Ledger-Dispatch

By Jerry Budrick (jbudrick@ledger-dispatch.com= )=20

A Rail Road Flat resident was moving = his motor=20 home when it caught fire on Highway 26 about a mile from the = Highway 88=20 junction on Sept. 17. The fire in the rear engine compartment = spread=20 quickly to about the last third of the vehicle and started a = roadside=20 conflagration that began spreading to the nearby woods, but was = turned=20 back by quick-acting fire responders halting the wildland = threat.

Photo by: Bill=20 Lavallie
Wildfires have burned more than a = million=20 acres of California this year and the fire season is far from = over.

At=20 first glance, it would appear that the record-setting series of = conflagrations=20 has spawned new wildfire legislation in Sacramento. Actually, much of = the recent=20 legislation was conceived by the state's Legislative Analyst's Office a = couple=20 of years ago, when it had become obvious that wildland firefighting = costs were=20 rising at a dramatic rate. State costs for wildland firefighting have = grown and=20 now top $1 billion a year. Any step that state lawmakers can take to = reduce the=20 likelihood of wildfires on state property can only help reduce the = potential=20 costs.

Familiarity with the acronyms that have been applied to = the=20 geographical areas designated as under the care of the state and county = is=20 essential to comprehension of recent legislation. state responsibility = areas are=20 known as SRA. Areas under county jurisdiction are local responsibility = areas, or=20 LRA.

CAL FIRE has responsibility for 31 million acres of private=20 wildlands. Of that, CAL FIRE's Fire and Resource Assessment Program = estimates=20 292,000 of those acres are in Amador County, with 22,000 people living = in the=20 SRA. Existing law makes private subdivisions with density less than = three units=20 per acre into SRA.

To add to the barrage of acronyms, there is = very high=20 fire hazard severity zone, or VHFHSZ, which is of increasing importance = to=20 wildfire legislation. Conceived in 1992 as part of the Bates bill, = written in=20 response to the Oakland Hills fire, VHFHSZs have become an integral part = of the=20 jargon contained in state wildfire laws.

In a 2006 report, the = LAO=20 outlined its strategies for cost control. Its first step was sharing of = state's=20 fire protection costs with direct beneficiaries of state's services. = This could=20 be done by enacting a fire protection fee on private landowners in=20 SRA.

Legislation was written by Democratic Sen. Christine Kehoe = of San=20 Diego in Senate Bill 1617, which would directly assess properties in SRA = a $50=20 per parcel additional tax. On Sept. 9, Amador County supervisors voted=20 unanimously to send a letter of opposition to the California State=20 Senate.

The next step was sharing of fiscal responsibilities for = fire=20 protection with local governments. This would be accomplished by = clarifying=20 state versus local responsibilities for non-wildland fire protection in = SRA and=20 altering the standards for SRA designation, potentially triggering a = shift in=20 fire protection responsibility for certain lands from the state to local = firefighting units.

Shifting responsibility is an effective means = of=20 saving money. If one government entity can find some way to pass = jurisdiction=20 over high hazard property to another entity, the resultant savings are=20 clear.

Kehoe also attempted to give this LAO strategy the power = of law,=20 with SB 1500, which would prohibit a county from acting on a development = agreement, a discretionary or ministerial residential permit, or a = tentative or=20 parcel map in an SRA until it certifies that there will be sufficient = structural=20 fire protection. This shifts enforcement of fire protection requirements = to the=20 county.

The Amador supervisors again sent a letter of opposition. = Both=20 Kehoe bills made it through committee and no further.

One = particular=20 piece of legislation, Assembly Bill 2447, has made its way through both = houses=20 and sits on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk, awaiting his signature. = This=20 time, the Amador County Board of Supervisors has drafted and sent a = letter to=20 the governor, requesting his veto.

What the bill proposes is to = require=20 local legislative bodies, such as cities and counties, to exercise = greater=20 control over subdivision approval in high fire danger areas. Language in = the=20 legislation includes, "A legislative body of a county shall deny = approval of a=20 tentative map ... if the proposed map is in a state responsibility area = or a=20 very high fire hazard severity zone."

"I question big government = coming=20 in," said District 3 Supervisor Ted Novelli, "and dictating to little=20 government."

The letter drafted by the county states that, = "Amador County=20 complies with existing fire safety regulations for land divisions in = State=20 Responsibility Areas. Amador County consults with our local fire = protection=20 agencies prior to approving new development."

"If AB 2447 was = coming from=20 my CAL FIRE chief, Brian Kirk, or Amador Fire Protection District = Battalion 10=20 chief, Ray Blankenheim, then I would take a more serious look at it," = Novelli=20 explained. "My opinion on fire laws is that I'm going to listen to my = local fire=20 officials."

Novelli also noted that the board was advised to = oppose=20 AB2447 by the Regional Council of Rural Counties.

Sponsor Dave = Jones,=20 assemblyman from California's 9th District, which includes Sacramento, = wrote to=20 Schwarzenegger, "The bill is crafted so that the counties determine = whether=20 there is adequate fire protection, not some other agency. The bill = originally=20 asked counties to obtain written confirmation from fire agencies, but = when=20 counties raised concerns about losing control of their decisions, I = amended the=20 bill so that the county has the sole discretion to determine if there is = adequate fire protection."

Money is clearly an issue with = wildfires.=20 Asked why AB 2447 was written, AFPD Chief Jim McCart answered, "My guess = would=20 be money." And with the money situation being what it is, more = firefighting=20 legislation could burst onto the scene soon.

Jerry = Budrick