San Diego so far has dodged a major disaster during the recent Santa Ana winds, but more events are just around the corner. With our vegetation bone-dry, and wildfires becoming more extreme and unpredictable, residents here have never been more vulnerable and justifiably terrified. The devasting wildfires that have been ravaging Los Angeles tell us one thing for certain: Wildfires are far more deadly in dense urban areas where traffic grids are limited and evacuation is more difficult.
This factor was also in play in the tragic Maui wildfires. This should be enough to caution San Diego City officials that building in very high fire hazard severity zones is foolish and irresponsible.
San Diego is known for its rolling topography of canyons, most of which are now overgrown with dry vegetation. Flammable vegetation on steep canyon slopes burns faster upward, and many older neighborhoods sit at the top of these canyons. In , the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department created the Proactive Brush Management Program , a door-to-door assessment program where officials go door-to-door to houses along canyon rims to inspect the properties and see if they are in compliance with brush regulations or not.
But the department is seriously behind , and private property wildland management code violations are not being enforced. The recent Montezuma Fire that broke out last October in the Talmadge neighborhood rapidly burned 37 acres, prompted evacuations and caused damage to six homes. The horrific L. Residents of the single-family neighborhoods in south University City feel particularly vulnerable, since they are surrounded on all sides by Rose and San Clemente canyons and unmaintained open space.
University City recently went through a community plan update , which potentially would add 30, housing units to its existing 27, to accommodate another 80, residents within its small, 7.
