by Sue Dremann – Palo Alto Online

With the Summit Fire near Santa Cruz still a smoldering reminder, Palo Alto Fire Chief Nick Marinaro Wednesday told residents a fire disaster in the Palo Alto foothills is a matter of not “if” but “when.”

Fire officials and wildlands-management consultants met at Foothills Park to re-ignite the city’s efforts to prevent a fiery disaster by creating a long-term fire-management plan.

Consultant Carol Rice said a draft foothills plan was developed in 1997 but never passed by the City Council. It is scheduled for evaluation, along with a review of the trails master plans for Pearson-Arastradero Preserve and Foothills Park.

While local conditions — such as wind, humidity and temperature — contribute to a wildfire, massive amounts of dry vegetation, known as the fuel load, can create a fire storm, she said.

One of the chief goals of the plan will be to lower that fuel load with the help of residents.

Marinaro said the last assessment of the fuel load in the Palo Alto foothills was 20 years ago. Now, that material is four to five times greater than normal, he said.

“There has not been a major fire here since 1912,” he warned.

Rice said images of the Summit Fire show how the fire spread, starting from lower vegetation such as grasses and shrubs and quickly climbing a “ladder” among tightly spaced vegetation to jump into and over trees.

The master plan will identify areas with a potential 8-foot flame length — the height of flames from the ground up that make fighting a blaze hazardous to fire fighters, she said.

The management plan will include more stringent review of private properties to make sure that brush is cut back to a “defensible” space, according to Rice, who has developed nearly 30 wildland-management plans in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, and developed a strategy for the Oakland Hills after the 1991 firestorm.

New-home builders and remodelers west of Interstate Highway 280 will also need to file a “defensible space” plan, she said.

Refuges and shelter-in-place strategies will also be established for people who cannot escape a fire, she said.

Fortunately, new building codes are already scheduled to take effect on July 1, requiring remodels and new buildings to have fire sprinklers, Class A roofing and fire resistive exterior siding, eaves and decks.

One major concern for the city is the limited access for fire vehicles and escape routes for residents in the event of a fire, according to Barbara Cimino, the city’s Office of Emergency Services coordinator. The plan will assess clearing vegetation from escape routes such as Alpine and Page Mill roads, which some present described as “wind tunnels” for fires to barrel down.

“Like the chief said, there is one road up and one road down. It really is all about defensible space to protect things from jumping,” she said.

Rice said a five-pronged program would be created for evaluation and treatment. It is expected to be completed by October.

This month staff will review existing conditions and identify “assets at risk.” By the end of June, a wildfire-hazard assessment will be completed, including areas to be treated.

In July and August, staff will develop a plan to prevent and handle fires, including identifying endangered plants and animals, strategies such as controlled burns, and access and evacuation routes.

In September and October, staff will prepare a draft plan including implementation and funding, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) documents and public review.

In October the final plan will be ready for review by the Parks and Recreation Commission and City Council.

The city will sponsor another informational meeting in June for residents.

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