September 2021 update: The University City Fire Safe Council is pleased to announce that the University City Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP 2021) has received final approval from the SD Fire-Rescue Department, the San Diego County Fire Safe Council, and CAL FIRE/San Diego County Fire. The Community Wildfire Protection Plan is a blueprint for fire prevention and preparedness at the neighborhood level. The CWPP organizes our community’s efforts to protect our community from both structural fires and wildfires, and empowers residents and community members to move in a cohesive, common direction.
The University City Fire Safe Council developed the Community Wildfire Protection Plan collaboratively with input from residents and community members, the City of San Diego Fire-Rescue Department and federal, state, county, and City of San Diego management agencies. The Fire Safe Council’s CWPP development team thanks representatives from the agencies and community groups who supported our efforts. Review the 2021 Community Wildfire Protection Plan for University City at University City Final 2021 CWPP
May 25, 2021: The University City Fire Safe Council is pleased and proud to announce that the Community Wildfire Protection plan has been reviewed and approved by the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. Take a look at https://www.universitycitynews.org/fire-safe-council-public-comment/
April 1, 2021 through May 19, 2021: The Fire Safe Council is seeking comments, suggestions, and feedback on the First Draft of the University City area Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). The CWPP is a blueprint for fire prevention and preparedness at the neighborhood level. The draft University City CWPP was developed by the University City Fire Safe Council in collaboration with residents and community members with the City of San Diego Fire-Rescue Department and federal, state, county, and city emergency management agencies.
Review the CWPP and enter your comment, suggestion, or feedback at https://www.universitycitynews.org/fire-safe-council-public-comment/
February 2021: The University City Fire Safe Council is currently working on its first Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). A CWPP application is reviewed and approved at both the County and State Fire Safe Council levels. A CWPP is a designed to prevent and prepare for both structure and wild fires. A completed and approved CWPP is required so that the University City Fire Safe Council becomes eligible to apply for and receive grants for fire prevention and preparation activities.
Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP) are blueprints for fire prevention and preparedness at the neighborhood level. They organize a community’s efforts to protect itself against both structure and wildfire, and empower residents and community members to move in a cohesive, common direction.
Among the key goals of the University City Fire Safe Council CWPP, which was developed collaboratively by residents and community members with City of San Diego Fire-Rescue Department and federal, state, county, and city management agencies, are to:
- Align with the with the local fire agency’s cohesive pre-fire strategy, which includes educating homeowners and building understanding of wildland fire, ensuring defensible space clearing and structure hardening, safeguarding communities through fuels treatment, and protecting evacuation corridors
- Identify and prioritize areas for hazardous fuel reduction treatment
- Recommend the types and methods of treatment that will protect the community
- Recommend measures to reduce the ignitability of structures throughout the area addressed by the plan
The Community Wildfire Protection Plan begins with a Community Overview including documentation of Population, Landscape and Topography, Fire History, Key Infrastructure, Firefighting Resources, and Collaborators. The six focus areas of a Community Wildfire Protection Plan are:
- Community Engagement & Education
- Structural Hardening
- Defensible Space
- Fuels Treatment
- Evacuation Planning
- Other Mitigation & Preparedness Projects
Note: The CWPP is not to be construed as indicative of project “activity” as defined under the “Community Guide to the California Environmental Quality Act, Chapter Three, Projects Subject to CEQA.” Any actual project activities undertaken that meet this definition of project activity and are undertaken by the CWPP participants or agencies listed shall meet with local, state, and federal environmental compliance requirements. For more information from the Fire Safe Council of San Diego County about the CWPP process, visit http://firesafesdcounty.org/
- Contact the University City Fire Safe Council by email at ucfiresafecouncil@gmail.com
- To review the history of the University City Fire Safe Council, visit https://www.universitycitynews.org/fire-safe-council-university-city/
- For fire safety tips, recent news, and events related to the University City Fire Safe Council as posted by UCCA, visit https://www.universitycitynews.org/category/sdfd/
- For local resources, visit the University City Fire Safe Council website at https://www.ucfiresafecouncil.com/
- Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones map available on the SDFD website at https://www.sandiego.gov/fire/services/brush/severityzones
Maps above are courtesy of the Resource Conservation District of San Diego County, sponsor of the University City Fire Safe Council; created October/November 2020. Google Earth images downloaded and annotations created March 2021 by UC Fire Safe Council
Maps above are courtesy of the Planning Department of San Diego, from the University Community Existing Conditions Atlas 2018.