New Fire Hazard Map
- Livable El Cerrito
- Feb 26
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 23
A new map of El Cerrito’s fire hazard severity zones shows that CalFire removed 765 acres in the city from the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) designation.
The area removed from the VHFHSZ includes the Hillside Natural Area, according to a map released Feb. 24.
El Cerrito-Kensington Fire Chief Eric Saylors said the Fire Hazard Severity map is a draft and is now open to review and comment for 30 days. It could still change, Saylors said.
Hillside Natural Area
“We have already asked a question about the Hillside Natural Area,” Saylors said. “We have no other questions right now.”
Saylors added that he had met with Oakland and Berkeley and will be talking soon with other nearby fire jurisdictions.
El Cerrito’s previous fire hazard zone map listed 1,094 acres in El Cerrito as a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ). The boundary of the VHFHSZ ran along Colusa Avenue, Avis Drive, Navellier Street, Ganges Avenue and Carquinez Avenue to the Richmond border. The boundary streets and everything above were in the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.
That map was last revised in 2011, Saylors said.
New Zones in El Cerrito
The new map shows El Cerrito with 329 acres designated as VHFHSZ, 147 acres as High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, 146 acres as Moderate Fire Hazard Severity Risk Zone, and much of the city not designated a fire hazard zone, according to documents provided by Contra Costa County Fire Marshal Chris Bachman.
The new boundary of the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone in El Cerrito has been moved up the hill close to Arlington Boulevard. There are still a few streets below the Arlington in the new VHFHSZ. These include Havens Place and parts of Contra Costa Drive, Betty Lane, Brewster Drive, Buckingham Drive, Devonshire Drive, and Alta Vista Drive.
Exempt from New Zero Zone Rule?
It has been widely reported that only buildings in a designated Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone will be subject to a new state rule limiting vegetation and other flammable materials within five feet of homes.
On Feb. 6, following the disastrous fires in southern California, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order expediting the development of a new rule requiring a 5-foot clear zone around buildings in a VHFHSZ. He ordered state officials to produce a final rule by the end of the year
Compliance with the new state rule will be voluntary outside the VHFHSZ.
However, Chief Saylors said the city’s ordinance on vegetation control takes precedence, and that ordinance could be changed.
Basis for the Boundaries
CalFire did not provide a specific reason for the changes in El Cerrito’s fire hazard severity map. The change was not due to anything done or not done by El Cerrito or its residents.
“Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps evaluate hazard, not risk”, the state website said.
Chief Saylors said the hazard maps reflect an estimate of how likely it is that a fire will occur within 50 years.
They do not address risk or consider how fuel reduction projects might have reduced risk, he said.
“Just because you’ve been taken out of the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone does not mean you’re safe from wildfire,” Saylors said.
Link to Map
To view an interactive map in the San Francisco Chronicle, visit.
So the area with the greatest concentration of eucalyptus and dry brush is no longer in the very high fire hazard zone? How remarkable!