by Ed Maurer

The intensifying wildfires of the last few years and new science have triggered the development of updated CalFire maps showing Fire Hazard Severity Zones in California. These are categorized as “moderate”, “high”, and “very high”. The very high zone will expand by about 30% statewide to a total of 1,047,000 acres. Exact figures for the high and moderate zone have not been established yet, and the moderate zone generally does not impact local government regulations. The first new regional maps were released on Monday for inland Northern California. Local jurisdictions will have 30 days to make the new maps public and 120 days to adopt the maps and begin applying the heightened fire-safety regulations for high and very high fire hazard severity zones.

These maps will be in Orange County and city mailboxes on March 24 and will have to be made public by April 24! CalFire’s Fire Hazard Severity Zone Viewer displays the current 3 categories throughout the state, and it allows to zero in on any location.

The state’s fire safety standards can be exceeded by local jurisdictions, but they cannot be decreased. Most of the regulations concern new construction and major remodels, and property owners are free to retrofit existing structures to meet the new standards.

Whether these new maps will have an impact on homeowners’ insurance rates remains to be seen because insurers have used their own data to assess risk. It is generally accepted that CalFire uses a more conservative model in their work which is used primarily for regulatory purposes, while others, e.g.: First Street, an investor-owned business, use more complex models that provide more granular (property level) results.

The bottom line is that more severe fire regulations will become the law in the growing high and very high fire hazard zones, leading to increased costs of construction and, in our opinion, higher insurance premiums.