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Belmont to Designate WUI Areas

The Peninsula "Daily Journal" printed an article on the Town of Belmont's consideration of a proposal to designate "very high hazard" wildfire areas, June 10, 2014.

With scorching summer weather and fire season here, Belmont is considering the designation of a large portion of its hills as very high risk to ensure those who live or own land in the area are working to prevent forest fires.

The Belmont Fire Department is proposing an ordinance to establish the sprawling San Juan Canyon and portions of the Western Hills as wildland-urban interface, or WUI. The designation applies to areas where buildings are in close proximity to heavily vegetated open space, often on a steep terrain, and could be challenging for firefighters to manage during a wildfire, according to a staff report.

Approximately 27 acres of the San Juan Canyon will be the city’s obligation after the council purchased the land in 2009 with the intent of designating it as open space.

The department wants to designate hillside residential zones between Hillcrest Drive and Marsten Avenue, and Ralston Avenue and Bishop Road as a very high fire hazard severity zones, said Belmont Building Official Mark Nolfi.

“The issues of wildland fires weighs heavily on the fire departments’ minds right now, what with the drought and what’s been going on in San Diego. Local fire departments believe this area has been really lucky that they haven’t experienced something like the Oakland Hills fire. That could very easily happen to any of the WUI communities in the Bay Area and there are several of us. San Carlos, Belmont, Hillsborough, these are areas that were designated wildland-urban interface by the state, by the state fire marshal,” Nolfi said.

Read the full article, "Belmont hills to be named high fire risk: Council to decide if portion of hills and canyons receive designation" on the Daily Journal online.

"Exceptional Drought" Brings Heightened Wildfire Danger to San Mateo County

After three consecutive years of below-normal rainfall, California faces its most severe drought emergency in decades. Governor Jerry Brown has called for Californians to reduce water use by 20 percent voluntarily, and mandatory rationing could be ordered soon so that homes, businesses and farms don’t run dry over the summer. Wildfire danger is unusually high across California, with dramatically higher than normal fire danger in San Mateo County which is classified as "Exceptional Drought," the highest classification. The US Drought Monitor Service states "Exceptional Drought: Exceptional and widespread crop/pasture losses; shortages of water in reservoirs, streams, and wells creating water emergencies."

San Mateo County Fire Managers anticipate that the wildland firefighting community will be engaged in more and longer wildfires this year: the little rain we did receive kept large fuel sources (trees) dry while quickly rebuilding the more volatile inventory of ground grasses which have consequently now cured already. Soil moisture typically dampens temperature increases, but because the ground is so dry, ambient temperatures will tend to be warmer this summer. The result is a landscape primed to burn with diminished supplies of water to fight fire.

Please take time now to prepare your home and create defensible space, before it's too late!

Drought Map

Learn more at the US Drought Monitor website.

Designing for Disaster: National Building Museum Highlights Firesafe Building Practices

From earthquakes and hurricanes to flooding and rising sea levels, natural disasters can strike anywhere and at any time. No region of the country is immune from the impacts and rising costs of disaster damage. In light of this stark reality, the National Building Museum presents a multimedia exhibition titled Designing for Disaster, a call-to-action for citizen preparedness—from design professionals and local decision-makers to homeowners and school kids. The exhibition explores strategies local leaders are currently pursuing to reduce their risks and build more disaster-resilient communities. The exhibition will open May 11, 2014 and remain on view through August 2, 2015.

Natural disasters can impact any of us, anywhere, at any time. In 2012, the financial toll in the United States alone exceeded $100 billion, and the loss of life and emotional toll is immeasurable. No region of the country is immune—112 events in 32 states were declared natural disasters in the U.S. during 2012.

The National Building Museum's exhibition, Designing for Disaster, examines how we assess risks from natural hazards and how we can create policies, plans, and designs yielding safer, more disaster-resilient communities.

DESIGNING FOR DISASTER

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