Chapter 8.20
FIRE RESTRICTIONS AND FUELS REDUCTION
Sections:
Article I. General Provisions
8.20.010 Purpose of provisions.
Article II. Fire Restrictions
8.20.030 Fire restriction designation conditions.
8.20.040 Posting of restrictions.
8.20.050 Activities prohibited during restrictions.
Article III. Fuels Reduction
8.20.080 Declaration of public nuisance.
8.20.090 Requirements for fuels reduction on land containing a building or structure.
8.20.100 Requirements for fuels reduction on adjacent lots.
Article I. General Provisions
8.20.010 Purpose of provisions.
The purpose of this chapter is to provide rules and regulations designed to mitigate fire hazard in Alpine County. These provisions are in addition to other federal, state and local laws relating to specific areas of fire mitigation and are intended to benefit the overall public health and safety.
Alpine County encourages all property owners to work together to provide a good defense against wildfires in our community. Providing one hundred feet of defensible space from structures and being prepared can help you and your property survive a wildfire. It is also important to allow fire crews to come in and safely and effectively protect your property and your neighbor’s property.
A fire adapted community acknowledges and takes responsibility for its wildfire risk, and implements appropriate actions at all levels. Actions address resident safety, homes, neighborhoods, businesses and infrastructure, forests, parks, open spaces and other community assets. (Ord. 727 (part), 2018)
8.20.020 Definitions.
A. “Defensible space” means the area within the perimeter of a lot or parcel where basic wildfire protection practices are implemented, providing the key point of defense from an approaching wildfire or escaping structure fire. The area is characterized by the establishment and maintenance of emergency vehicle access, emergency water reserves, street names and building identification, and fuel modification measures.
B. For the purpose of defensible space defined in Cal. Pub. Res. Code § 4291, “fuel” means any combustible material, including petroleum-based products and wildland fuels.
C. “Inspection official” means the elected sheriff and the appointed fire chief or their designees.
D. “Adjacent lot” is defined as a lot which is contiguous to a property where the property owner is not able, without encroachment on another lot, to provide defensible space for structures defined by Cal. Pub. Res. Code § 4291. An adjacent lot may or may not contain structures.
E. “Structure,” for the purposes of this chapter, is any dwelling unit. (Ord. 727 (part), 2018)
Article II. Fire Restrictions
8.20.030 Fire restriction designation conditions.
A. Whenever the federal fire restrictions are effective, an advisement of extreme fire hazard conditions, as issued by the U.S. Forest Service, Alpine County will issue a fire restriction order for the same affected lands within the county.
B. In addition, whenever it is independently determined by the county board of supervisors that an extreme fire hazard condition exists, the county will declare the threatened territory of the county to be under fire restriction designation.
C. A fire restriction designation may be canceled by the chair of the board of supervisors upon reasonable determination that the conditions which precipitated the fire restriction designation no longer exist. (Ord. 727 (part), 2018)
8.20.040 Posting of restrictions.
Notice of fire restriction designation and of cancellation of such designation shall be posted as well as practically possible, but in no case in less than three public places in the county. (Ord. 727 (part), 2018)
8.20.050 Activities prohibited during restrictions.
A. Except as set forth in subsection B of this section, outdoor open fires will not be permitted. Supervised residential use of approved outdoor cooking devices is exempted from this restriction.
B. Campfires on private property are not prohibited when:
1. All of the conditions of a campfire permit are satisfied.
Campfire permits can be issued by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service (NPS), and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) or online at http://www.preventwildfireca.org/Permits.
C. Parties are liable for the cost of suppression and damages caused by any wildfire that starts through their negligence. (Cal. Health & Safety Code § 13009.) (Ord. 727 (part), 2018)
8.20.060 Enforcement.
The provisions of this article shall be enforced by the county sheriff’s department by peace officers authorized under the provisions of Cal. Penal Code § 836.5. (Ord. 727 (part), 2018)
8.20.070 Violation—Penalty.
Any person violating any provision of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor/infraction and shall be fined an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars and/or ninety days in the county jail, in addition to any criminal and civil remedies which may be available under any applicable state and federal laws. (Ord. 727 (part), 2018)
Article III. Fuels Reduction
8.20.080 Declaration of public nuisance.
The Alpine County board of supervisors hereby declares fuels that accumulate on lots within the county in violation of this article to be a public nuisance and it shall be the responsibility of the owner of the property upon which such nuisance exists to abate such nuisance at his or her own expense. Such nuisance is considered abated when fuels reduction as defined in this chapter is accomplished. (Ord. 727 (part), 2018)
8.20.090 Requirements for fuels reduction on land containing a building or structure.
A person that owns, leases, controls, operates, or maintains a building or structure in, upon, or adjoining any mountainous area, forest-covered lands, brush-covered lands, grass-covered lands, or any land that is covered with flammable material shall at all times maintain defensible space in compliance with the requirements of Cal. Pub. Res. Code § 4291 as currently exists and as may be amended in the future. (Ord. 727 (part), 2018)
8.20.100 Requirements for fuels reduction on adjacent lots.
It is the intention of the board of supervisors of the county of Alpine that the provisions of this chapter bridge the gap in Cal. Pub. Res. §§ 4290 and 4291. These sections only apply to those properties with structures on them and then only to the existing property line. In some cases there is not one hundred feet of defensible space available without encroachment upon the adjacent lot.
A. Applicability. This section shall apply to all adjacent lots that meet both of the following criteria:
1. Fire Hazard Severity Zone. The adjacent lot is located within a very high or high fire hazard severity zone as defined in the most recent California Fire Hazard Severity Zone Map adopted by CAL FIRE.
2. Determination of Hazard. The adjacent lot contains fuels that are within one hundred feet of a structure on an occupied lot and do not meet the Cal. Pub. Res. § 4291 General Guidelines for Creating Defensible Space.
B. Fuels Reduction Standard.
1. Fuels Reduction Standard. For all areas within the adjacent lot that are within one hundred feet of a structure, provide a reduced fuel zone that is consistent with the Cal. Pub. Res. § 4291 General Guidelines for Creating Defensible Space as adopted on February 8, 2006, by the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection “BoF Guidelines,” and as may be amended in the future. This standard shall not require a firebreak as described in the BoF Guidelines to be provided within the subject lot. This standard shall not apply to any area within the adjacent lot that is more than one hundred feet from a structure.
2. Variations. The fire inspection official(s) may approve variations from the standard and applicable sections of the BoF Guidelines that are determined by the fire inspection official(s) to have the same practical effect as the standard and applicable sections of the BoF Guidelines.
C. Inspections, Duty to Perform Fuels Reduction and Enforcement.
1. Inspections. The board of supervisors shall designate the fire inspection official(s) for these regulations. The board may, by action separate from this article, designate different fire inspection official(s) for distinct geographic areas of the county. The fire inspection official(s) for Bear Valley shall be the Bear Valley public safety officer. Inspections will be conducted under the authority and direction of the designated fire inspection official(s). In accordance with all applicable laws, the fire inspection official(s) is authorized to enter onto private lands and conduct inspections for the purpose of fulfilling the requirements of this article.
2. Duty to Perform Fuels Reduction. Fuels reduction as defined in this article shall be accomplished by property owners by May 1st of every year for all areas in the county below six thousand two hundred feet elevation and by June 1st for all other areas in the county. An exception to these dates occurs when an order to perform fuels reduction has been issued, in which case the time limit(s) in the order shall apply.
3. Upon the filing of a complaint by a property owner or occupant who alleges the inability to achieve one hundred feet of defensible space around a structure(s) due to property line restrictions, the fire inspection official(s) will inspect the occupied property and adjacent lot to determine if the adjacent lot must provide defensible space for the occupied lot to meet safety standards.
4. Complaints will be made on a form provided by the fire inspection official(s) and must contain a description of property and proof that all efforts to meet compliance with the defensible space herein by cooperation with the adjacent lot owner(s) have been exhausted.
5. Efforts of cooperation must include evidence of written contact with the adjacent lot owner(s) for any work necessary to construct a one hundred-foot defensible space around complainant’s structure.
6. Upon receipt of a completed complaint the fire inspection official(s) shall inspect both properties and contact the adjacent lot owner(s) to obtain voluntary compliance. In the absence of voluntary compliance, the fire inspection official(s) may issue an order of compliance if warranted.
a. The order of compliance shall clearly state all actions necessary to come into compliance with the adjacent lot ordinance, including that adjacent lot owner(s) may elect to voluntarily cooperate with the neighboring lot owner.
b. In the event that the adjacent lot owner(s) refuse to comply within forty-five days of issuance of the order, the matter will be referred to the sheriff for enforcement.
7. After forty-five days have elapsed from the date of the order and the deficiencies have not been corrected, the enforcement authority may issue a citation requiring immediate correction of deficiencies.
8. If the adjacent lot property owner still does not comply, the complaint will be forwarded to the district attorney for possible prosecution.
9. Extent of Duty to Enforce. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as imposing on the fire inspection official or the county any duty to issue an order to abate a fire hazard and neither the fire inspection official(s) nor the county shall be held liable for failure to issue an order to abate a fire hazard nor for failure to abate any fire hazard. (Ord. 727 (part), 2018)
8.20.110 Enforcement.
The provisions of this article will be enforced by the county sheriff’s department by peace officers authorized under the provisions of Cal. Penal Code § 836.5. (Ord. 727 (part), 2018)
8.20.120 Violation—Penalty.
Any person violating any provision of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor/infraction and may be fined an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars and/or ninety days in the county jail, in addition to any criminal and civil remedies which may be available under any applicable state and federal laws. (Ord. 727 (part), 2018)