Monday, February 23, 2015

Public Meetings: CAL FIRE Proposing Changes to SRA Fee Maps #CAFire #SRAtax

CAL FIRE Proposing Changes to SRA – Schedules Public Meetings

CAL FIRE Proposed Changes to SRA MapCredit: CFN 2015

Sacramento -- The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) is proposing a number of changes to its current State Responsibility Area (SRA) maps as part of a mandatory five-year review process. CAL FIRE staff began the review in 2014 to reassess lands in and around the SRA and capture changes in land use, density of areas due to development, and other changes that would merit reclassification of lands either into or out of the SRA. CAL FIRE has announced public meetings in Redding on February 26, 2015, and San Diego on February 27, 2015, followed by a hearing to approve the changes at the March 4, 2015 Board of Forestry meeting in Sacramento.

CAL FIRE estimates that the changes will increase SRA lands by a net of 4,729 acres. Many counties, like Glenn and Colusa, will see a net loss of SRA acres, which will be reclassified as local responsibility areas. Others, such as Merced and Tehama, will see significant net gains of SRA land after the changes. This will effectively force owners of an estimated 939 structures to pay the SRA fee beginning in 2015-16. However, the agency also estimates that 1,353 structures will be removed from SRA, for a net loss in the total number of structure owners being charged the SRA fee.

A full schedule of the public meetings, as well as proposed acreage changes by county and an interactive map, can be accessed here.

More Information and resources

Resource Protection Committee

The RPC is a standing committee of the Board. The mission of the RPC is to evaluate and promote an effective fire protection system implemented by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and improve forest and rangeland health in California.

2015 State Responsibility Area (SRA) Review and Proposed Changes

CAL FIRE is required to maintain official maps of State Responsibility Areas (SRA), where the State has financial responsibility for preventing and suppressing fires as determined by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (PRC 4102-4125). CAL FIRE conducts a 5 year review of SRA maps as required by PRC 4125 to capture changes in land use, for example conversion in or out of agriculture, areas of densification due to development, and other relevant changes. SRA data are updated on a more frequent basis to capture annexations and changes in federal ownership that affect SRA status. You may read more about the process in the SRA Classification System document. Below are two documents that summarize the changes. They include:

Proposed Changes by County :
A table listing each proposed change to SRA status by county
Summary of Changes by County :
A table that summarizes the net change in SRA acres by county for proposed changes to SRA status

Public Comment and the Approval Process

Changes were submitted by CAL FIRE Units and contract counties and have gone through the official approval process at the Unit, Region, and State Review Team levels. There will be a series of public hearing meetings during February to collect public input on the proposed changes. Changes will be presented to the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection for final approval on March 4th, 2015.

Public hearing meeting dates and locations will be posted on this site when they become available.

SRA 2015 Review Viewer

The Viewer displays the proposed changes, and has tools for zooming in to an address, changing base maps, or identifying individual changes. A Help file is provided at the upper right corner of the Viewer.

LAUNCH VIEWER

SRA Data

CAL FIRE maintains the boundaries of State Responsibility Areas (SRA) within a Geographic Information System (GIS). The data are continuously updated, and updates are released twice a year. SRA data can be downloaded here;

http://frap.fire.ca.gov/projects/sra_mapping/index.php

Contact Information

Written comments shall be submitted to the following address:

Board of Forestry and Fire Protection
Attn: George Gentry
Executive Officer
P.O. Box 944246
Sacramento, CA 94244-2460

Written comments may also be sent to the Board via facsimile at the following phone number:
(916) 653-0989

Written comments may also be delivered via e-mail at the following address:
board.public.comments@bof.ca.gov

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CFN - California Fire News 2013

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Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS