Article 12 - Community Wildfire Preparedness and Mitigation

California Public Resources Code — §§ 4209-4209.5

Sections (6)

Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 225, Sec. 17. (AB 9) Effective January 1, 2022.

There is within the Office of the State Fire Marshal a Deputy Director of Community Wildfire Preparedness and Mitigation who shall be responsible for fire preparedness and mitigation missions of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, as provided in Section 4209.1.

§ 4209.1

Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 225, Sec. 17. (AB 9) Effective January 1, 2022.

The Deputy Director of Community Wildfire Preparedness and Mitigation shall be responsible for all of the following programs and activities:

(a)The Fire Prevention Grants Program (Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 4124)).

(b)Defensible space requirements pursuant to Sections 4291 and 4291.1.

(c)The California wildfire mitigation financial assistance program described in Article 16.5 (commencing with Section 8654.2) of Chapter 7 of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(d)The establishment of fire hazard severity zones pursuant to Article 9 (commencing with

Section 4201) of this code and very high fire hazard severity zones pursuant to Chapter 6.8 (commencing with Section 51175) of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code.

(e)The requirements of Section 4290.5.

(f)Consultation with the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety regarding wildfire mitigation plans, pursuant to Sections 8386, 8386.3, and 8386.5 of the Public Utilities Code.

(g)General plan safety element review pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 65300) of Chapter 3 of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code.

(h)Wildland building code standards pursuant to Section 13108.5 of the Health and Safety Code.

(i)Implementation of the minimum fire safety

standards adopted pursuant to Section 4290.

§ 4209.2

Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 225, Sec. 17. (AB 9) Effective January 1, 2022.

The Deputy Director of Community Wildfire Preparedness and Mitigation and any subordinate employee shall be primarily assigned to the responsibilities established by this article and shall be the lowest priority employees of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for purposes of fire incident support duties.

§ 4209.3

Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 225, Sec. 17. (AB 9) Effective January 1, 2022. Repealed as of January 1, 2027, by its own provisions.

(a)The State Fire Marshal shall, on or before January 1, 2023, provide the Legislature with a report identifying known personnel and resource shortfalls in implementing programs and activities overseen by the Deputy Director of Community Wildfire Preparedness and Mitigation pursuant to this article.

(b)A report submitted to the Legislature pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

(c)Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this section shall be repealed on January 1, 2027.

§ 4209.4

Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 225, Sec. 17. (AB 9) Effective January 1, 2022.

(a)The Office of the State Fire Marshal shall establish the State Fire Marshal’s Wildfire Mitigation Advisory Committee to provide a public forum to solicit and consider public input on programs and activities pursuant to this article and to advise the Deputy Director of Community Wildfire Preparedness and Mitigation in developing and implementing programs and activities pursuant to this article.

(b)The committee shall do all of the following:

(1)Provide a consistent and regular means of communication on topics related to community wildfire preparedness and fire mitigation between the department, the Office of the State Fire Marshal, representatives of relevant industries,

state agencies, fire service agencies, and other stakeholders.

(2)Provide a forum for addressing wildfire preparedness and mitigation issues of statewide concern.

(3)Share latest available research and best practices with regard to community fire preparedness and mitigation efforts.

(4)Seek and provide comments and specific input on proposed programs, policies, guidelines, budget, and technical issues, and inform local agencies and the public of applicable new laws and regulations.

(5)Provide and receive updates and feedback regarding the programs operated by the Office of the State Fire Marshal pursuant to this article.

(c)Members of the committee shall be all of the following:

(1)The director of the department, or their designee.

(2)The director of the Department of Conservation, or their designee.

(3)The Director of the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, or their designee.

(4)The chair of the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, or their designee.

(5)The State Fire Marshal, or their designee.

(6)The Director of Emergency Services, or their designee.

(7)The Insurance Commissioner, or their designee.

(8)The Director of State Planning and Research, or

their designee.

(9)A representative from the California Fire Safe Council.

(10)A representative from the insurance industry or an insurance research organization.

(11)A local fire service representative.

(12)A representative from the building industry.

(13)A representative from the University of California Cooperative Extension.

(14)A representative from the California Fire Science Consortium.

(15)Any other appropriate stakeholders, including representatives from local governmental agencies, as decided by the State Fire Marshal.

(d)The committee shall meet monthly.

(e)The members of the committee shall serve without compensation, but each member shall be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.

(f)The chairperson of the committee shall be the State Fire Marshal.

§ 4209.5

Added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 225, Sec. 17. (AB 9) Effective January 1, 2022.

(a)The Office of the State Fire Marshal shall establish the Community Wildfire Mitigation Assistance Program to coordinate regional and local efforts with state policies, strategies, and programs for community wildfire mitigation in order to improve wildfire preparedness and prevention, with an emphasis on the most vulnerable communities.

(b)The program shall do all of the following:

(1)Provide technical assistance to local jurisdictions with community wildfire preparedness and prevention services and identify funding opportunities and best practices, including, but not necessarily limited to, defensible space, structure hardening, fuel reduction around communities, wildland

building code standards, and land use planning.

(2)Identify both of the following:

(A)Programs administered by state, regional, and local agencies to address and minimize the risks of wildfire and coordinate the implementation of those programs.

(B)Public and private programs that may be leveraged to facilitate defensible space, home hardening, and community fuel reduction to minimize the impacts of wildfire to habitable structures.

(3)Conduct outreach efforts to regional and local wildfire mitigation groups, including assessing compliance, educating and informing regional and local agencies, stakeholders, and the public of applicable new laws and regulations.

(4)Provide technical

consultation with the development of city and county safety elements.

(5)Develop guidance and decision-support tools useful for data visualization, planning, and analysis.

(6)Establish a statewide clearinghouse for use by state, regional, and local entities to provide a centralized source of data, information, research articles, studies, white papers, reports, best practices, model ordinances, demonstration projects, tools, and other resources related to community wildfire preparedness, mitigation, and risk reduction.