BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1867
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1867 (Patterson)
As Amended August 19, 2014
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |67-2 |(May 23, 2014) |SENATE: |32-2 |(August 21, |
| | | | | |2014) |
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Original Committee Reference: NAT. RES.
SUMMARY : Authorizes, for three years, the Board of Forestry and
Fire Protection (Board) to exempt some or all requirements of
the Forest Practices Act to allow the cutting or removal of
trees on the person's property to reduce flammable materials and
create defensible space. This bill extends the exemption that
allows vegetation clearing from a radius of 150 feet to 300 feet
of habitable structures, although it is technically proposed as
a separate exemption.
The Senate amendments:
1)Add additional standards for residual stocking, quadratic mean
diameter, and postharvest slash treatment and stand conditions
with regard to the area of defensible space between 150 to 300
feet of a habitable structure.
2)Add a three-year sunset provision and a reporting requirement
for the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE).
EXISTING LAW :
1)Prohibits any person from conducting timber operations unless
a timber harvest plan (THP) has been prepared by a registered
professional forester and approved by CAL FIRE. (The
Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency has certified that a
THP is the functional equivalent of an environmental impact
report under the California Environmental Quality Act.)
2)Requires a person who owns, leases, controls, operates, or
maintains a building or structure in, upon, or adjoining a
mountainous area, forest-covered lands, brush-covered lands,
grass-covered lands, or land that is covered with flammable
material, to at all times maintain a defensible space of 100
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feet from each side of the structure, but not beyond the
property line.
3)Allows a state or local fire official, at his or her
discretion, to authorize an owner of property, or his or her
agent, to construct a firebreak, or implement appropriate
vegetation management techniques, to ensure that defensible
space is adequate for the protection of a hospital, adult
residential care facility, school, aboveground storage tank,
hazardous materials facility, or similar facility on the
property. Allows the firebreak to be for a radius of up to
300 feet from the facility, or to the property line, whichever
distance is shorter.
4)Creates a THP exemption for defensible space timber operations
conducted not more than 150 feet on each side from an approved
and legally permitted structure. Under this exemption,
requires all of the following:
a) Timber operations shall be limited to cutting or removal
of trees that will result in a reduction in the rate of
fire spread, fire duration and intensity, fuel
ignitability, or ignition of the tree crowns;
b) Clearcutting shall not be used; and,
c) Surface fuels (e.g., logging slash and debris, low bush,
deadwood) that could promote wildfire shall be chipped,
burned, or otherwise removed from all areas of the timber
operations.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS :
Background on Fire. Fire is an integral part of most California
landscapes. Many of our native plants, including trees, are
adapted to burn periodically; they need fire to be healthy,
reproduce, and survive. Fire suppression activities over the
last 100 to 150 years have largely taken fire out of the system,
causing far-reaching changes in habitats and forest health.
Many of the forest plant communities are not adapted to today's
exceedingly hot fires. During these fires many mature trees
succumb from top kill while others have their roots killed due
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to decades of accumulated debris burning down into the root
zones.
At the same time, the growing numbers of people moving into
forested areas (the wildland urban interface) increase the risk
of fires, place more lives and property in danger, and
complicate efforts to restore fire to the ecosystem.
Defensible Space. The vegetation surrounding a building or
structure can be fuel for a fire. Even the building or
structure itself is considered fuel. Research and experience
have shown that fuel reduction around a building or structure
increases the probability of it surviving a wildfire. Good
defensible space allows firefighters to protect and save
buildings or structures safely without facing unacceptable risk
to their lives. Various fire programs throughout the state and
country teach that fuel reduction through vegetation management
is the key to creating good defensible space.
State law requires a home owner to at all times maintain
defensible space of 100 feet from each side of the structure,
but not beyond the property line. However, various defensible
space-related programs recommend a much large defensible space
area if possible.
For example, the Firewise Communities Program (a program
co-sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Department of
the Interior, and the National Association of State Foresters)
provides advice on how to manage defensible space up to 200 feet
and recommends an even greater distance depending on the site.
Another program worth citing is the Tuolumne County Fire Safe
Council (TCFSC). Tuolumne County was seriously affected by the
2013 Rim Fire, which burned 257,314 acres. Certain communities,
such as Pine Mountain Lake, were ordered to evacuate the area
during the fire. The Pine Mountain Lake Association practices
defensible space activities pursuant to recommendation
established by the TCFSC. For certain areas, TCFSC recommends
more than 150 feet of defensible space.
State law currently has a THP exemption to conduct defensible
space fuels management up to 150 feet from each side of an
approved and legally permitted structure. In this context, the
term "structure" is broad: it can be a structure designed for
human occupancy, a garage, a barn, a stable, or a structure used
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to enclose fuel tanks. Under this exemption, clearcutting is
prohibited and timber operations shall be limited to cutting or
removal of trees that will result in a reduction in the rate of
fire spread, fire duration and intensity, fuel ignitability, or
ignition of the tree crowns. Additionally, surface fuels (e.g.,
logging slash and debris, low bush, deadwood) that could promote
wildfire must be chipped, burned, or otherwise removed from all
areas of the timber operations.
This bill essentially extends the 150 foot defensible space
exemption to 300 feet. However, the bill only focuses on
"habitable structures." Moreover, the bill contains additional
requirements for the area between 150 to 300 feet, such as
residual stocking standards and the involvement of a registered
professional forester to ensure that the fuel treatment is
carried out correctly.
This bill sunsets three years after its implementing regulations
are adopted but no later than January 1, 2019.
Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
FN: 0005263