SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – City Council unanimously passed the first reading of an ordinance designating Very High Fire Severity Zones within city limits provided by CalFire. South Tahoe Fire Chief Jim Drennan explained, “This really is just a revision of the map for an ordinance that’s already in place.”

Council adopted the original ordinance Sept. 3, 2019. California law requires CalFire to identify these zones, and update them. State code also requires local jurisdictions adopt the zones. The staff report states a majority of the land in city limits is within these Very High Fire Severity Zones, marked in red on the updated map. Fire Marshal Kim George estimates 95% of city land is in these very high zones. The remainder has either not been evaluated or is located in moderate areas.

The designation as a Very High Fire Severity Zones triggers additional building and fire code requirements intended to promote fire safety and allow building officials and the fire chief to enforce those provisions.

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Sierra Tract resident Erick Asbury told council, he sees trees coming down all over the place. “I know we respect fire safety, but at one point or another, there’s a tipping point to where,” he asks, “are we just gonna clear all trees off from everywhere?”

Melissa Soderston, Director of Tahoe Forests Matter, expressed concern this ordinance might open up the forest to more intensive logging or thinning, “which science and experience has shown time and time again does not work.” She said efforts need to go toward infrastructure and home hardening.

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Councilmember Cristi Creegan pointed out that the ordinance allows enforcement of wildland urban interface requirements pertaining to roofing, siding, attics, and foundation venting, citing the ordinance. “So this appears to be particularly not having anything to do with logging, thinning, et cetera,” Creegan said, “but in fact is about building codes and protects exactly what we want to protect, which is our homes.” 

Chief Dennan said it does exactly that. Both the chief and marshal reiterated it is a revision to an already existing ordinance. “There’s no revisions to the city except for one small area and it’s along the side of a meadow, so it doesn’t really change a whole lot for us,” George said.

Mayor Pro Tem John Friedrich took the opportunity to address Soderston’s comment about the efficacy of fuels reduction since the subject was brought up during public comment. Soderston has raised similar concerns at prior meetings. “It’s really my understanding of the Caldor Fire that many of the fuels reduction projects really helped tamp down the fire…,” he said over Zoom.

Soderston interrupted over Zoom and said, “Weather changes, that’s the only thing that stopped Caldor. Weather.”

Friedrich continued by asking Fire Marshal George her perspective on the science and efficacy of fuels reduction. “We do hear this in our community,” he stated, “people think we’re doing too much thinning or logging and the city for the most part isn’t doing it. It’s the forest service, but we do hear it in public comment.”

Fire Chief Drennan took the question. To the comments regarding thinning versus home hardening, he said, “There is no single magic bullet.” He added, “Thinning a forest doesn’t fix the problem. Hardening a home doesn’t fix the problem, all by itself.”

He also confirmed none of the fuels treatments they’ve engaged in has anything to do with clear cutting. Having been on the fire line during Caldor and other incidents in his 25 year career, the chief said when done properly, fuel treatments do lessen fire intensity and severity.

“We saw that first hand in the neighborhood behind Holiday Market,” he said. “We had a fire front coming right at us,” he adds and continues to describe a scene where him and his crew watched a crown fire get back on the ground again. “That was no weather event,” he explained, “that was a fuels treatment area in-between homes and a thick untreated forest.”

“We can get into a lengthy debate about how fuels have been managed and mismanaged over the last 100 years and the comments are not totally wrong and they’re not totally right,” the chief said, “But my point with this and with this ordinance in particular is this is a multifaceted piece. No single answer and no single magic mullet is going to fix the problem. This ordinance is really being revised simply so we have the ability to enforce building and fire code.”

The ordinance’s second reading and adoption is scheduled for May 21.