As wildfire season fast approaches, Riverside Fire Department officials are initiating citywide inspections to ensure residential and commercial properties maintain appropriate “defensible space,” which officials outlined Tuesday at a City Council hearing.
During the council’s 1 p.m. session at City Hall, fire officials provided details on the municipality’s Defensible Space Inspection Program. The presentation pointed out that some property owners will be required to create minimal protective buffers, from 1 to 5 feet, while others may be directed to establish up to 100 feet of cleared ground before summer starts.
“Riverside’s extensive wildland-urban interface … Santa Ana wind exposure and high ignition potential continue to present wildfire risk across multiple wards,” according to an agency statement posted to the council agenda for Tuesday. “Fire Hazard Severity Zones — moderate, high and very high — guide mitigation planning and inspection efforts. The department’s focus is to strengthen community resilience by bringing residents, fire officials and stakeholders together before a wildfire occurs.”
Several sections of the city have been designated by the California Office of the State Fire Marshal, a branch of Cal Fire, as red zones bearing high wildfire risks — though the Fire Hazard Severity Zones delineated by the office last year received criticism for possible inaccuracies that unjustifiably caused large increases to homeowners’ property insurance rates.
Like Riverside County’s defensible space program, the city can fine property owners when mitigation measures have been requested but not implemented.
The Fire Department on Tuesday provided information on how property owners can obtain “personalized fire risk reports” via the Free Home Assessment Program. Details and applications are available now by calling the city’s 311 information service.
“Wildfires can occur at any time. With an emergency call received approximately every eleven minutes, proactive risk reduction remains critical to maintaining service delivery and public safety,” according to a Fire Department report to the City Council.
Local stakeholders will receive mailed notifications in late spring or early summer, with inspections of their properties occurring 30 or more days later, according to the report.
Properties not in compliance with the guidelines may receive violation notices, and “owners are required to maintain defensible space by reducing hazardous vegetation, removing ladder fuels, preventing obstructions to roadways, and managing parcels to reduce fire spread,” fire officials reported.
Riverside’s defensible space standards include the Immediate Zone, 0-5 feet; Intermediate Zone, 5-30 feet; and Extended Zone, 30-100 feet. State law also requires defensible space compliance during the sale of homes in high and very high fire-risk areas.
Video of the council hearing and reports detailing defensible space guidelines are available online.
