Policy and a Pint: How to Handle Living in a High-Risk Wildfire Zone

California Groundbreakers

We took a road trip to hold this conversation (our 50th event!) at the lovely Gold Rush town of Auburn because, according to Cal Fire maps, it sits in the “high” risk zone of wildfire hazards, and it’s right next to the “very high” risk zone that includes much of the Sierra Nevadas, including Paradise, Grass Valley and Nevada City, and all of Lake Tahoe. In fact, one in four Californians live in a high- or very-high risk wildfire zone. So a lot of people are at risk of being hit when the next wildfire burns. For our second event focusing on “Wildfire Season,” we’re talking with a great group of panelists whose jobs involved making a lot of big decisions about the wildfires that hit California in the past few years. They explain those decisions and what it means to live in a risk zone for wildfires, and give advice on what you need to know, how you need to prepare; how things are changing, from forest management and firefighting to utility usage and homeowners’ insurance policies; and how all that will probably change your lifestyle and the place you live. PANELISTS * Todd Leopold, county executive officer for Placer County * Michael Picker, newly-retired president of the California Public Utilities Commission * Ken Pimlott, newly-retired chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection * Seren Taylor, senior legislative advocate for the Personal Insurance Federation of California PODCAST PLAY BY PLAY * 0 to 6:25 min - Intro to California Groundbreakers, and to this event * 6:25 min - Panelists introduce themselves, and divulge whether their dream retirement home is in a high-risk wildfire zone or not * 12:40 min - How California's wildfires -- and fighting them -- have changed over the past few years * 17:20 min - The connection and clash between public utilities and wildfire-risk zones, and how the "public safety power shutoff" decision came to be * 30 min - How insurance companies are rethinking their coverage of California homes in wildfire-risk zones, and how that will affect the homeowners * 38:45 min - What wildfire-prevention legislation came out of the state capitol, and what should lawmakers have done? * 49:50 min - Do forest thinning and fire breaks really works? Would the money be better spent on fireproofing homes? * 57:20 min - What type of early-warning alarm system should be set up in the high-risk zones? And what should you do if the fire hits before you can leave? * 1 hr, 4:45 min - Say you're the urban planner in charge of a town in a high-risk zone, how would you build up (or rebuild)that town to make it better withstand wildfires? * 1 hr, 16:20 min - When the state legislature starts again in January, what wildfire-focused issue do you want them to address?