Sierra Club’s fight for common-sense wildfire safety continues. The California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection is considering drastically weakening State minimum fire safe regulations that have been in place for 30 years. If adopted, these regulations would make it more difficult for communities to evacuate during wildfires and more dangerous for firefighters to access existing, substandard roads.
Sierra Club has been a steadfast advocate for fire-safe communities at the Capitol, and in state agencies. We have called for more funding for defensible space and home hardening. We have supported legislation that would require wildfire safety planning to be incorporated into cities’ general plans. The Sierra Club also adopted a policy of opposing new development in very high fire hazard severity zones.
This month, Sierra Club California joined environmental and community organizations representing millions of members and supporters across California to urge the Board of Forestry not to adopt these harmful regulations. In addition to making it more dangerous to evacuate during emergencies, these harmful regulations could also make it easier to build new residential and commercial development in fire-prone wildland areas — putting more people and firefighters in harm’s way, and increasing economic risk from future fire.
To make matters worse, the board is unlikely to examine any major environmental impacts from these regulations, in violation of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Without a CEQA analysis, it is much more difficult for the state of California to plan for and avoid environmental consequences.
California wildfires have destroyed countless homes and taken far too many lives, and the climate crisis will only make wildfires more severe in coming years. The state must take steps that make fire-prone communities safer. The proposed regulations would do the opposite.
Join us to fight against these dangerous regulations. Send a message to the Board of Forestry at PublicComments@BOF.ca.gov and tell members to reject the proposed 2021 State minimum fire safe regulations and to complete a CEQA analysis. Click here for a sample email.
Thank you for taking action!
