O.C. Stopped Warning of ‘High-Hazard’ for Fire Area

In the months before Monday’s destructive firestorm in Lemon Heights, the Board of Supervisors and several city councils resisted attempts by the state’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to designate some hillside and canyon areas--including Lemon Heights--as “very high fire hazard severity zones.”

Residents and elected officials objected to the designation, which required wider firebreaks cleared of brush and flame-retardant roofs on new homes, fearing it would increase insurance rates and depress property values.

So in the end, the county and several cities adopted the additional safety rules, but rejected the “fire hazard severity zone” label.

Fire officials and residents of the affected areas defended the decision Monday, saying hillside communities are now covered by some of the toughest fire regulations in the state, and that adopting the zoning designation would have no tangible effect on fire prevention.

“A few letters and numbers on a map has no effect on where a fire goes,” said Villa Park Councilman Bob Patchin, who fought the designation. “Some clerk with a word processor saddles us with this title, and next thing we know, our insurance rates go up.”

One disaster preparedness expert said those facing higher risks should pay higher insurance premiums, and some environmentalists and urban planners said the Lemon Heights fire raises new questions about the wisdom of building in rugged areas, and highlights the need for both government and residents to improvement fire prevention efforts.

“Any time you allow development in high hazard areas for fires or floods, you are setting yourself up for major losses like we saw today,” said Scott Bollens, a professor of political science at UC Irvine. “When you have this kind of risk and danger, local government has a responsibility to notify people to that fact” with special designations.

Land-use planners have long criticized development of upscale rural communities in canyons and hillside areas that experience regular cycles of fires and other natural calamities.

“Why are we building up there, instead of on flatlands where the risks are less?” said George Gallagher, president of the Irvine Conservancy. “There has to be some common sense.”

The Monday morning blaze, fueled by Santa Ana winds, destroyed 10 homes and damaged another 16. Three firefighters were slightly hurt.

Don Hayden, battalion chief with the Orange County Fire Authority, said that “95% of what we lost was due to wood-shake roofs,” which are outlawed on all new homes built in canyon areas.

“The fire points up the value of our protective measures,” added Ron Novello, the county’s director of building and safety. “We now require tile roofs on homes. If these homes had tiles roofs, I think we would have seen much less damage.”

An aerial inspection of the Lemon Heights scene conducted by building officials showed that tile-roof homes in the fire’s path sustained little damage while those with wood roofs were destroyed.

Novello and other county and city officials said they have matched and in some cases surpassed the state fire safety rules without employing the “severe hazard” designation. The county, for example, requires fire sprinklers in large new homes built in canyons--something the state does not require.

The state rules also require owners of new homes to remove brush and other flammable materials from around their property. But city and county officials said they already have brush-removal programs in place for both new and existing homes.

The state’s “severe hazard” zone covers large portions of east and south Orange County including North Tustin, the Silverado and Trabuco canyon areas, the Brea foothills and the San Joaquin Hills.

Residents and elected leaders complained that the map was inconsistent, omitting some rugged areas and including some densely developed neighborhoods with little brush. Only half of Villa Park was to be designated in the zone.

“Residents felt they were being singled out and having this very bad-sounding name attached to their community that could make it difficult to resell their homes,” said Supervisor Don Saltarelli, who raised concerns about the designation when it came before the board earlier this year.

“I think what we are talking about is a label because we have adopted very strict regulation in these areas,” Saltarelli added. “I don’t think it makes any difference whatsoever.”

It remains unclear whether the “severe hazard” designation would result in higher insurance premiums. Joan Jennings, spokeswoman for the Department of Forestry, said the agency has not heard of any such cases. “If you think about it, the contrary could be true, because by [accepting] the zoning, residents are taking precautions to protect their community,” she said.

Sandra Sutphen, a professor of political science at Cal State Fullerton, said the costs of the Lemon Heights fire and other such disasters are felt not just by government agencies that respond but by the general public in the form of increase insurance costs.

“We are all subsidizing it,” said Sutphen, who specializes in disaster preparedness.

Other experts added that the costs will continue to mount as home are built in areas highly susceptible to natural disaster.

“There are environmental issues here. But there are also issues of public safety and the major economic loss involved,” Bollens added. “Maybe not next year, but it will happen.”