See Map Of Healdsburg's Fire Hazard Severity Zones

SONOMA COUNTY, CA —The public is invited to review and comment on newly published Fire Hazard Severity maps recently updated by CalFire to show areas of Sonoma County with the greatest wildfire risks.

The maps show areas of the county that have moderate, high and very high fire hazard severity, defined as having physical conditions that create expected fire behavior over 50 years.

Per government code, local fire districts must adopt the maps. Because Sonoma County fire districts can recommend changes during a 120-day adoption period, community members should contact their local fire districts for questions and to provide comments, the county said.

Healdsburg-Area Map

The maps do not show information for areas within incorporated cities like Healdsburg, Santa Rosa or Petaluma. Areas of concern right outside of city limits were included in the study and are shown on Cal Fire's maps as local response areas and state response areas..

Here is the Healdsburg-area map. Red represents very high fire hazard severity, orange is high and yellow is moderate.

Once adopted, the fire hazard severity maps will impact development by dictating the materials and construction methods for exterior wildfire exposure, requiring a natural hazard disclosure during a real estate transaction, mandating a 100-foot defensible space buffer around a property, and triggering development standards regarding road width, water supply, signage, and other features.

Will The New Maps Impact Insurance Rates?

According to a list of FAQs from the California Department of Insurance, the insurance companies for many years have been using alternate wildfire risk tools for determining where they will write and renew policies and how much premium to charge a policyholder, not the Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps.

Therefore, the department said, a change in designation on the maps for a single homeowner is unlikely to affect their insurance.

"The reality is that more accurate risk information enables homeowners and communities to reduce their wildfire risks, and Commissioner Lara’s new wildfire mitigation regulation clarifies what actions you should take to reduce wildfire risks. Once that regulation is fully implemented, if a homeowner or business owner takes those risk mitigation actions, they will be able to see a discount in their insurance premium. "

The recently updated fire hazard severity maps guide local planning and policy, not insurance decisions. Insurance companies use risk models, which differ from hazard models, because they consider the susceptibility of a structure to damage from fire and other short-term factors that are not included in hazard modeling, the California Department of Insurance said. Insurance risk models incorporate additional factors that change more frequently than those that Cal Fire includes in its hazard mapping, which is built to remain steady.

Download a copy of your local response map 2025 from the Office of the State Fire Marshal website.

For questions or to provide comments, the county said residents should contact their local fire districts, which are listed here: https://socoemergency.org/emergency/fire-departments/.