[Return to Table of Contents] 2021–2022 Consolidated Final Report with Responses 275 F2. The Santa Cruz Public

Additional Recommendations 2

These recommendations are not explicitly linked to specific findings.

• R5

  Page 313
  By December 31, 2022, the Board of Supervisors should allocate funding for the strategic plan and community outreach recommended in this report. (F1, F2, F3,
• R9

  Page 297
  Each year, during the budget presentation, the County Board of Supervisors should require County Fire to provide a vegetation-management plan, including a priority list of projects and a timeframe for their completion. Board of Supervisors’ Response to Recommendation 9: REQUIRES FURTHER ANALYSIS: There is currently no funding for a vegetation-management plan for the County Fire Department. We currently coordinate with CAL FIRE on a priority list of projects that have timelines related to available funding. In order to implement such a process will require additional analysis and potential funding. To summarize the position of the Board of Supervisors two years ago: 1. Property owners are responsible for vegetation reduction on their property, not the County. 2. The County could improve its vegetation reduction activity on County-maintained roads. 3. County Fire does not have a plan. It coordinates with CAL FIRE to identify priority projects. 4. Because there is no funding for vegetation-management planning, the planning isn’t being done. 5. Priority projects are only done after grant funding has been obtained. Santa Cruz County Fire (County Fire) is Santa Cruz County’s fire department, discussed later in this report. CAL FIRE is the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, also discussed later in this report. The Grand Jury determined that vegetation reduction along roadways is a major problem that the County must lead in solving. We wanted to understand what is really needed to protect our community from future wildfires, who is responsible for achieving it, and the County’s role in ensuring this work gets done. Protecting Communities from Wildfires The highest priority areas for vegetation reduction are those that are located within, or are adjacent to, the WUI, especially high-density, special needs, or disadvantaged communities.[14] [15] Within the WUI, vegetation reduction addresses the following high-priority community protection elements: ● Costly and difficult to rebuild public infrastructure ● Above-ground utility transmission lines for water, gas, and electricity ● Communications infrastructure, such as cell towers ● Water infrastructure, such as pump stations, water tanks, pipelines, and water treatment plants Reducing Community Risks from Wildfire published June 24, 2022 290 Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury ● Communities ● Schools, hospitals, and government or commercial buildings ● Homes and agricultural buildings ● Transport and natural resources ● Ridges, truck trails, access roads, and evacuation routes ● Areas where fires pose a considerable threat to water supply and water quality Beyond the WUI, where infrastructure supporting nearby communities exists, that infrastructure must be protected. During the CZU Fire, communications infrastructure failed, limiting the ability to warn residents to evacuate. Protecting this infrastructure is critical.[4] The San Lorenzo Valley Water District also suffered significant damage to above-ground pipelines.[16] Much other essential infrastructure was damaged, slowing recovery operations. Creating fuel breaks is a well-understood and commonly applied vegetation reduction method. There are two types of fuel breaks: ● A fuel break is a gap in vegetation created by removing most of the vegetation in an area to prevent the spread of a fire, as shown in Figure 3. ● A shaded fuel break is created by the thinning of dense tree cover and removal of lower-level vegetation. Less material is removed than a full fuel break, as shown in Figure 4. Fuel breaks are more effective than shaded fuel breaks, but are generally used away from residential areas because of their aesthetics. Fuel breaks are often employed to protect critical infrastructure. A large fuel break constructed by the University of California at Santa Cruz enabled firefighters to halt the advance of the CZU Fire and protected the campus.[17] Another large fuel break was constructed during the CZU Fire in Henry Cowell State Park along a heavily forested ridge to prevent the fire from reaching San Lorenzo Valley High School and Highway 9. Shaded fuel breaks are frequently used along roadways, particularly those that may become evacuation routes in the event of a wildfire. Shaded fuel breaks are cheaper and easier to maintain, are less detrimental to sensitive habitat, and often have more community support.[18] Reducing Community Risks from Wildfire published June 24, 2022 [Return to Table of Contents] 2021–2022 Consolidated Final Report with Responses 291 Figure 3. Construction of a fuel break along a ridge[19] Reducing Community Risks from Wildfire published June 24, 2022 292 Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury Figure 4. Construction of a shaded fuel break along an existing road[19] Reducing Community Risks from Wildfire published June 24, 2022 [Return to Table of Contents] 2021–2022 Consolidated Final Report with Responses 293 Two Major Elements to Protecting Our Communities Ensuring Safe Movement During Wildfires Providing safe evacuation routes, shelter-in-place locations, and access routes for fire crews enables safe movement for affected residents and emergency services. Safe movement is the responsibility of the state and local agencies described in