District Fire Management Plan Overview

A Patchwork of Habitat

Conservation lands managed by RCRCD are variably unique in topography, vegetation community, and wildland urban interface. These lands can include a variety of habitat types within their boundaries such as: freshwater wetland, riparian, coastal sage scrub, chaparral, grassland, and alluvial scrub. The private, public and government lands adjacent to the RCRCD conservation lands are also variable, and can include: housing developments, warehouses, recreational areas, golf courses, and other open space.

Fire as a Natural Force in Ecosystems

Local ecosystems, and the habitats within, have developed over a very long time with fire as a natural force shaping survival of species. This process began well before humans moved into the environment. Some plant species that contribute to the biodiversity in habitats have come to rely on fire for regeneration, and some ecosystems broadly rely on fire disturbance to aid in rejuvenating habitats that have become old, crowded and overgrown. Not all habitat types are specifically adapted to fire, yet most are generally resilient to minor fire disturbance. Some habitats like coastal sage scrub, chaparral, and grassland have plants that are specifically adapted to fire.

Fire Frequency and Intensity

While some types of native habitats are specifically fire adapted, the frequency and intensity of fires have a great impact on the ability of the ecosystem to rebound and recover. When fires happen too often the biodiversity of the habitat may be reduced, leading to further loss of resiliency to change.

Wildland-Urban Interface

The majority of the wildland properties managed by RCRCD share a border with developed urban areas at one or several points, and presence of this wildland-urban interface provides cause for appropriate fire management plans and goals. RCRCD works to manage fire as a natural force shaping and regenerating ecosystems, as well as to manage it as a force that threatens the urban areas in which people live.

Working Together – Fire Management

Fire has long shaped the ecosystems of Southern California, and continues to do so today. RCRCD seeks to help keep fire as a natural element of ecosystems within the District so as to support biodiversity and to help sustain ecosystem functions, while at the same time aiming to reduce fire risk to the adjacent urban areas in which people live. Collaboration among stake holders, and the proper management of native vegetation, invasive species and fire buffer zones, is essential in achieving this goal.

Through the District Fire Management Plan, RCRCD aims to implement actions to manage lands before fire happens, collaborate for response to active fire, and manage the aftermath of wildfire upon impacted lands, per Divison 9 of the California Public Resources Code Article 1 Policy 9001 Section B Article 4.