In the first update since 2011, the county has seen a 26% increase in acres deemed to be in a very high hazard zone, reports NBC 7’s Shelby Bremer.
California rolled out a new map of fire hazard severity zones for San Diego County on Monday for the first time in more than a decade, showing a 26% increase in acres now in a very high hazard zone.
"In the last decade, we have seen an absolute significant increase in the severity, the destruction of the wildfires that we've been experiencing," said California State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant. "These are just conditions that we have been experiencing out on the ground. This map is just now more reflective of that."
The number of acres across San Diego County in a very high fire hazard severity zone went from 646,838 to 817,212, the data shows. And two new designations of moderate and high hazard bring the total number of acres in a fire zone across the county even higher.
There were also cities with areas on the map for the very first time: Imperial Beach, La Mesa and Lemon Grove.
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"Obviously, in San Diego County, the backcountry for many decades have experienced fires. But a lot has changed in our climate, a lot has changed in where people are living," Berlant said. "People who are now mapped in one of these areas should be cognizant of the fire hazard that exists and should take steps to make sure that they've hardened their home."
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