Ventura—During its Tuesday, May 27, meeting, the City Council reviewed its State-mandated severity zones with the City of Ventura Fire Department, and decided to take action at a later date.
Fire Chief David Endaya presented the Cal-Fire State-mandated severity zones for local responsibility areas, along with Assistant Chief Chris McDonald and Fire Marshall Brett Reed.
A fire hazard severity zone is a geographic area that reflects the severity of fire hazards within it.
Zones are classified into three categories based on local fire patterns, vegetation, density, topography, and local weather conditions.
In very high and high fire zones, the Fire Department has the authority to inspect properties and enforce defensible space requirements. The Fire Department has no authority to inspect and enforce defensible space in medium fire zones.
Cal Fire Maps are not used for insurance rates or underwriting decisions. Insurance companies use risk model data, not Cal Fire FHZ Maps, and may reference similar risk reference data.
“Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara stated FHSZ maps are not used for insurance or underwriting decisions, and his goal is to implement safer from fires regulations,” McDonald said.
The local severity zones were received on March 9, and public comment opened on…
