Plumas County Taking Steps to Implement New State Fire Rules

PLUMAS COUNTY — Following an executive order from Governor Newsom on February 6, the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) released updated Fire Hazard Severity maps that classify most of the privately-owned land in Plumas County as high or very high risk for wildfire. The county’s main population centers, including most of Quincy, Chester, and Portola, also fall into the high or very high-risk zones.

Plumas County plans to begin taking steps in March toward implementing new state fire mitigation rules based on the maps. According to County Supervisor Mimi Hall, the new Fire Hazard Severity maps were delivered to the county on February 10 with requirements to make them available to the public within 30 days, then hold public hearings and adopt an ordinance implementing new state-mandated building codes by June 10. The county plans to release detailed maps by March 10. The maps and the county’s implementation plans will be presented for information at the March 11 meeting of the Board of Supervisors. Officials of the City of Portola had not responded to inquiries about the city’s timeline for implementing the new requirements by the time this went to press.

Supervisor Hall emphasized that successful risk mitigation would require collaborative efforts involving county government, the City of Portola, the Firesafe Council, and Firewise Communities, as well as local fire protection districts. However, Ed Ward, president of the Plumas County Fire Chiefs Association and Fire Chief for the Graeagle Fire Protection District, said that the fire districts haven’t yet been given detailed information about what is in the state requirements. Chief Ward expressed frustration that wildfires linked to poor management by electric utilities and the federal government have led much of northern California to be classified as high risk, which he said is likely to result in higher costs and difficulty obtaining insurance, even in communities that haven’t been affected by wildfire.