Cal Fire released updated maps on Monday showing where wildfires are most likely to occur within the next several decades.
LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Cal Fire released updated maps on Monday that show where wildfires are most likely to occur within the next several decades.
The risk level on the maps are split into three categories: moderate, high and very high. The factors used to determine the severity include topography, fire weather, flame length, past fire history, vegetation type and the likelihood of a wildfire.
The urgency to release the updated maps comes from an executive order signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last month, following the destructive Palisades and Eaton fires in January.
RELATED: What to know about SoCal’s new ‘severe fire hazard’ maps
The updated maps show that across Southern California, “very high fire hazard” zones grew 26% since 2011, from 646,838 acres to 817,212 acres. In total, the new maps cover 4.6 million acres falling into one of three fire hazard categories.
See the new fire hazard maps here:
“This map, and the levels of fire hazard, really just match with the conditions our firefighters have been experiencing for several years now,” Chief Daniel Berlant, California state fire marshal, said earlier this month.
Impact on firefighters
Another element to these destructives wildfires are the potentially harmful chemicals that firefighters are exposed to when battling the flames.
A study currently underway is expected to determine whether the firefighters who battled the Eaton and Palisades fires jeopardized their long-term health, testing several hundred firefighters to monitor their exposure to cancer-causing chemicals.
Researchers with the Wildfire Conservancy and the University of Arizona plan to use the data collected to compare the firefighter’s exposure to what fire crews in New York City went through on Sept. 11, 2001.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger is expected to hold a media availability with fire officials about how they will impact fire prevention measures and local communities.
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