Please see below and the attached document referencing the upcoming Cal Fire inspections. These inspections are not put on by the Bridgeport Fire Department, and Cal Fire is separate from our department. Additionally, these inspections are not related to our recent Firewise efforts. That said, homeowners need to be aware that these inspections are coming, as well as the steps they can take now to mitigate their issues before inspection. The attached document lays out what Cal Fire will be looking for at the properties, as well as guidelines for what your property should look like. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you,
Nick Way
Fire Chief / Bridgeport Fire Protection District
bptfire@gmail.com / 916-716-0414 / 309 Main St. Bridgeport CA, 93517

“Dedicated to protecting the citizens, business owners, and visitors of the Bridgeport valley by providing quality emergency response”


Mono County Fire Chiefs and Firewise Resident Leaders,

Last week we received notification from Chief Steve Hynes, the Cal Fire battalion chief for the San Bernardino-Inyo-Mono Unit (yes, that is a single Cal Fire unit!) that Cal Fire personnel will be conducting Defensible Space Inspections, called DSIs or LE-100s (LE-100 is the number of the form used), in Mono County over the next several months (depending on their need to respond to wildfires).

We want to be clear that these Defensible Space Inspections are completely separate from, and completely unrelated to, the Cal Fire activities some of you have already experienced supporting the formation of local Firewise Communities and the completion of the Community Wildfire Risk Assessment process.

Although they are the same guys, in the same trucks, the activities are unrelated, and the timing of the DSIs is coincidental; Cal Fire has planned these inspections far in advance of our recent work doing Firewise Community building. As we have tried to emphasize, there are no enforcement or inspection aspects to the Firewise Community programs. We think the timing of, and reason for, these DSIs could be confusing, and we are hoping this email helps separate the two events.

To help your community understand the differences between the DSI work Cal Fire will do and the Firewise program, we’ve created this list:

Defensible Space Inspections:
It is California-specific and is legally mandated in state code.
It is an inspection.
Property (address) specific
Focus on the current Defensible Space requirements:
Zone 1: 0′ to 30′
Zone 2: 30′ to 100′
This is a legally required inspection with a write-up on the FL-100 form. (A version of the form is attached.)
Although Cal Fire includes an enforcement arm, they view the inspections as primarily educational, intending to inform residents of the best ways to implement Defensible Space on their specific property. Although there is a re-inspection and enforcement process described on the form, it is our understanding that this is rarely implemented.

Firewise Community Wildfire Risk Assessments (a component of the Firewise Application):
It is a nationally used form, and it is voluntary.
It is an assessment of the community as a whole, not an inspection of any property. (No specific addresses are ever identified.)
The focus for the CWRA is on two levels:
Home Ignition Zone: Percentage (in large tracts) of homes in the community with:
Fire-rated, class-A roofs
Soffit vents screened with 1/8″ mesh
Fire-resistant siding
Fire-resistant skirting
Multipane windows
Wood attachments (decks and fences)
Roof debris
Gutter types

Defensible Space Zones: Percentage (in large tracts) of homes in the community with compliance with:
Zone 0 (0′ to 5′) – Ember-Resistant (Although this zone was passed into law, the details are still being defined and the law has not been signed.)
Zone 1 (5′ to 30′) – Immediate Zone
Zone 2 (30′ to 100′) – Intermediate Zone

Defensible Space Inspections will be occurring in Mono County in the next several months, and Cal Fire has promised to let us know their schedule prior to showing up in your community.

As we get further information, we will pass it on to you. The more we can get this information out, the better.