San Clemente council approves emergency wildfire measures, authorizes volunteer abatement program and donations

The San Clemente City Council unanimously approved a package of emergency wildfire-preparedness actions on Jan. 5, authorizing the city manager to accept donated equipment, to accept volunteer abatement services upon signed waivers, to negotiate right-of-entry agreements with property owners and homeowners associations for fuel-reduction work, and to find the activities categorically and statutorily exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act as emergency measures.

Mayor Steve Noe Block opened the special meeting by describing a heightened local wildfire risk after two years of unusual precipitation followed by strong Santa Ana winds and said the city’s existing weed-abatement program still left ‘‘areas in our community that present a potential fire hazard’’ that need immediate action. He asked the council to declare a wildfire-prevention week, to authorize a city-led volunteer effort to create and enhance firebreaks, and to ratify the city manager’s acceptance of donated tools and supplies to support volunteer abatement activities.

The council’s motion covered five principal items: receive a report on county-wide wildfire preparations, declare a local wildfire-prevention week, ratify the city manager’s acceptance of equipment donations, authorize the city manager to accept volunteer abatement services after volunteers sign a waiver/release and assumption of risk form, and authorize the city manager to negotiate and execute rights-of-entry with property owners and HOAs for abatement activities on sites not owned by the city. The motion also directed staff to work with the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) on organizing a community wildfire-prevention forum and asked the council to find the project exempt from CEQA under the emergency exemptions cited by staff.

City staff and council members gave operational context and clarifications during discussion. The council and staff said the waiver and release forms for volunteers are posted on the city website and available in the chambers for anyone volunteering for canyon clearing or other abatement tasks. City Manager Andy said local businesses had already agreed to donate equipment; council members later identified Lowe’s, Denault’s Hardware and Ganahl Lumber as donors and said tree-service contractors had committed chippers for volunteer events. During the meeting staff listed donated items including several chainsaws, rakes, gloves and container supplies; Councilmember discussion identified ‘‘about a dozen’’ chainsaws and other hand tools provided by local hardware partners.

Councilmembers and staff emphasized coordination with OCFA. The council heard from the city’s OCFA board representative that OCFA will hold a community forum on wildfire safety and that OCFA’s fire marshal had advised where fuel-reduction and sight-line work would be most helpful. Staff and council also discussed logistical support: locations for helicopter dip stations, nearby reservoirs that can serve as fill sites (including a golf-course pond at Bella Colina), and potential grant and insurance implications. Staff said some reservoirs used for helicopter dips are already in the city but not all are full; Public Works staff described an 8-inch line that can be used to fill the Bella Colina reservoir with recycled or potable water if needed.

Councilmembers pressed staff on environmental constraints and on coordination with adjacent landowners, including Rancho Mission Viejo and Camp Pendleton, and asked staff to avoid harming sensitive habitat. In public comment residents urged the council to consider additional measures (for example, goat grazing as a mitigation tool was discussed and credited to local volunteers who organized a pilot grazing area). Councilmembers noted a local pilot goat-grazing project was already planned for a small, city-owned parcel and praised volunteer organizer Mike Kaye.

The council’s motion included the specific CEQA citations staff recommended. At the meeting staff asked the council to find the proposed abatement activities exempt under the emergency provisions cited by staff (the transcript records staff referencing ‘‘California Resources Code 21,080, subdivision B4’’ and ‘‘CEQA Guidelines, section 15269(c)’’ as the basis for emergency exemption findings); council voted to adopt the findings as stated at the meeting.

The motion passed on a unanimous vote. Council directed staff to return with follow-up plans, to coordinate volunteer recruitment and waiver processing, to work with OCFA on community forums and to negotiate rights-of-entry with property owners and HOAs where necessary. No new long-term maintenance program or funding appropriation was adopted at the meeting; council and staff said further analysis and outreach would follow.

What’s next: staff will finalize volunteer recruitment materials and waiver forms, coordinate donated equipment distribution, continue outreach with OCFA on public forums, and advance rights-of-entry discussions with owners and HOAs in areas identified for abatement work. The council also directed staff to consider timing for a recurring wildfire-prevention week later in the year.

(Reporting note: the city posted the volunteer liability waiver/release form referenced in the meeting at the back of the chambers and on the city website; the council’s motion and the staff’s CEQA citations were read into the record during the special meeting.)