Cal Fire rolls out new fire hazard maps for Central California. Up next: L.A.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection released new fire-hazard severity maps Monday that added thousands of acres within the purview of local fire departments across agricultural Central Valley counties that previously had zero acres zoned as such. The maps, covering 15 counties in Central California, are part of Cal Fire’s two-month rollout of new hazard zones for the regions where local city and county fire departments are responsible for responding to blazes. New fire hazard zones for California’s central coast and valley Local responsibility areas Moderate High Very high Non-wildland State responsibility areas Moderate High Very high Sacramento SACRAMENTO TUOLUMNE MARIPOSA MADERA Monterey FRESNO MONTEREY KINGS TULARE SAN LUIS OBISPO KERN SANTA BARBARA VENTURA LOS ANGELES Santa Barbara Thousand Oaks 50 MILES Sacramento Fresno Monterey Bakersfield San Luis Obispo Santa Barbara Thousand Oaks 50 MILES California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Sean Greene LOS ANGELES TIMES The rollout marks the first update in over a decade to Cal Fire’s hazard zones in local fire department responsibility areas — which are referenced in at least 50 different sections of California’s codes, from street and highway codes to healthy and safety codes to building codes. Proposed fire hazard severity zones in local responsibility areas Moderate High Very high Jurisdiction Local State Federal Monterey, Calif. Salinas Monterey Monterey Regional Airport 2011 “very high” hazard severity zone 5 MILES San Luis Obispo, Calif. Los Padres National Forest Morro Bay San Luis Obispo Montaña de Oro State Park SLO County Airport Pismo Beach 5 MILES California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Sean Greene LOS ANGELES TIMES Santa Barbara and Ventura counties to the south saw more modest percentage increases, but notably, Ventura’s Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks saw their zones increase by more than 2,000 acres each. Ventura County Proposed fire hazard severity zones in local responsibility areas Moderate High Very high Jurisdiction Local State Federal VENTURA COUNTY Fillmore 2011 “very high” hazard severity zone Santa Paula Santa Clara River Simi Hills Simi Valley Camarillo Thousand Oaks Oxnard Oak Park LOS ANGELES COUNTY 5 MILES Santa Monica Mountains Fillmore 2011 “very high” hazard severity zone VENTURA COUNTY Simi Valley Thousand Oaks Oak Park LOS ANGELES COUNTY 5 MILES California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Sean Greene LOS ANGELES TIMES Cal Fire’s zones represent the fire hazard areas face: a combination of the chance of a fire reaching the area and its potential intensity — not the risk of specific properties sustaining damage in a wildfire.