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In summary : CalFire released its fourth and final round of color-coded hazard maps. Different colors come with different rules.
With the release of its fourth and final round of color-coded hazard maps this morning, California’s firefighting agency is showing just how much of the state is prone to wildfire — and how much that computationally-modeled danger zone has grown since the state issued its last round of local hazard maps more than a decade ago.
California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Cal Fire, has been releasing these maps in installments over the last six weeks, beginning with counties in the state’s far north and ending today with Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and everything inland south of Owens Valley.
They only cover the cities and towns where local fire departments are responsible for managing wildfire. The parts of the state where Cal Fire is in charge were remapped in late 2022 and also depicted a spike in hazard zones. Federal lands, which account for about 45% of all the land in California, are not included in either set of maps.
It’s a project that has been in the works for years. But in the wake of the Los Angeles’ January fire storms, their release coincides with renewed public anxiety over wildfire risk, the state’s fragile home insurance market and the management of development in places most prone to burning.
That’s an excerpt of a much longer report from CalMatters published on March 24, 2025.
- Read the online article at: https://calmatters.org/housing/2025/03/calfire-maps-hazard-california/
- Search by Address at: https://osfm.fire.ca.gov/what-we-do/community-wildfire-preparedness-and-mitigation/fire-hazard-severity-zones
- View the PDF map for San Diego at: SDFD – FHSZ_City_LRA_11x17_SanDiego – Fire Hazard Severity Zones
- San Diego Fire-Rescue Fire Hazard Severity Zones Map and information at: https://www.sandiego.gov/fire/fireprev/firezonemap
