Agenda Item No. 21
CITY OF YUCAIPA
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Raymond A. Casey, City Manager
Trevor A. Benson, Emergency Services oordinato(JT
FOR: City Council Meeting of September 12, 2022
SUBJECT: Reducing the Risk of Fires Associated with Homeless Encampments in High Fire Hazard Severity Zones
RECOMMENDATION:
That City Council:
1) Review the need to prohibit homeless encampments in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones; and
2) Direct Yucaipa Fire Department in collaboration with the Yucaipa Police Department to ensure that Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones remain free of encampments; and 3) Find that the proposed actions are not a project pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) since they are activities that are excluded from the definition of a project by section 21065 of the California Public Resources Code and section 15378(b) of the State CEQA Guidelines, The proposed actions are organizational or administrative activities of government which will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. In the alternative, find that the actions are exempt from CEQA as specific actions necessary to prevent or mitigate an emergency pursuant to section 21080(b)(4) and section 15269(c) of the State CEQA Guidelines.
BACKGROUNDIDISCUSSION:
Wildfires are a frequent natural disaster in California, causing significant harm and loss to individuals, communities, wildlife and great swaths of natural landscape and the frequency, duration and size of wildfires have increased over the last several decades. Researchers at UC Irvine reported that the State's burn season has grown longer and longer over the last 20 years, now beginning in May, rather than June, with the peak shifting from August to July. San Bernardino County's (County) unusually extreme heat, coupled with bone-dry terrain, has created ideal conditions for more rapid spread when fires occur.
While most of California is subject to some degree of fire risk, specific features make some areas particularly hazardous. State law requires the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) to identify areas based on the severity of fire hazard that is expected to -336-
City Council Agenda Report
Extending Local Emergency Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
For Meeting of September 12, 2022
prevail there. These areas, or "zones," are based on factors such as fuel, slope, and fire weather.
There are three zones based on increasing fire hazard: medium, high, and very high. As the city continues through the 2022 fire season, the city must be diligent in reducing the risk of fire as much as possible, particularly in areas with the highest hazard, which are designated Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (VHFHSZ).
Concurrently, San Bernardino County currently has a large unsheltered homeless population, in the south east portion of the county which encompasses Yucaipa. The 2022 Point -in -Time Homeless Count identified over three thousand County residents experiencing homelessness, 64% of whom are unsheltered.
While many People Experiencing Homelessness (PEH) live in our urban centers, a growing number have taken refuge in more suburban areas and even remote, mountainous regions. As more people, both housed and unhoused, live within high fire zones, the risk of fires starting and causing harm and loss of life has also increased. Unsheltered Persons may be reliant on fires for everyday survival activities, including cooking food and keeping warm, but these activities also increase the risk of nearby brush catching fire and rapidly spreading.
PEH living in high -fire zones may miss emergency notifications and may experience challenges in safely evacuating, Additionally, efforts to notify or evacuate PEH in remote locations can cause undue harm to outreach workers and emergency responders. For these reasons, PEH in the city designated VHFHSZ pose a clear and imminent danger demanding immediate action to prevent or mitigate loss of, or damage to life, health, property and/or essential services.
Despite a significant increase in fire prevention efforts, there are still portions of the city within the designated VHFHSZ where, because of location, access, terrain, and fuels, the risk of a fire starting and rapidly spreading remains incredibly high. As climate change extends and exacerbates our local fire season, particular areas of the city pose too much risk of harm or loss of life for residents, PEH, outreach teams, and first responders, to allow encampments to remain.
As we enter what could be the most devastating fire season on record, it is important that the city move with urgency to reduce the risk of occurrence and spread.
To mitigate the risk of fires, Yucaipa FD should prohibit homeless encampments in City designated VHFHSZ's. All necessary efforts to connect PEH in these regions to resources should continue to be led by Yucaipa PD's best practices for addressing street encampments, ensuring that no individual is criminalized simply for not having a home.
FISCAL IMPACT.
This effort to reduce the risk of fires within high fire hazard severity zones should not have a fiscal impact.
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As Recommended by CAL FIRE
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