Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Daniel T. Belville, Director, Office of Public Safety Communications
Jonathan Cox, Deputy Fire Chief, San Mateo County Fire / CAL FIRE
Subject: Report on Fire Prevention in San Mateo County - Update
RECOMMENDATION:
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Accept the report on current fire prevention efforts in San Mateo County.
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BACKGROUND:
Beginning in 2018, the Board directed the County Manager to study and make recommendations on how to best prevent and manage wildfires in the County of San Mateo using a collaborative multi-agency approach. This included stakeholders from a variety of organizations (Public Safety Communications, San Mateo County Fire Department / CAL FIRE, Office of Sustainability, Building and Planning, as well as numerous other local and state agencies). Since then numerous significant strides have been made throughout the County to mitigate, prepare and respond to the threat of large and damaging wildfires.
DISCUSSION:
Devastating fire disasters that have plagued California over the past several years appear to be increasing in severity, frequency, and destructiveness. Fifteen of the 20 most destructive wildfires in the state's history have occurred since 2000; ten of the most destructive fire have occurred since 2015. The past three years have seen some of the deadliest, costliest and most destructive fires in California's history. In 2018, the Camp Fire killed 85 people, destroyed over 20,000 structures, scorched more than 1.9 million acres of land, cost over $120 million to control and became the most destructive fire in California history. This is alarming as only one year earlier the Tubbs Fire in Sonoma County had the title of most destructive fire in California's history, destroying over 5,000 homes in the Santa Rosa area. Since 2015, approximately 34,300 structures have been destroyed and over 4.6 million acres have burned by wildfire ...
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