Santa Rosa plugs away slowly on plan for future wildfires

Santa Rosa is working on a new wildfire plan to reflect local desires for extra protection against fires like those in October 2017, but officials don’t expect to finish until late 2020 - ?three seasons after several catastrophic blazes hit the city.

The updated plan is expected to touch on big-picture measures such as evacuation routes while highlighting smaller steps homeowners can take to ensure their homes don’t burn down. It’s meant to reflect the community’s efforts to prepare for future devastating wildfires, according to city fire officials and a consultant working on the project.

The city started working on an optional blueprint known as a Community Wildfire Protection Plan before the 2017 wildfires that destroyed more than 3,000 Santa Rosa homes, said Assistant Fire Marshal Ian Hardage.

But Santa Rosa wasn’t able to secure grant funding until last year, Hardage said. Earlier this year, the city awarded a $200,000 consulting contract to Geo Elements LLC of Utah to help with the plan. Community meetings will begin this summer, including one on Thursday.

“The process is slow,” Hardage acknowledged, noting that the city’s budget constraints held some sway over the timing. “The city doesn’t have the money to budget to develop the program and staff the development of the program, so we had to go out and get grant money.”

City officials were unsuccessful in at least two previous ?efforts to secure grant funding for the plan, Hardage said. A Federal Emergency Management Agency grant made the current work possible.

Geo Elements is set to deliver a draft of the plan by next May. Hardage noted that the plan would still need state approval, which he hoped would be secured by November 2020.

Geo Elements’ owner, Carol Henson, said that her consulting team of former California firefighters already has held a community meeting here. That session delivered sobering news about the changing climate for the rest of the century, with long-term forecasts calling for drier and warmer weather with a smaller nightly rebound in humidity.

“Folks may think that the next fire won’t be here for the next 48 years or something, but the potential could be anytime,” Henson said.

The new wildfire plan will be tacked on to an update to the city’s existing hazard mitigation plan.

It could look at measures to reduce vegetation that can fuel wildfires, safeguard buildings or strengthen requirements for defensible space near structures, Hardage said.

“This is the community’s document,” he said. “This is not the fire department’s document.”

Henson noted that the plan could get into the weeds - exploring such topics as how a homeowners’ landscaping choices affect their personal risk.

“A lot of folks have drought-tolerant plants,” she said. “That doesn’t mean they’re fire-resistant.”

Sonoma and Marin counties are among the local governments in California that have optional community wildfire protection plans.

The blueprint needs signoff from at least one top Cal Fire official.

You can reach Staff Writer Will Schmitt at 707-521-5207 or will.schmitt@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @wsreports.