CAL FIRE EXTENDS COMMENT PERIOD ON FIRE HAZARD MAPS

Cal Fire has extended the public comment period on maps it released late last year showing areas of the state most susceptible to wildfire.

A number of area residents attended a meeting with Cal Fire officials on Jan. 19 in Golden Hills and expressed concerns about the maps. At the time, the deadline to comment on the Fire Hazard Severity Zone map was Feb. 3.

However, due to concerns expressed by the California Association of Counties and others, the deadline was extended to April 4.

On the map, areas are ranked as having very high, high or moderate risk for wildfire. Within Kern County, 641,441 acres are ranked very high — mostly in the Tehachapi Mountains but also in the Greenhorn Mountains. An additional 781,819 acres are ranked high and 400,673 acres are ranked moderate. The county covers about 5.2 million acres.

Extensive information about the FHSZ map, as well as how to comment on related proposed regulation, is available online at bit. ly/3Pyz4WC. Another tool provided by Cal Fire displays the increase in very high risk zones since the 2007 map. It can be found online at bit. ly/3uXEm4v.