California’s Expanded Wildfire Maps and Rising Risks to Inland Empire Urban Communities

Aryana Noroozi

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In early January 2025, the Eaton Fire tore through Altadena, a historic Black community in Los Angeles County, shattering the assumption that fire season belongs only to summer or fall. 

Fueled by unusually dry conditions and fierce Santa Ana winds, the blaze rapidly spread, devastating neighborhoods and displacing thousands. The aftermath forced a hard truth: even urban neighborhoods, long considered low-risk, are now vulnerable. Scientists point to an alarming trend: climate change is creating wetter winters that generate excess vegetation, followed by extreme droughts that leave it primed to burn, all conditions that fueled the jarring winter blaze. 

The fire’s aftermath highlighted not only the physical destruction, but also the deep-seated inequalities faced by communities of color. The wreckage underscores the urgent need for inclusive and culturally competent emergency management strategies, while it also recalls a pattern of wildfire destruction that has been unfolding in California for decades.

The recent devastation across Los Angeles follows a long history of the state’s struggle with shifting wildfire patterns on blazes reaching and torching urban areas. This reckoning, with the expanding reach of wildfire, was visible as far back as the 1980s, when the Panorama Fire tore through San Bernardino, hallmarking one of the first catastrophic blazes to spill into an urban area.

On November 24, 1980, embers traveled from ridges to rooftops and floated down streets faster than firefighters could respond. By nightfall, entire blocks were reduced to rubble, and in eight days the blaze scorched nearly 29,000 acres. The fire etched itself into Inland Empire memory, delivering a stark realization: wildfires were not a distant threat—they shaped where and how communities could survive.

Scenes of firefighters at work during the 1980 Panorama Fire which devastated neighborhoods in North San Bernardino. The video ends with scenes of Governor Brown touring a fire camp with District VI chief Rex Griggs. Thanksgiving 1980. (Credit: Cal Fire Museum)

The devastation forced the state to begin mapping wildfire danger – a system that still shapes how wildfire risk is defined today.

Impacts of the 1980 Panorama FirePanorama’s devastation spurred early wildfire preparation and prediction tools, laying the foundation for California’s modern Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps. Tougher building codes and, in 1985, the California Public Resources Code 4201-4204 mandated fire hazard mapping across all State Responsibility Areas (SRA).

“The SRA are lands in which the state has the responsibility to prevent and suppress all unwanted fires,” explained Cal Fire through an informational video. The first map model used a danger rating based on the average number of days per year with a high burning index, estimating the potential difficulty of containing a fire.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles had long created its own designations, including mountain fire districts, early brush clearance programs, and buffer zones, reflecting decades of wildfire experience. But a single, standardized approach to identifying at-risk communities statewide did not yet exist. That changed after the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire, one of the deadliest urban wildfires in U.S. history, which killed 25 people and destroyed over 3,400 homes. The disaster exposed gaps in hazard planning and preparedness across city and county lines.

In response, the California Legislature passed the Bates Bill (AB 337), tasking Cal FIRE with creating official maps that identify areas at very high risk of wildfires within Local Responsibility Areas, where local governments are primarily responsible for fire protection.

Inland Empire Neighborhoods See Sharp Expansions in Fire Risk Designations

Since then, wildfire hazard mapping has evolved into a statewide framework, refined with new data, climate modeling, and lessons from recent fires. Updates, finalized in March 2025, expanded coverage to include high and moderate risk areas, shifting some Inland Empire communities from previously unclassified to very high risk. Yet, even with this new information, maps have limits.

Experts caution that residents may not understand what the risks mean, and that a single layer of data cannot fully convey how likely a life-threatening fire may be, how quickly it could spread or – most importantly – how to remain safe when flames approach. The impact of Santa Ana winds and the reality that wildfires can create their own weather systems make the path of wildfires erratic and unpredictable at times. 

Nearly four decades later, Cal FIRE’s updated fire hazard severity maps mark a significant shift in how risk is measured. For the first time since 2008, the maps covering Local Responsibility Areas, areas where city or county fire departments are the primary responders, now use a three-tier system: moderate, high, and very high. Previously, only the most extreme “very high” designation applied.

The change broadens the number of neighborhoods officially recognized as at risk in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Local agencies must now review their building codes, emergency planning, and conduct public outreach, while residents may face stricter vegetation rules, higher or cancelled insurance premiums and new building requirements.

The Inland Empire is home to some of the sharpest increases in fire hazard zones across Southern California. In Jurupa Valley, “very high” zones expanded from 226 acres to 6,195, while Hesperia’s grew from 715 acres to 15,359. According to the Los Angeles Times, those totals represent more than a 35-fold increase in Jurupa Valley and a 45-fold increase in Hesperia.

When asked to confirm the surge, Cal Fire said the figures were accurate based on the State Fire Marshal’s recommendations to local jurisdictions. However, the agency noted it could not say whether cities had made adjustments after receiving those recommendations and advised checking with each jurisdiction to verify what was formally adopted.

To better understand how these changes are reshaping the region, Mapping Black California created an interactive tool that allows residents in the Inland Empire basin to see which neighborhoods gained new fire hazard designations.

Changes to Local Responsibility Hazard Severity Zones in the Inland Empire Basin (Credit: Alex Reed, Mapping Black California)

While the updated maps show significant increases in risk for many Inland Empire neighborhoods, other communities may face the same threats without official recognition. Much of the region is unincorporated, where undeveloped land is more common – often creating greater wildfire danger even when it does not appear on official maps.

Who’s in Charge When Fire Strikes?

Wildfires in California often cross city, county, and at times, state boundaries, making jurisdiction a critical – but sometimes confusing – piece of emergency response. In Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, responsibility is shared across multiple sectors of government.

“The fire side of it is handled by our fire department – so Riverside County Fire Department – and they work in cooperation with Cal Fire,” said Shane Reichardt, public information officer at Riverside County Emergency Management. He explained that out of the 28 cities that comprise Riverside County, some have their own fire departments, while others contract with Cal Fire.

“[Fires] cross jurisdictions. They may start in the city [or] start in the forest, and move their way through state jurisdiction and then into city or unincorporated areas. So the fire department has ultimate responsibility for the fire zone maps,” Reichardt explained. 

Reichardt emphasized the importance of collaboration amongst government agencies.

Cal Fire creates the fire hazard severity maps that counties and cities must adopt, but once flames are moving, it is local agencies that play a crucial role in protecting residents. Riverside County’s Emergency Management Department issues evacuation alerts, coordinates with law enforcement to move people out of danger, and sets up shelters with help from the California Department of Social Services and their partners such as the Red Cross.

As fires shift from response to recovery, the county continues to serve as a hub by connecting residents with insurance resources, nonprofits for food and clothing, and in larger disasters, state and federal partners. However, Reichardt explained that most local disasters in the Inland Empire do not meet the federal threshold for FEMA aid, leaving residents to rely on county resources or their own insurance.

Beyond the maps

Even with updated maps and clearly defined responsibilities, hazard zones are only one layer of wildfire preparedness. What ultimately matters is how agencies and residents respond when flames are moving. Urban neighborhoods, unincorporated communities, and vulnerable populations may face life-threatening fire conditions that maps alone cannot fully capture.

Hazard maps focus on the Wildland–Urban Interface, the zone where human development meets wilderness, but they do not account for urban conflagration – the spread of fire from building to building within a neighborhood.  

According to Jim McDougald, Cal Fire’s assistant deputy director for Community Wildfire Planning and Risk Reduction, Cal Fire’s models estimate how far embers can travel – sometimes up to a mile – and where they are most likely to land. But while the maps account for ember transport from vegetation into neighborhoods, they do not yet model how fire spreads once houses ignite, a dynamic seen during the Eaton Fire in Altadena. 

“If a heavy load of embers land, for example, in a very high fire hazard zone, it’s really important that people have defensible space, because what happens in that urban conflagration situation – like Altadena– is once those houses get started on fire from the embers, then they spread to other homes,” explained McDougald.

In the updated maps, the Pacific Palisades and Malibu remained a red “very high” zone, just as they were in 2011. Altadena remained below “moderate,” with only 21% of the properties within the Eaton fire’s perimeter being designated as having “very high” fire hazard, according to an analysis by the Los Angeles Times. However, high Santa Ana winds played a significant role in spreading the fire across Altadena.

McDougald noted that structure density is a key driver of urban wildfire spread. Factors like the distance between homes, wooden fences linking properties, nearby vegetation, and building materials all influence how quickly flames can jump from one structure to the next. He explained that while Cal Fire is not currently developing maps that measure urban conflagration, outside and academic researchers are.

This contrast shows that while maps capture broad fire danger, they are not a complete metric for risk on the ground, where housing conditions, neighborhood density, and community preparedness can mean the difference between containment and catastrophe.

To address these realities in the midst of disasters, California is divided into six mutual aid regions to coordinate disaster response among counties. Under this framework, local jurisdictions turn first to their own resources during an emergency, but when those are exhausted they are able to call on neighboring counties for support. If additional help is needed, requests escalate to other regions and then to the state or federal level. 

The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) uses this system to organize sheltering and mass care during wildfires and other disasters, while Cal Fire and other agencies rely on it to deploy fire crews, equipment, and rescue teams. By grouping counties into regions, such as Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura in Region VI, or the Bay Area counties in Region II, the mutual aid map ensures that resources flow quickly and efficiently without every request having to go directly through Sacramento.

CDSS Region I Senior Emergency Services Coordinator Stacy Duncan said that hazard maps are more than just fire forecasts – they’re a guide for where social services should be concentrated.

“It helps us see which areas have the most potential to burn,” she said. Duncan explained that by layering that information with census records, CDSS can anticipate community needs, from language access to gaps in local services, and plan where to direct resources if the state is called in to assist.

“It’s telling me where I should be paying more attention to putting resources,” Duncan said. “I need to make sure that I have a contact in these areas, that I know who’s providing the services, and I need to know where the gaps are. So, if the state is asked to come in and pick up, [I’ll know] where I am going to start.”

Partnering for community service and safety

The California Department of Social Services partners with local agencies and nongovernmental organizations such as the Red Cross or Salvation Army to coordinate sheltering and support efforts amid evacuation orders, a process in which hazard maps can be helpful in identifying communities to serve. However, those providing services, like Duncan, acknowledge that this is just a starting point and additional data and boots on the ground are critical.

Similarly, Debra Williams, founder of Building Resilient Communities, layers data to serve Inland Empire communities amid emergencies. Her program model is to reach those with shared experience, starting with the Black community.

Building Resilient Communities provides training and resources to ensure equity in disaster preparedness across the Inland Empire and has grown into a leading resource for hundreds of faith-based organizations looking to prepare for natural and human-made disasters. 

Williams explained that internally, her organization utilizes the maps due to their role in emergency management, where understanding high risk areas is critical.

“We use data to inform us on what we’re doing, where we’re doing it, and who it’s impacting,” she said. Williams explained that the majority of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties do fall under a red zone. “The fire maps impact everybody, so it doesn’t necessarily inform us. It’s layering [them] that helps us,” Williams said.

She explained that the fire maps provide one layer of data and it is critical to apply additional data points, thus adding more layers. Some of the data that has been layered in Building Resilient Communities’ work includes the Healthy Places Index and the Black Equity Fund Report.  

But, when it comes to how fire danger shows up in daily life, Williams said residents may not think about the hazard maps. Instead, they pay attention when their insurance company sends a letter.

“The communities don’t really know about those maps,” said Williams. “What the community cares about is [that] they just got a letter from their homeowners insurance that says, ‘we’re not going to insure you anymore, because you live over here’ [or] ‘we will insure you, but it’s going to cost you twice as much, or triple.’ That’s what the community cares about.”

State officials caution, however, that the connection between fire maps and insurance rates is not so direct.

“Our maps are hazard maps, which just depict the hazard on the landscape. They are not related to risk modeling, like the insurance companies use,” said McDougald. “The insurance companies are looking at structure susceptibility, which we don’t look at at all.”

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has also emphasized the distinction.

“Let me be clear: The CAL FIRE hazard maps are not used for insurance rates or underwriting decisions,” Lara said in a statement regarding how Cal Fire hazard maps do not affect insurance rates or availability. “But they will empower communities with more accurate information about the very real hazards we face. The reality is we all need to do more to protect our homes and communities from wildfires. When communities know and understand their risks, they can plan and prepare.” This information was shared in a fact sheet, which was also made available here in Spanish. 

While Williams noted that many residents begin paying attention when wildfire risk has a direct impact on their lives, like being dropped by their insurance provider, Duncan emphasized that community awareness during high-risk conditions is just as critical. She said the challenge is helping people connect warnings like red flag days to their own behavior.

“If you thought about that, your behavior would change,” she said. “You would be more observant, you’d be more vigilant, and you’d be more aware. And, if you are those three things during that type of [emergency] weather event … it may mean the difference of life and death.”

It is also possible that being aware they live/work in or near a red zone will also inspire residents to be more vigilant on red flag days. 

Duncan emphasized the collaboration that is essential for emergency management – between state, regional, and local agencies, as well as with community members.

“There’s some level of responsibility that people themselves have, and then there’s also the level of responsibility that public agencies have to provide to people,” she said, explaining that engagement is crucial for this shared responsibility to succeed.

Both Williams’ and Duncan’s work relies on understanding the communities they serve, requiring cultural competency and a deep awareness of local needs, priorities, and challenges to ensure that wildfire preparedness and response efforts are effective and equitable.

Williams highlighted the importance of representation and lived experience in emergency management, noting that without people on response teams who reflect the communities they serve, critical perspectives are missing. Williams’organization works to fill that gap by bringing community knowledge to the table and ensuring planning and response efforts consider local realities. She added that progress would come if those within the emergency management system shifted their focus and attitudes, actively seeking information and understanding from the communities they serve.

“Not that you have to be Black to understand what Black people go through, but if you have nobody on your team who’s Black or Brown or anything remotely close to it, you’re missing a whole perspective,” Williams said. “Disaster, wildfire, flood, earthquake, pandemic, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t care what you believe. It doesn’t care what color you are, it doesn’t care what language you speak. It just wants to kill.”

This series, The Fire Next Time, is funded by the Inland Empire Community Foundation via the Inland Empire Journalism Innovation Hub+Fund. Black Voice News is solely responsible for its content.