That Urban-Wildland Interface

A new fire season is almost upon us, renewing memories of last October’s devastating Oakland-Berkeley firestorm, which claimed 25 lives and burned more than 3,400 homes. With that disaster in mind, Gov. Pete Wilson and Assemblyman Tom Bates (D-Oakland), in a rare show of bipartisan cooperation in Sacramento, are sponsoring legislation that would set statewide standards for fire safety in high-risk areas. The measure, AB 337, was approved unanimously by the Senate Local Government Committee but faces a stiffer test Tuesday in the Senate Housing Committee. It deserves support.

As now written, the bill would require the California Department of Forestry to create “very high fire severity zones” throughout the state, beginning with the most urban counties. Within these zones, landowners would be required to clear brush and maintain fire breaks. In addition--and this is important--stricter roof standards would have to be met for new buildings and roof replacements. That means those untreated wood-shake roofs that are so charming but so combustible would not be allowed.

Local governments could opt out of the zones if they demonstrated they weren’t needed or could adopt stricter standards. Indeed, Los Angeles City and County already prohibit new wood-shake roofs and require brush clearance.

In the past, opposition from the roofing industry has stalled most efforts to beef up statewide standards. But, so far, there’s no formal opposition to Bates’ bill, which is the result of negotiations between the assemblyman and Wilson’s State and Consumer Services Agency. The bill has the support of firefighter organizations and many cities.

Proponents of the bill believe they have a small window of opportunity to get the measure passed--before the memory of the Oakland-Berkeley conflagration cools. Southern California, too, bears the scars of deadly fires, blazes that have devastated urban hillsides or other brushy areas in this part of the state. Santa Barbara (1990), Baldwin Hills (1985), Bel Air (1961)--all were the result of what fire experts call the “urban-wildland interface.” The experts also warn these are the “fires of the future” unless more is done to prevent them. Bates’ bill is a gutsy attempt to do just that.