Agenda Item: 1
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
NEW BUSINESS
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
DATE: June 24, 2025
SUBJECT: FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE OF THE FIRE HAZARD
SEVERITY ZONE MAP OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA AND
ISSUED BY THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY
AND FIRE PROTECTION PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE
SECTION 51179
DEPARTMENT: City Manager's Office
PRESENTER: Masis Hagobian
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council introduce an ordinance entitled: “AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING THE FIRE HAZARD
SEVERITY ZONE MAP OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA AND ISSUED BY THE
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY AND FIRE PROTECTION PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 51179,” waive reading of text and consent to read by title only, as listed on the agenda, and pass to a second reading.
BACKGROUND
On March 24, 2025, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) published its Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ) maps for the Local Responsibility Areas (LRA) of Los Angeles County (County). Properties included in an LRA are under the jurisdictional responsibility of local fire departments. In the case of LRA properties in the City of Santa Clarita (City), the Los Angeles County Fire Department is responsible for fire protection of these areas.
California Government Code Section 51179 prohibits cities, counties, and the public from appealing areas identified in the fire zones or reducing the level of the fire zones published by Cal Fire. Additionally, the California Government Code requires local agencies adopt an ordinance within 120 days from when the FHSZ maps are published, designating the fire zones within its jurisdiction.
The last update to the FHSZ map was published in 2011, which only identified LRA properties that were in the Very-High Fire Zone. The 2025 FHSZ map update for LRA properties,
including the City, distinguishes zones into three areas: Moderate; High; and Very-High.
In developing the 2025 FHSZ maps, Cal Fire used a geographic information system model that assesses hazards by analyzing factors that influence fire likelihood and behavior, including fire history, existing and potential vegetation, predicted flame length, ember production and movement, terrain, and typical fire weather conditions for the area, including wind conditions, as mandated in California Government Code Section 51178.
As part of this process, Cal Fire evaluates hazards, not risks, in determining what areas are included in the FHSZ and what zone they are classified as Cal Fire defines a hazard, “as based on the physical conditions that create a likelihood and expected fire behavior over a 30 to 50- year period, without considering mitigation measures such as home hardening, recent wildfires, or fuel reduction efforts." The consistent application of hazard variables is mandated by California Public Resources Code Section 4202 and California Government Code Section 51178, ensuring standardized methods in developing FHSZ maps for the LRA statewide.
The Very-High Fire Zone within the City was previously 28,979 acres, which accounts for annexations, since 2011, that converted FHSZ areas from a State Responsibility Area or areas in the unincorporated areas of the County to an LRA in the City’s jurisdictional boundaries. As part of the 2025 FHSZ map update, Cal Fire increased the Very-High Fire Zone in the City by 4,299 acres for a new total of 33,278 acres, representing an approximately 15 percent increase. Cal Fire also added 1,991 acres in the Moderate Fire Zone and 2,929 acres in the High-Fire Zone within the City. Total acreage of the FHSZ in the City as a result of the 2025 update, accounting for all three zones, is 38,198 acres.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
Other action as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact as a result of this item.
ATTACHMENTS
FHSZ Map Ordinance_2025
Fire Hazard Severity Zone Map