3 months ago
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TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- For the archetypal clip successful 14 years, California's occurrence hazard severity zones maps person been updated by the authorities occurrence marshal.
Based connected occurrence past and conditions of locations, areas crossed the authorities fertile from Moderate to High and Very High occurrence risk.
"The hazard maps are being updated to much accurately bespeak areas of California that person a higher hazard of wildfires, and it's a bully instrumentality for the nationalist to cognize however prepared to be," said Savanna Birchfield-Gernt, with CAL FIRE successful Tulare County.
"While it is adjuvant to beryllium prepared, it is adjuvant to cognize to spot a marker for wherever you are and spot a hazard of hazard."
Action News asked astir the biggest alteration from the aged maps to the caller ones.
"The summation of mean and precocious occurrence hazards severity zones, and with that is simply a caller request arsenic of January 1st 2026, for caller improvement to conception homes to section 7-A successful the precocious occurrence hazard severity zones," explained Jim McDougald, adjunct lawman manager for Wildfire readying and hazard simplification with CAL FIRE.
In some Kings and Tulare counties, the occurrence hazard zones that made the database see Avenal, Woodlake, and parts of Porterville.
Plus, respective unincorporated areas.
The onshore spans astir 27,000 acres successful Tulare County and adjacent to 59,000 successful Kings County, which beryllium betwixt Moderate and High Risk.
"What I volition archer radical is we ever privation you to beryllium alert of wildfires, particularly erstwhile you are surviving successful the foothills of Tulare County, wherever you volition apt spot CAL FIRE," said Birchfield-Gernt.
In Tulare County's unincorporated communities, astir 500 acres are considered Very High risk, compared to nary successful 2011.
"A batch of radical are disquieted astir security erstwhile it comes to the occurrence hazard severity zones, truthful security companies usage a antithetic standing -- they usage a hazard rating, and ways that radical tin trim their ratings wherever they unrecorded is by doing things similar location hardening and defensible space," explains Birchfield-Gernt.
Cal Fire says radical should enactment connected defensible abstraction year-round.
The archetypal rounds of inspections are presently underway for foothill communities, including Springville, Posey oregon California Hot Springs, and Three Rivers..
People volition person 3 rounds of defensible abstraction inspections earlier citations are issued.
Cal Fire says their superior extremity is to springiness radical the accidental to larn much astir wildfire readiness.
You tin sojourn this website to find the Fire Hazard Severity Zones.
The latest severity portion recommendations successful California tin beryllium recovered here.
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