San Jose City Council
May 20, 2025

City Council Study Session:

Wildfire Planning & Preparedness
May 20, 2025
Fire Chief Robert Sapien, Jr., Fire Department
Deputy Fire Chief/Fire Marshal James Dobson, Bureau of Fire Prevention Fire Captain/Wildland Officer Anthony Ibarra, Bureau of Field Operations Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Agenda
I. Introduction and Opening Comments
II. 2025 Los Angeles Fires Assistance
III. San José’s Current Wildfire Preparedness Level
IV. Multi-Agency Coordination Model and Risk Reduction Priorities V. Next Steps and Closing
2 Tuesday, May 20, 2025
3 Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Introduction
Presenting Partners
Craig Clements, PhD Seth Schalet
Assistant Fire Chief
Cole Pereira
Deputy Director Rachel Roberts
PBCE – Code Enforcement
Deputy Fire Chief
Brian Glass
Wildfire Preparedness
I. Fuel & Fire Behavior
 San José Fire History, Weather and
Water Supply
 Santa Clara County and San José
Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
 Fire Hazard Severity Zones and Areas
for Fire Concern
II. Area Planning
 Wildfire Resiliency Partners and the
Santa Clara County FireSafe Council
 Currently Available Technologies
III. Local Response
 Pre-Response Planning/Deployment
 Emergency Evacuation
IV. Risk Reduction
 Laws/Ordinances/Regulations
 Fuel Reduction Activities
 Public Education and Community Outreach
 CWPP Mitigation Projects and Prioritizations
4 Tuesday, May 20, 2025
I. Fuel and Fire Behavior
5 Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Fuel and Fire Behavior Factors – CAL FIRE
6 Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Types of
fuels: Light,
heavy, live,
dead
Fuel size
and
arrangement
Fuel loading
and
continuity
Fuel and Fire Behavior Factors – CAL FIRE
7 Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Explanation of the
NFDRS index
Relation to fire intensity
and difficulty of control
Operational use
Burning Index (BI)
Critical Fire Weather – South Bay Area
8 Tuesday, May 20, 2025
 Historical Fire Risk for Santa Clara
County
• SAWTI – Wind and Dryness Index
 Hot, Dry, and Windy
 Diablo Winds
• Downslope windstorms are well
predicted
Santa Clara Valley
San Jose
Operational Coupled Fire-Atmosphere Modeling
and Forecasting System (WRF-SFIRE)
9 Tuesday, May 20, 2025
An example of the coupled fire-atmosphere forecast run for 2020 Bay Area fires – fire domain at (555m resolution)
 State-of-the-art forecasting and data
assimilation systems to provide operational
support for current wildfires
 Operational forecasts are available to
public and stakeholders through our web
portal.
 Provide fire danger assessment tools and
datasets.

New Operational Fire Risk Models
10 Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Hourly Fire Risk
(Fire Intensity Potential MW)
Hourly Fuel Moisture Maps – Fire Danger
San José and Surrounding Area
Fire History and Wildfire Threats
CZU Fire – August 16, 2020
 Duration: 37 days
 86,509 acres burned
 $68 million costs
SCU Lightning Complex Fire – August 16, 2020
 Duration: 46 days
 400,000 acres burned
 $70 million costs
Kincaid Fire – October 23, 2017
 110,000 acres burned; 5,300 homes lost, 24 deaths
 $8 billion costs
Oakland Hills Fire – October 19, 1991
 1,520 acres; 2,843 homes lost, 25 deaths
 $1.5 billion costs
11 Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Oakland Hills Fire
2020 Lightning Complex Fires 2020 Lightning Complex Fires San José Water Supply
12  Valley Water (wholesaler)
 Citywide Distribution System
• San Jose Water Company
• San Jose Municipal Water System
• Great Oaks Water Company
 Primary Static Water Sources
• Almaden Lake
• Alviso/San Francisco Bay
• Anderson Reservoir
• Calero Reservoir
• Cherry Flat Reservoir
• Lake Cunningham
• Swimming pools
Lake Cunningham
Alviso
Almaden Lake
Portable Tank
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Fire Hydrant
Santa Clara County Wildland-Urban Interface
13  Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) – The
transitional area where structures and
other human development meet or
intermingle with undeveloped wildland
 San José is one of more than 1,300
California communities identified as a
‘Community at Risk’ by the California
Office of the State Fire Marshal
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
 High fire danger in the WUI stems from a
combination of environmental conditions:
 Human activity and dense vegetation
significantly elevate the risk of wildfires.
 Weather—strong winds, low humidity, high
temperatures, and drought conditions—
significantly impacts fire development as
being the most impactful driver of rapid fire
spread.

San José Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
14 Tuesday, May 20, 2025
 Fire Hazard Severity Zones
(FHSZ) in California are areas
designated by the Office of the
State Fire Marshal (OSFM) based
on the potential for wildfires to
spread and cause damage.
 These zones are categorized as
Moderate, High, or Very High,
indicating the average fire hazard in
each area.

Fire Hazard Severity Zones
15 Tuesday, May 20, 2025
 Almaden Valley
 Alum Rock
 Coyote Valley
 East Foothills
 Guadalupe River and
Coyote Creek
 Freeway on and off ramps
 Overgrown improved and
unimproved parcels
Local Vegetation Fire Experience
16 Coyote
Creek
Almaden Valley
Alum Rock
Freeway
On-Ramp
Overgrown Unimproved Parcel
Freeway On-Ramp Alum Rock Park
Coyote Creek Almaden Valley
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
II. Area Planning
17 Tuesday, May 20, 2025
 All Fire Departments within the
Operational Area
 CalFire
 Caltrans
 CERT Organizations Partnerships
 FireWise Communities
 Non-Government Organization (NGOs)
 North Coyote Valley Conservation Area
 PG&E
 Santa Clara County (SCC) FireSafe
Council
 Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority
 Water Utility Purveyors
 City of San José:
 City Manager’s Office of Emergency
Management
 Department of Parks, Recreation &
Neighborhood Services
 Department of Transportation
 Department of Planning, Building, & Code
Enforcement
 Department of Environmental Services
Wildfire Resiliency Partners
Santa Clara County FireSafe Council (SCCFSC)
19  The SCCFSC is a non-profit organization
comprised of individuals, agencies and
businesses that share a common, vested
interest in preventing and reducing losses from
wildfires.
 Local Partnerships – Works closely with fire
agencies, public officials, and neighborhoods to build
fire-resilient communities.
 Resident Engagement – Offers free workshops and
resources to help residents create defensible space
and prepare for evacuation.
 Grant-Backed Projects – Leverages federal, state,
and local funding for fuel reduction, firebreaks, and
prevention programs.

Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Risk Reduction for Wildland Urban Interface Fires
20 Santa Clara County Firesafe Council
Key Recommendations
Ensure Water Supply Fuels Management
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Santa Clara County FireSafe Council (SCCFSC)
Programs and Local Contracts
 SCCFSC offers numerous community programs
to keep residents prepared:
 Home assessments
 Community wood chippings
 Rebate programs
 Also has local contracts with entities in:
 Santa Clara County
 Los Altos
 Saratoga
21 Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Available Technology
22  RAWS: Remote Automatic Weather Station
 Fire Modeling Software
 Drone Vegetation Evaluation
 Fire Cameras – Early Detection capability
 LADRIS
 Lightning Strikes Early Detection Systems
 Fire Integrated Real-Time Intelligence
System Program (FIRIS)
A Remote Automatic Weather Station
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
III. Local Response
23 Tuesday, May 20, 2025
CAL FIRE – Santa Clara Unit
Alameda County
Contra Costa
County
San Joaquin and
Stanislaus
Counties
Santa Clara
County
CAL FIRE – SCU In-County Resources
 Base Staffing – Staffing Level 1
• 5 CAL FIRE Stations - 6 Engines
 Peak Staffing – Staffing Level IV
• 12 CAL FIRE Stations - 16 Engines
• During the Summer Months
CAL FIRE – Aircraft
• Alma Copter is night qualified for water dropping
missions and available if the fire meets at least one of the four criteria:
• Immediate threat to human lives.
• Immediate threat to structures.
• Immediate threat to high-value resources and/or
critical infrastructure.
• Response would inhibit significant fire growth.
• Alma Copter in service year-round for water dropping
and Rescue Missions.
• All Air Attack Bases will be in service Mid May.
• CAL FIRE has 1C-130 in-service now with plans of 2
more by mid-Summer.
2025 Annual Operating
Plan
CAL FIRE Santa Clara Unit & Santa
Clara County Fire Agencies AOP
CAL FIRE Agreements
 Operational Area/Region —
Mutual Aid Planning
 Strike Team Refresher Training
 Pre-Deployment of Resources on
High Fire Danger Days/Red Flag
Warnings
 Countywide Wildland Drills
Pre-Response Planning/Deployment
28 Tuesday, May 20, 2025
 Department Participation in and
Other Trainings
 Dispatch and Response Level
Modification — Initial Fire
Attack
 Augmented Staffing During
Wildland Season
 Equipment inventory and
infrastructure hardening
Pre-Response Planning/Deployment
29 Genasys for Evacuation Planning & Management
30 Tuesday, May 20, 2025
IV. Risk Reduction
31 Tuesday, May 20, 2025
 Local Responsibility Area (LRA) City Limits
 California Fire Code, Chapter 49
 California Building Code, Chapter 7A
 City of San José Ordinances
 State Responsibility Area (SRA)
 Public Resources Code (PRC) 4290, 4291
 Assembly Bill (AB) 38
Laws/Ordinances/Regulations
32 Tuesday, May 20, 2025
 PBCE partners with the County of Santa Clara Weed
Abatement to report and abate dry hazardous vegetation. This program is focused on vacant parcels on private property.  The program relies on community engagement to report
hazardous vegetation. Inspectors verify if hazards exist and if abatement is necessary.
 The property owner can clean up the parcels themselves or have the County of Santa Clara and its contractors perform the work based on the cost of service provided and a County administrative fee.
 Improved private property parcels with overgrown vegetation are processed as standard Code Enforcement cases.

Current Management Programs to Address Hazardous
Vegetation (Fire Department Response Areas)
33 Tuesday, May 20, 2025
 CERT Programs
 Firewise Communities
 Fireworks Safety Educational Campaign
 SCCAlert
 Wildfire Wednesday Video Series
 WUI Education Project
Public Education & Community Outreach
34 Tuesday, May 20, 2025
CWPP Mitigation Projects and Prioritizations -
Annex 10 City of San José Strategic Goals
35  Strategic Goal: Establish Resilient Landscape
(RL) designs and manage landscapes that
can withstand the impacts of wildfire
• Eucalyptus Invasive Species Removal and Native
Tree Planting Project
• San José Parks – Vegetation Management and
Installation of Fuel Breaks and Reductions Project
• Alum Rock Park Fire Restrictions
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
CWPP Mitigation Projects and Prioritizations -
Annex 10 City of San José Strategic Goals
36  Strategic Goal: Raise awareness, enhance preparedness, and build resilience in communities within the (WUI) through targeted education outreach (EO) initiatives in the planning area.
• Acute focus on structures and information on evacuation routes in the East Hills Planning Area & Almaden Valley Planning Area. • Analyze playing with fire ignitions and fireworks safety and focus education programs at local schools or youth organizations  Strategic Goal: Safe and effective wildfire response
• Wildfire Refresher Trainings
• Creating Incident Action Plans (IAP) for Red Flag Warning events • Leverage Technologies for Evacuation Planning & Response Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Almaden Valley
Fire Chief Robert Sapien, Jr.

Deputy Fire Chief/Fire Marshal James Dobson
Fire Captain/Wildland Officer Anthony Ibarra
QUESTIONS?
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Craig Clements, PhD Seth Schalet
Assistant Fire Chief
Cole Periera
Deputy Director Rachel Roberts
PBCE – Code Enforcement
Deputy Fire Chief
Brian Glass
Available Contributing Partners:

Andres Acevedo (Valley Water), Garik Losilevsky (Consumer & Environmental Protection Agency), John Tang (San Jose Water Company), Jeffrey Provenzano (Environmental Services Department), Jesse Esquivel (Parks Recreation, & Neighborhood Services), Jose Avalos Jr. (Department of Transportation), Lisa Joiner (Planning, Building, & Code Enforcement), Ray Riordan (Office of Emergency Management),