10A Action Items 2018 0305 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

93 5.6 FIRE Fires are typically characterized into three categories: urban fires, wildland-urban interface fires, and wildland fires.  Urban fires occur within a developed area and pose a direct risk to development.  Wildland-urban interface (WUI) fires occur where the built environment and natural areas are intermixed (the fringe of urban areas).  Wildland fires exist in wilderness land. Fires in the urban environment and in the wildland-urban interface result in direct damage to the built environment and can injure or kill residents. Wildland fires can cause damage to linear infrastructure systems that serve the Bay Area, causing outages downstream of the failure; can impact the air quality in cities during the duration of the fire; and can impact water quality in watersheds impacted by a wildland fire. Wildland and wildland-urban interface fires can also damage natural environments, such as recreational areas, and can cause lasting impacts to slopes and soils. In the Bay Area, fire areas generally fall into two categories – State Responsibility Areas, where CALFIRE is responsible for fire protection, and Local Responsibilities, where local fire departments and fire protection districts have responsibility. 5.6.1 WILDLAND URBAN CONFLAGRATION The risk of urban wildfire in California has increased dramatically as a result of population growth on fire prone hillsides. The danger is not just limited to rural areas. In fact, one of the costliest wildfires in U.S. history took place just eight miles north of San Leandro in 1991. That fire caused $3 billion in property damage, caused 25 deaths, and resulting in the loss of some 3,000 homes in the Oakland and Berkeley Hills. PAST OCCURANCE AND POTENTIAL FOR OCCURANCE: Fortunately, the risks are less severe in the San Leandro hills. The San Leandro hills contain approximately 1,500 homes valued between $700,000 and over $1,000,000. The area east of I-580 is classified as a “moderate” fire hazard by the California Department of Forestry. The lack of a dense tree canopy is a mitigating factor as are the relatively wide streets, gentle slopes and grassland vegetation. Nonetheless, the city lies adjacent to thousands of acres of potentially flammable coastal scrub and forested open space. There are also a number of locations in the city, particularly along San Leandro Creek, with large eucalyptus trees and other highly flammable vegetation and combustible litter. The Uniform Fire Code specifies additional requirements that are enforced by the City’s Building Division. The City also requires fire-resistant roofing materials in new construction and major remodeling projects. As mentioned in the Fire After Earthquake section, San Leandro has no history of large scale structure or acreage fires. 132