Fire Hazzard information
Recently the city council saw a new fire Hazzard map showing a moderate risk of fire on the Eastern, Western and Southern border of Sebastopol. Enclosed below are the original map and an aerial photo of the eastern side of the city
Above is an aerial photo of Eastern Sebastopol. The arrow shows the direction of the northerly winds common during red flag warnings.
Much of the area outlined on the Hazzard map to the south is grass lands that appear from the air to be plowed land. It also appears there is access for fire equipment which is good news.
The bad news is the Laguna area. It is heavily wooded and a common area where fires are started by homeless campfires. If the fire gets started behind Park Village the spread into the Village, Elderberry, Gravenstein Station and Residential and business areas just South of Highway 12 could be pretty quick. Embers being spread by the wind could be an issue in some areas of the city center where there are a fair number of trees.
There has never been a fire in Sebastopol proper. That has been the assumption driving general neglect of fire risk in Sebastopol. With climate change, temperatures are higher, and brush and trees dry out more quickly. The lesson we are supposed to be learning is what happened in the past, may not be what happens in the future.
It would make sense for the fire department to do a regular assessment of the dryness of the brush and trees in the Laguna. It would make sense as well to consider possible mitigation of risks across the laguna and in the areas adjacent to Park village and Gravenstein station and along the Joe Rodata trail down to the Post Office Annex. I believe much of this area is considered County Park land. Additionally, Santa Rosa has annexed much of the land immediately to Sebastopol’s eastern border so remediation might require some complicated coordination with other entities.
Mitigation could include in anticipation of red flag warnings, patrolling the area to ensure there are no encampments that might create a fire risk.