Thomas Fire Exposes East County Wildfire Risk

Nearly a decade ago, prior to the Thomas Fire, Ventura County fire agencies prepared Wildfire Protection Plans identifying risks, funding priorities, and programs to reduce the impact of wildfires countywide. Fire agencies were warning of increasing wildfire danger even before the current drought cycle began in 2012. The plans, prepared in 2009 and 2010, outlined…

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Retired Fire Chief Bob Roper tells why

In 2009, the Ventura County Fire Protection District produced a Fire Management Plan that identified the “Ventura Fuel Bed” (see map) as part of its countywide wildland fire prevention program. This fuel bed turned out to be the core of the Thomas Fire, responsible for the majority of homes burned as the fire swept through brush filled…

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