Wildland Fire Risk, Prevention, and Preparedness in Amador County

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Fire Hazard Severity Zones

All land in the unincorporated portion of Amador County is included one of three Fire Hazard Severity Zones (Moderate, High, and Very High) as determined by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE). CAL FIRE is required by law to map these zones based on information including fire history, existing and potential fuel (natural vegetation), terrain, typical weather patterns, and other relevant factors. A map of Amador County’s zones can be found here.

These zones are intended to influence how people construct buildings and protect property to reduce risk associated with wildland fires. The zones are also used for implementing wildland-urban interface building standards, natural hazard real estate disclosures, fulfilling 100-foot defensible space requirements around buildings, and preparing land development standards such as road design and water supply.

Privately-owned land in the unincorporated area where the state has financial responsibility for wildland fire protection is known as the State Responsibility Area (SRA). Visit the CAL FIRE website and enter your address to find your Fire Hazard Severity Zone (if your property is in the SRA).

Know Your Emergency Response Teams

In Amador County, the State Responsibility Zone is overlapped by four local Fire Protection Districts: Amador FPD, Jackson Valley FPD, Kirkwood FPD, and Lockwood FPD. CAL FIRE provides primary wildland fire response in the entire SRA, while the local Fire Protection Districts provide primary structure fire response. Information concerning levels of fire and emergency response, ISO ratings, response times, staffing, equipment and infrastructure, and other information for the fire protection agencies operating in unincorporated Amador County can be found at the links below.

Amador FPD: Municipal Services Review and amadorfire.org

Jackson Valley FPD: Municipal Services Review and jacksonvalleyfire.org

Kirkwood FPD: KVFD Municipal Services Review and KVFD webpage

Lockwood FPD: Municipal Services Review and lockwoodfire.org

CAL FIRE: M unicipal Services Review and www.fire.ca.gov

USFS: Municipal Services Review and US Forest Service Website

American Legion Ambulance: Amador Post No. 108

(for detailed information on ambulance response times, click on image below to enlarge)

Wildland Fire Prevention and Preparedness

The resources below are intended to provide information to land owners, home buyers, realtors, builders, and others involved in land develop on the wildland fire risks associated with living in the various Fire Hazard Severity Zones and the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) as well as measures that can be taken to minimize those risks through prevention and preparedness. While the zones identify hazards based on the physical conditions that indicate the likelihood that an area will burn over a 30- to 50-year period, risk considers the susceptibility of what is being protected from fire. Risk of wildland fire can be reduced through modifications such as defensible space, irrigation, sprinklers, ignition resistant building construction, and other practices described in the resources below.

Regulatory Documents

Public Resources Codes 4290

Public Resources Code 4291

CA Fire Safe State Regulations

Chapter 49 - Requirements for Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Areas (WUI)

CA Office of Housing and Community Development Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Website

Chapter 7A - Materials and Construction Methods for Exterior Wildfire Exposure

Wildland Hazard and Building Code

Fire Hazard Severity Zone Maps

Amador County Fire and Life Safety Regulations

Wildfire Risk, Prevention, and Preparedness Resources

"Ready for Wildfire?" website