Learn more about wildfire risk and insurance via this webinar hosted March 10, 2022. Click on the link to go to the recorded webinar.

Or read the notes with website links to each speaker’s topic, below.

Join us Thursday, March 10 at 5:30 p.m. for a Virtual Town Hall on Wildfire Risk and Insurance, hosted by Sonoma County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins and the University of California Cooperative. Discussions will address concerns around wildfire risk and insurance, with topics including:  

·        What can we do to reduce our risk of losing our insurance coverage? 

·        What does the scientific research tell us about how can we reduce the risk to our lives and property from the threat of wildland fire?

·        What is on the horizon from the state?

·        What can the county do to help landowners manage their wildfire risk?

  Speakers include:

·        Dr. Stephanie Larson, UC Cooperative Extension Sonoma County Director and Livestock Range Management Advisor

·        Michael Newman, Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety & David Gorham

·        Chief Ben Nicholls, CalFire

·        Sashi Sabaratnam, UC Cooperative Extension Wildfire Vegetation Mitigation Program Manager

·        Caerleon Safford, Permit Sonoma

5:30 PM -  Present were Supervisor Lynda Hopkins and the above speakers.

After a brief introduction by Supervisor Hopkins, the meeting was directed by Sashi Sabaratnam. She commented that there is a new Vegetation Mitigation Program in place through the UC Coop. Extension. The IBHS (Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety) would present information about Prepared Home Certification. CalFire’s topic would be defensible space zones. Permit Sonoma’s Wildfire Risk Reduction Program that focuses on Inside Out/Outside In methods to reduce fire risk.

Dr. Stephanie Larson, UC Coop. Extension Sonoma County Director and Livestock Range Management Advisor, discussed the Wildfire Fuel Mapper system.  This is for use online by owners of 3 acres or more and can help them learn about vegetation issues, slope of property, aspect of property, and fire history in their area. The website is: https://wildfirefuelmapper.org>resources She also discussed the Wildfire Resilience Planner for long term planning that considers carbon capture, water retention, etc.  This website is: https://databasin.org>groups It has many maps to help owners see what their area’s issues are. And another website connects property owners to livestock owners for hiring animals to graze overgrown properties. Website is: https://sonomafb.org>match-graze

Michael Newman, Senior Director of the IBHS (Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety in Wildfires) discussed actions that homeowners can take to make their homes safer when there is wildfire, high wind, heavy rain, or severe hail.  Their website is: https://ibhs.org/about-ibhs/ibhs-researchcenter They describe how they test full size structures to find what can be done to make them safer under extreme conditions. Their research center is in Richburg, SC. They apply their findings to homes and to communities through ISO Public Protection Classifications that insurance companies use in setting rates. The website shows the criteria at: https://www.isomitigation.com>ppc  Other ways for homeowners and communities to qualify for reasonable insurance rates is through becoming a Firewise Community or creating a Firesafe Council. But the key is for homeowners to apply the findings about materials that will help lessen severity of damage to their homes. A very useful website for self-screening your home and creating a Designated Prepared Home 2022 is at: https://ibhs.org/wildfire-prepared-home/ There is a fee of $100 to request a home exterior inspection through IBHS.

Michael spoke of how home vents fitted with ember resistant screening can reduce flame spread. Roofs should be Class A material. The base of a home should have at least 6” vertical, non-combustible material from ground to bottom of home wall materials. Maintain bare dirt under decks. Clean debris from spaces between deck boards regularly. Enclose under-deck area with ember resistant screening, use non-combustible fencing (no wood), no outbuildings near home, keep yard clear of debris. If possible, use non-combustible materials for stairways that are attached to the exterior of the home.

CalFire Chief Ben Nicholls spoke about Defensible Space Zones around homes. Zone 0 (0-5”) will become part of the list in Jan., 2023. For now there is Zone 1 that covers 0 – 30’ which he called the “lean and green” zone with all dead material removed, shrubs next to house windows, the duff under decks and between deck boards. No dry, dead material should remain.  Zone 2 covers 30 – 100’ or to property line (whichever is closer) which he called the reduced fuels zone. Things to think about removing are combustible fencing, decks and arbors, lattice work. Other items such as garbage cans, recycling cans should be placed away from house. If you have a propane tank, it should be sitting on bare dirt, no vegetation near it for a perimeter of 10’. He also commented that slope of property can have an effect on spread of fire (uphill or down). He recommended home owners view CA AB38 and Sonoma County Statute 13A regarding regulations about property maintenance. (See attached page.)

Caerleon Safford, from Permit Sonoma, spoke about the Wildfire Risk Reduction Program. This focuses on two aspects of a home: Inside Out which refers to the house structure and defensible space around it; and Outside In which refers to wildfire fuels reduction within the neighborhood through landscape management. Phase 1 ends in spring of 2023. Phase 2 has $3.700 defensible space incentives plus $7,000 for retrofit of structues (home hardening) through FEMA. The FEMA money is still in gov’t. review, so may take a couple of years to materialize.

A whole-community approach at landscape fuels reduction is being proposed through educational outreach, home risk assessments, incentives, and community fuel breaks (i.e. ridge lines).  Also the Sonoma County Community Wildfire Protection Plan from 2016 is undergoing an update and should be done by July. Permit Sonoma has a Wildfire Risk Index in Sonoma County website: https://storymaps.arcgis.com>stories  And Permit Sonoma has a section on its website: https://sonomacounty.ca.gov>permitsonoma/  called SoCoAdapts that includes project mapping and a statistical tool, as well as current and proposed project areas.

Sashi Sabaratnam summarized the webinar with a reference to the fire triangle considered by firefighters: topography, fuel, wind. And reminded everyone to remember the impact that wildfires have on wildlife and water quality.

Kim Batchelder of Sonoma County AG+ Open Space is the  vegetation management coordinator of Open Space. Their website is: https://sonomaopenspace.org  He said they have 17 projects this year with grants from CalFire and Permit Sonoma. When you take action, you can reduce risk. Community cooperation is vital, esp. in dense communities like Coffey Park in Santa Rosa to prevent the destruction that occurred during the Tubbs Fire of 2017. That shouldn’t happen again.

Notes from webinar by Lois Lebovich, Secretary/Treasurer, FIRESAFE GUERNEVILLE.