San Ramon Valley Fire officials outline wildfire preparedness, new modeling and community programs

San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District leaders told the San Ramon City Council on Feb. 25 that the district is increasing targeted wildfire mitigation, updating its response planning with new modeling tools and expanding community programs after recent large Southern California fires.

The presentation, delivered by Fire Chief Meyer and Deputy Chief Jonas Agar, described the district's capabilities, staffing and new analytic tools the department will use to identify "fire pathways" and targeted mitigation areas. Chief Meyer said the district was awarded a Class 1 Insurance Services Office rating in 2021, a distinction he said only about 1 of 19 agencies in California hold. "It allows us when that organization comes in and they do an audit of everything that we provide from the equipment to the training, our water supply, our emergency communications," Meyer said.

District leaders emphasized why the city should expect more aggressive, targeted mitigation and early evacuation strategies. Deputy Chief Agar described a new partnership with XylaPlan, a company that models topography, fuels and other factors to identify narrow "splat" zones or fire pathways where mitigation can most reduce fire spread. "If they can stop these certain areas...it slows the fire at that point and allows for us to strategically know where those zones are," Agar said. Officials said they will seek Measure X and other funds to pay for prioritized mitigation in the highest-risk spots.

The district described daily staffing and equipment: about 55 square miles covered, roughly 200,000 residents served, four main stations in the city of San Ramon and nine full-time stations districtwide plus one volunteer station. Daily on-duty suppression staffing is about 45 personnel supported by two battalion chiefs. The district also detailed specialized capabilities including hazardous-materials, urban search and rescue and helicopter rescue resources, and said a new county training site will open in August.

Water supply and hydrants were a major topic. The district said it performs annual flow testing on every hydrant in its jurisdiction'roughly 6,500 hydrants in total'and highlighted that water-distribution issues observed in Southern California informed the district's preparedness work. "We put our hands on everyone every year," Agar said, noting the district tests more hydrants than typical water departments.

Officials described operational measures used on high-risk days: prepositioning extra engines and staff during red-flag conditions; creating enhanced responses to high-hazard areas; and asking mutual-aid partners for additional resources when needed. Agar outlined that the district will continue upstaffing for red-flag warnings (typically adding two engines and an additional battalion chief) and will preposition resources through regional mutual-aid when appropriate.

The presentation covered equipment and capability upgrades: a new communications support vehicle, new hazmat specifications intended to upgrade a Type 2 hazmat team toward a Type 1 rating within about 12 months, and deliveries of additional wildland apparatus. Agar said the district is evaluating new technologies for incidents involving lithium-ion batteries and rooftop solar, but cautioned homeowners against trying to extinguish large battery fires: "When they get in a thermal runaway...there's copious amounts of water to cool it is really the only thing that you can utilize on them."

Officials urged residents to take specific mitigation steps: maintain defensible space (15 feet of cleared area and broader defensible space recommendations up to 100 feet where applicable), harden structures (closing vents, using noncombustible materials near homes, reducing combustible decking) and prepare wildfire action plans and emergency kits. The district noted it has an exterior hazard abatement program covering more than 6,000 parcels in very-high-hazard areas and offers courtesy inspections through its Community Risk Reduction Bureau.

District leaders also promoted public alerting tools: the county Community Warning System and Nixle for localized alerts; Genesis Protect (formerly Zonehaven) for evacuation-zone notifications; and PulsePoint, an app developed by the department that provides real-time incident locations and radio traffic. "If you really want to understand and stay informed, this is going to be one of the best resources," Agar said of PulsePoint.

The presentation closed with a description of the department's behavioral health initiative. The Firefighter First program routes certain 911 behavioral-health calls to specially trained firefighters and crisis services with the goal of avoiding involuntary psychiatric holds. Deputy Chief Agar said the program is achieving about an 81% diversion rate from psychiatric emergency transports for calls handled under the new model.

Council members asked about interoperability with water agencies, emergency communications during public-safety power shutoffs and plans for trail and fuel-break work. Chief Meyer said the district maintains liaisons with East Bay Municipal Utility District and Dublin San Ramon Services District; he also said discussions are ongoing about backup power for pumps and other distribution vulnerabilities during PSPS events.

Mayor Armstrong closed the presentation by thanking the district and noting the council will hear related briefings this spring from related agencies, including water districts and the city's geologic hazard-abatement district.

Provenance: the district's presentation and subsequent Q&A occur during the council's Feb. 25 meeting under agenda item 6.1.