A bill seeking to reform California's system for mapping wildfire risk has died in the state Assembly.
Senate Bill 610, introduced in June by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), sparked heated debate over his plan to eliminate the decades-old system of classifying state and local lands as “moderate,” “high,” or “very high” fire hazard severity zones — designations that influence development patterns and building safety standards based on how likely an area is to burn.
The plan, instead, would have empowered California State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant to create a single “wildfire mitigation area” classification for California, which supporters say would simplify the system and create a uniform set of standards for wildfire preparedness and mitigation.
The bill remained in the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Thursday.
“We are relieved that this dangerous proposal will not move forward this year,” said JP Rose, policy director and senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, who opposed the bill.
Rose and other critics had described SB 610 as “absolute madness” that would make it easier to build more housing in fire-prone areas. They said it would also take away local governments’ say in those decisions.
Rose said she viewed Thursday's decision as a victory for the more than 150 organizations that opposed the bill in a series of open letters to Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers.
“We look forward to working with the Legislature to move new housing construction away from high-risk areas while supporting equitable, climate-resilient development in existing communities,” she said.
Proponents of the legislation, on the other hand, said the plan would not dictate where properties can be built, but would streamline the current system and ensure uniform fire protection standards for all buildings in designated wildfire mitigation areas.
“The critical need to strengthen our wildfire mitigation measures continues,” Berlant said in a text message Friday. “We will continue to work with our stakeholders to address the need to create change in the unacceptable trajectory we have been on regarding home destruction.” [by] “forest fire.”
Wiener did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Legislative officials said the bill is likely to be revived next year.
SB 610 is “something I’m very concerned about,” Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, told reporters after the hearing.
“I’ve worked with the senator on this and I think we need more time to continue working on it,” Wicks said. “But I hope we’ll see more action on this next year as well.”
Times staff writer Anabel Sosa contributed to this report.
