Cupertino council advances CAL FIREmap update, hears countywide wildfire mitigation briefing

The Cupertino City Council conducted a public presentation on wildfire risk and voted unanimously to conduct a first reading of an ordinance that would adopt California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) _recommended fire hazard severity zone maps_ and related municipal code updates. The discussion followed a presentation from the Santa Clara County Fire Safe Council on the countywide wildfire mitigation work and available community programs.

The vote to begin ordinance adoption was procedural: the council directed the city clerk to read the ordinance title and waived further reading. The first-reading motion advances a code amendment that will replace the citywildland-urban interface map in Cupertinomunicipal code chapters identified in the staff report and attach CAL FIREmaps as the official fire hazard severity boundaries.

Why it matters: the CAL FIRE maps indicate where state law expects jurisdictions to apply wildfire-related building and defensible-space standards, require real-estate disclosure at sale in designated zones and guide inspections and preparedness. While a designation does not itself ban building, staff and CAL FIRE staff told the council that parcels inside the mapped zones can be subject to different building standards for major new construction and to defensible-space inspections. The new maps expand the area designated "very high" within Cupertino's hilly western edge compared with the 2009 map.

Santa Clara County Fire Safe Council briefing

The Santa Clara County Fire Safe Council described a portfolio of programs aimed at reducing wildfire risk across jurisdictions. The council's presenter (identified to the council as the county Fire Safe Council representative) said the organization manages large fuel-reduction grants, community outreach and emerging technologies.

Among the items the Fire Safe Council highlighted: - Los Gatos Creek Watershed Collaborative: two BRIDAL Fire grants totaling about $15 million to treat roughly 2,000 acres near Lexington and reservoirs to reduce fuels and disease-driven tree mortality. - A 70-sensor network of AI-enabled early-warning detectors countywide, and a recently approved pilot to install 50 additional sensors. - Programs to create and support Firewise USA neighborhoods and to run home inspection/home-ignition-zone assessments that walk property owners through vegetation/ignition risks. - Rebate and dead-tree removal programs that some towns use to offset removal costs for property owners.

"I do expect that we may see more and increasing days like this over the next 20 to 30 years," the county presenter told the council, referring to wildfire activity and extreme fire-weather days.

Key elements of the CAL FIRE map update

City staff and CAL FIRErepresentatives summarized the legal and practical effects of the updated maps. Principal points included: - State law requires cities to adopt the maps CAL FIRE issues; the city received CAL FIRE's recommended map in February and must act within the statutory window provided by the Government Code. - Cities cannot use local ordinance to downgrade or remove properties that CAL FIRE recommends as in a fire hazard severity zone; local governments may add properties that they can justify but may not subtract. - Parcels newly identified in a higher category (for example moderate -> high or high -> very high) will face the same building-code references now applied to the local "high/very high" standard in Cupertino; major remodels and new construction in those zones could trigger ignition-resistant building requirements. - Both CAL FIRE and city staff emphasized the maps are terrain- and vegetation-based hazard designations and are not an insurance risk map. "Insurance companies typically use a different, property-specific risk assessment map," staff said in response to a council question.

Enforcement, inspections and "Zone 0"

City and County Fire staff described inspection and notification processes. For properties inside the very-high and high zones the county conducts or coordinates defensible-space inspections, including: - Notices mailed to affected property owners (the city said it mailed about 3,000 notices showing the changes). - A program of periodic inspections and a process that can lead to county weed-abatement actions if owners fail to correct hazardous vegetation after multiple notices. - The county noted a home-ignition assessment (HIZ) program that is informational and nonpunitive; the weed-abatement/WUI inspections can lead to enforcement only after outreach and follow up.

Staff also flagged the coming statewide work on "Zone 0," the proposed rule for the first five feet immediately adjacent to structures. That draft remains under the Board of Forestry process; staff said the draft is expected to be finalized and the substantive requirements to start coming into force in 2026. Staff emphasized that the draft language currently excludes mature, large tree trunks from automatic removal and that implementation will include outreach, a phased timetable and potential grant support for residents.

Resident concerns and county/agency dependencies

Speakers at the council raised several concerns from neighborhoods in the western hills: - Insurance cost and availability: residents reported higher premiums and difficulty getting coverage in recent years; staff reiterated that CAL FIRE maps are not the sole insurance triggers and that insurers use additional property-level underwriting. - Public and private open-space maintenance: speakers asked the city to press the county and quarry operators to manage vegetation on adjacent lands that can carry fire toward neighborhoods. - Timing and notice: residents asked for additional clarity about how and when changes would be enforced and what assistance would be available for mitigation and tree management.

Next steps

Council took the ordinance to first reading and directed staff to continue public outreach and return with a finalized ordinance for second reading and adoption. Staff repeatedly pointed the public to CAL FIRE and the Board of Forestry materials for technical guidance and to the county's Fire Safe Council and county fire for information on the defensible-space program and available grants and rebate programs.

The council also asked staff to provide more clarity in printed material on which activities are voluntary (information and HIZ inspections) and which could result in enforcement, and to identify potential local financial assistance and timelines for implementation.