Vista public hearing spotlights new defensible-space ordinance, fire chiefs outline 3‑year rollout and grant strategy

Fire Chief Gerard Washington and Vista Fire Protection District staff told the Vista City Council that updated state hazard maps and an accompanying vegetation-management ordinance are intended to reduce wildfire risk and help residents retain insurance coverage.

“Be proactive, and by that, we're going to save lives, guaranteed,” Chief Gerard Washington said, urging council support for the updated ordinance and cautioning that compliance costs can be significant for some property owners.

Deputy Chief Brett Davidson explained the state’s updated Local Hazard Severity Zones, released March 24, and said the council must adopt the maps by ordinance. Davidson said the maps were developed from 20 years of weather history and model the top 10% of weather events to predict fire behavior. “So when we get a wind‑driven wildfire... our goal is to reduce the fuels in the creek beds, along the creekways, around homes and around the canyon rims,” Davidson said.

City and district staff described the proposed defensible-space framework as three buffer zones: zone 0 (0–5 feet), zone…