HomeMy WebLinkAbout5.4.22 Board Correspondence - FW_ Pfizer’s own research shows Vaccine is not safe for pregnant women… – CITIZEN FREE PRESS (2)
From:Paulsen, Shaina
To:BOS
Cc:Sjolund, Garrett; Hatcher, Casey
Subject:Board Correspondence - FW: The dangers of the Wildland-Urban Interface and Chico’s Vegetative Fuels
Management Plan
Date:Wednesday, May 4, 2022 3:29:30 PM
Attachments:CAL Fire Letter.docx
Please see attached Board Correspondence.
Shaina Paulsen
Associate Clerk of The Board
Butte County Administration
25 County Center Drive, Suite 200, Oroville, CA 95965
T: 530.552.3304 | F: 530.538.7120
From: Maxwell Lennig <mblennig@mail.csuchico.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, May 4, 2022 3:11 PM
To: webmaster@fire.ca.gov; Clerk of the Board <clerkoftheboard@buttecounty.net>
Subject: The dangers of the Wildland-Urban Interface and Chico’s Vegetative Fuels Management
Plan
ATTENTION: This message originated from outside Butte County. Please exercise judgment before opening
..
attachments, clicking on links, or replying.
Please find attached my letter regarding the implementation of policies or information to
support the inclusion of concerns regarding development in and around the Wildland-Urban
Interface in Chico, California, and in greater Butte County.
Thank you,
Maxwell Lennig
COMMUNITY LEGAL INFORMATION CLINIC -ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATES
_____________________________________________________________________________
Maxwell Lennig
25 Main Street, Suite 102
Chico, CA 95929-0190
For Email Correspondence
Butte County Fire
CALFIRE
176 Nelson Avenue
Oroville, CA 95965
Kayla Reaster
Asst. Clerk of the Board
25 County Center Drive, Ste. 200
Oroville, CA 95965
Re: The dangers of the Wildland-Urban Interface and Chico’s Vegetative Fuels
Management Plan
Hello Sir/Madam, my name is Maxwell Lennig and I am a paralegal intern with the
Environmental Advocacy department of the Community Legal Information Clinic at Chico State.
The purpose of this letter is to advocate for the inclusion of a section in the City of Chico’s
Vegetative Fuel Management Plan regarding development in the Wildland-Urban Interface. The
development of homes in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) poses a direct threat to the goals
of reducing the severity and destruction associated with the large-scale wildfires currently
afflicting Northern California
Wildfire damages in 2018 totaled roughly $148.5 (126.1–192.9) billion (roughly 1.5% of
California’s annual gross domestic product), with $27.7 billion (19%) in capital losses, $32.2
billion (22%) in health costs and $88.6 billion (59%) in indirect losses. Much of this comes
directly from the increase in building homes and businesses within areas that are adjacent to
natural spaces at high risk for wildfire. Since 1990, 43% of all new homes in the United States
th
have been built within this area despite the area accounting for only 1/10of the land in the
conterminous United States.
As Chico grows as a community, new developments are going to be needed to meet the demand
of its growing population. With the establishment of the Chico Green Line in 1982 limiting the
development of agricultural land west of the town, most new urban and sub-urban construction
takes place in the eastern edges of town, coming dangerously close to the high-risk areas
indicated in the 2018 Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment.
Currently, 7,161 residents of Chico are at risk in the moderate and higher-risk wildfire zones.
The large number of residents means that any wildfire runs the risk of causing serious damage to
our community. As Chico’s populations is only expected to increase, and with the limitations of
the Greenline restricting development, it is imperative to work towards implementing solutions
to mitigate the dangers of building within the Wildland-Urban Interface.
As roadways and other transportation routes are closed due to wildfire spread it has the
possibility of cutting off access for more remote individuals who would see their evacuation
routes limited or disconnected. Residents in at-risk communities could possibly see an increase
in physical injury death due to losing access to emergency services or evacuation routes.
Burning structures from development and wildfire smoke will have disastrous effects on air
quality and human health in Chico and the surrounding County. Structures release heavy metals
and other toxins into the air that will be breathed in by those living in close proximity to the fires.
Wildfire smoke will cover the region just as it has almost every summer for the past few years
increasing the risk of acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) cardiovascular and respiratory
illness, especially in vulnerable populations such as the elderly, children, agricultural and
outdoor workers, and those suffering from pre-existing cardiovascular or respiratory illness.
For all the reasons stated heretofore in this letter I implore Butte County and CALFIRE to
implement information and even potentially official policy limiting the development of the
Wildland-Urban Area in Butte County in order to further reduce the risk presented by ever-
worsening wildfire seasons.
Sincerely,
Maxwell Lennig April 29, 2022
Paralegal Intern