Community Wildfire Protection Plan
(CWPP)
Third Annual Report
City Council Meeting
February 25, 2025
Paul Lowenthal
Interim Deputy Chief, Fire Department
1 CWPP Purpose
• The purpose of the Community Wildfire
Protection Plan (CWPP) is to enhance
protection of human life safety and reduce
the wildfire threat to community assets
such as homes, commercial structures,
critical infrastructure, businesses, and
natural and historic resources within the
City of Santa Rosa
.
2 CWPP History
• First CWPP for Santa Rosa funded through HMGP
• Development of CWPP initiated in April 2019
• Final plan approved by Council August 25, 2020
• Glass Fire September 27, 2020
• Council approved $5.25 million in 2021
• 5 years of funding + grants
• $250K for new CWPP in 2025
• Annual reports in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025
• 5-year plan - 2025
3 Nine Objectives & Forty-Six Actionable Items
4 Improve Coordination & Tracking
4 Action Items Identified
• Developed and maintained a GIS database to track
vegetation management activities
• Coordinate with property owners, open space
management associations and homeowner associations
to track large scopes of work
• Maps of grazing activities
• Provide support to property owners, open space
management associations and homeowner associations
to assist in treatment design, maintenance and funding
sources
• Alta Vista HOA, OSMA, OVA 5
Improve Evacuation Routes
6 Action Items Identified
• Supported proposed changes to IPM Policy for use of
naturally based herbicides
• Invasive growth & seasonal grasses
• New Vegetation Management Ordinance to address
impacts of:
• Fire-damaged trees on right of ways/evacuation routes • Removal of Scotch Broom
• Identified property owners to perform fuel reduction
• Awarded HMGP for Fuel Reduction along Evacuation
Routes – $2.1 Million (Cost Share of 25%)
• Phase 1 wrapping up (opt residents in)
• Phase 2 in 2025
7 8
Improve Evacuation Routes
6 Action Items Identified
Educating the Public
9 Action Items Identified
• Successful WildfireReady event at Finley Community
Center – Funding for 3 years locally and 1 year of
Countywide w/ Fire Safe Sonoma
• Creating new content and materials
• HCD-MIT-PPS awarded $500,000
• Increased education to residents on defensible space, fire safe landscaping, home hardening, evacuation and
preparedness
• One-on-one, neighborhood meetings, Wildfire Ready, City Connections
• Maintaining website and keeping it current for
everything wildfire ready related.
• srcity.org/WildfireReady and srcity.org/ReadySR
9 Educating the Public
10 Educating the Public
11 Educating the Public
12 Improve Wildfire Preparedness
5 Action Items Identified
• Working to increase the number of City residents active in COPE (Citizens Organized & Prepared for Emergencies)
• Map Your Neighborhood
• Future opportunities
• Continuing to foster and maintain relationship with
LISTOS/COAD
• Community Outreach and Emergency Management
• Spanish NOAA Weather Radios, bilingual materials, targeted events.
• Develop a program to address evacuation of vulnerable populations
• Oakmont (Evac Planning, COPE, Map Your Neighborhood)
• Spring Lake Villages
13 Increase Structural Hardening
6 Action Items Identified
• Ignition Free Zone for new homes permitted after January 1st, 2023 (previous code cycle as well)
• 3’-5’ free of vegetation, organic and combustible groundcover and mulch, etc.
• Noncombustible materials for gates against homes
• Fire Inspector(s) assigned to conduct voluntary home
inspections/assessments for home hardening and defensible space
• Approval of Phase 1 for HMGP for $2.1 million for a Wildland- Urban Interface Fuel Modification Program
• Includes retrofits – Vent screens and gutter guards
• 25% cost share 14
Treat Vegetation to Reduce Hazard
6 Action Items Identified
• Utilized balance of FY funds from Fire Department Weed Abatement and Vegetation Management Program to accomplish projects.
• Cobblestone at Chanate
• Woodley Place Water Tank in Oakmont
• Working with HOA on fuel treatment within compartments identified in CWPP and applicable methods in common HOA areas • Conservation Corps of the North Bay and SAC
• Grazing
15 Treat Vegetation to Reduce Hazard
16 Improve Enforcement of Defensible
Space Standards
7 Action Items Identified
• Code adoption priority in 2022, new Vegetation ordinance projected for approval in 2024 and goes into effect 2025 • Burn scar fuels, dead trees, a ban on specific mulches, defensible space zones, pile burning, etc.
• Develop fire-safe landscape standards
• Fire Station 7 demo garden
• Developed inspection program
• Phase 1 – Education and voluntary Assessments
• Phase 2 – Inspection Program
• Phase 3 – Enforcement Program 17
Increase Staffing to Address
Wildfire Mitigation
1 Action Item Identified
• 43% of the community surveyed during the development
of the CWPP didn’t feel there was enough staffing. 74%
supported increase in staffing.
• Restructured Assistant Fire Marshals and added three
limited term positions. 2 Fire Inspector and 1 Community Outreach Specialist (COS)
• One vacant FTE COS
• Working on implementation plan for 2 Measure H
Inspectors
18 Consider Expanding the WUI
2 Action Items Identified
• Based on feedback of the community, the existing Wildland Urban Interface Fire Area for the City of Santa Rosa was examined.
• Coffey Park
• Staff determined that the current areas outside of the existing WUI do not meeting the intention of the designation.
• Unintended consequences
• Waiting on new LRA maps for Santa Rosa
• December 14, 2022, CAL FIRE released new SRA maps of the Fire Hazard Severity Zones
• Bennett Valley, Kawana Springs Road, Fountaingrove and Oakmont 19 Consider Expanding the WUI
2 Action Items Identified
20 Consider Expanding the WUI
2 Action Items Identified
21 Consider Expanding the WUI
2 Action Items Identified
22 Consider Expanding the WUI
2 Action Items Identified
23 Next Priorities
• Implement use of herbicides to treat invasive species along evacuation routes.
• Conduct visible projects.
• Continue to support partnership with Fire Safe
Sonoma.
• Implement grazing.
• Initiate inspections in compliance of the new
Vegetation Management Ordinance with the goal of
each property every three years
24 QUESTIONS?
25