer between structures and surrounding fuels.

Council members and staff addressed public concerns about map detail and the comment process. Kretke noted maps were posted for public review in March 2025 and staff received 11 comments that were provided in the staff report packet. Council members asked whether the city can redraw lines; staff replied that the city must adopt the map as provided under the cited Government Code provision and that the state will receive and file comments rather than making local edits.

Council discussion also touched on secondary effects for residents. Councilmembers asked whether insurers could rely on the maps to set rates; staff and council said the maps are not, by themselves, a rate-setting tool and that rate decisions are regulated by the state insurance commissioner. Council members emphasized the maps will form the technical basis for updated local building code requirements and community mitigation planning.

The council approved the ordinance 4-0; Councilmember Fitzgerald was absent. Staff said the map and related ordinances will be published and made available for public viewing and that updates to local development standards will follow to align with the mapping tiers.

Actions taken: the council adopted ordinance 2025-O3 adopting the state fire hazard severity zone map and directed staff to post the map and proceed with alignment of local development standards.

The city will make the final adopted maps available for public inspection and staff said they will forward the adopted map and comments to the state as required by law.