CLAYTON, CA (May 18, 2025) — It’s a simple map of the city that looks like something Realtors would hand out or you’d pick up at a community festival. But that vivid swath of red doesn’t indicate a fun zone. Far from it, the red encasing most of Clayton means danger.

The map shows California’s Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZ), developed by CAL FIRE, the state agency that classifies areas based on their long-term wildfire hazard potential. They categorize the zones as Moderate, High or Very High, using factors such as such as vegetation, topography, fire history and climate conditions.

Clayton is Very High, and many residents are terrified of what a wildfire on Mt. Diablo or Keller Ridge would do not only to local structures but also to their wallets as insurance companies raise rates or cancel policies altogether.

The neighborhoods most affected are Dana Hills, Regency Meadows, Regency Woods and most of Oakhurst. But as many saw in the Los Angeles fires, flying embers can ignite nearby areas and fly far into such spaces as downtown Clayton – setting trees ablaze in the Grove or at the library.

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City focusing on weed abatement

This is the first time in Clayton’s history that most of the city has been in a Very High fire threat area. City manager Kris Lofthus says the city is continuing its weed abatement program to cut down on the tall brown pesky vegetation that is surrounding city-owned trails.

“At this point, the map has changed but not the physical environment,” Lofthus says. “We will still do our part to mitigate the potential for fire risk by following through with weed abatement and working with ConFire (Contra Costa Fire Protection District) in the capacity of enforcement.”

He urges concerned residents to attend a meeting at 7 p.m. on May 20 at Hoyer Hall in the Clayton Community Library, where ConFire will make a presentation about risks and abatement suggestions for residents.

Dry brush around golf course

Laura Corrall lives on the Seventh Fairway of Oakhurst Country Club. Every day, she looks out her living room window and sees her nicely manicured backyard, up against a fence of dry brown vegetation.

“I wish I’d never moved here,” says the 25-year Oakhurst resident. “It’s terrifying. It seems like a million times a day, I look out the window and think: Fire! Fire! Fire!”

She even mowed down 13 feet of vegetation behind her property. But she says it is the club’s responsibility to clean up the flammable vegetation, and she has yet to hear back. “I don’t think Oakhurst is taking it seriously.”

Last year, she called a ConFire inspector to view the entire golf course property, and according to Corrall, the club was fined for not mitigating fire threats. Corrall says she is going to call the inspector again in the coming days.

The Pioneer reached out to executives at Oakhurst Country Club about plans for fire mitigation and did not hear back.

Corrall’s next-door neighbor Mary Gaines is also very concerned with the fire threat.

“I don’t know why Oakhurst is letting this happen,” Gaines says.

Thoughts turn to L.A.

The problem goes beyond the country club land. One Wawona Lane resident, who asked to remain anonymous, says her neighbors downslope on Ahwanee Lane, adjacent to her property, continue to allow their 30-year-old shrub and trees to grow dangerously close to fence lines.

“There has been no clearing of their branches to the 6-foot canopy threshold prescribed by fire-safe protocols,” the resident said, warning that the neighborhood is known for its gusting winds.

“Over the years, we have repeatedly requested to have the vegetation thinned and trimmed at our expense. We were allowed to do limited trimming near the fence line, but this was not enough to create an adequate defensible space,” the Wawona resident said. “Our most recent entreaties over the past few years to the Ahwanee neighbors are met with indifference, even though we all watched the horrific images of L.A. burning on the nightly news.”

Becoming FireWise

Presently, the Wawona homeowners are learning more about hardening practices and are waiting to join the Oakhurst FireWise community, pending assessment.

ConFire and neighborhoods coordinate the FireWise program, which includes fire officials inspecting a neighborhood for fire safety – especially regarding vegetation that can endanger residences and nearby dwellings. A neighborhood group works together to mitigate those dangers, with the help of a free chipping day that ConFire sponsors. Once a neighborhood is deemed safe, it alerts emergency personnel when fighting fires in that area.

The Wawona resident is also worried about the access and egress of her neighborhood in the event of an evacuation. Corrall says Oakhurst does have a fire access road from Eagle Peak Road and two from above along Keller Ridge, but that doesn’t appease the Wawona resident. She calls the entire situation “demoralizing.”

“Whatever mitigation practices we do to our homes, we are helpless to protect them due to circumstances out of our control. Truly, the safety of our homes is the hands of our neighbors.”

A battle over insurance

There is also the insurance issue, with homeowner rates rising or policies canceled due to unkempt vegetation.

Erin Bennett knows how that feels. Her Regency residence backs up to open space of Mt. Diablo State Park, and she paid to have 20 feet of weeds cut down behind her house.

“But that doesn’t matter,” says Bennett, a member of the city’s Trail and Landscaping committee. “Our insurance rates went up four times the original price because of our location.”

Bennett is also hoping to organize a FireWise neighborhood.

Clayton City Councilmember Holly Tillman was flying out of Maui in 2023 when she noticed tufts of smoke coming from the Lahaina region. “There must be a brush fire down there,” she said, and didn’t give it another thought until the next day, when she saw the devastation wildfires wrought on Maui.

“I knew then we have to talk about fire safety here,” she says.

Wearing her resident hat, Tillman took it upon herself to work with the county to start the FireWise program in Clayton. Some neighborhoods, like the Dana Hills Homeowners Association (HOA), will mow vegetation and inform residents of unsafe growth too close to their home or their neighbor’s. But it takes a village, and not everyone goes by the rules.

Becoming a FireWise community also helps keep insurance costs, without any surprising increases or cancellations, Tillman says.

From a city perspective, she pays close attention to the weed abatement program – knowing that all communities that are High and Severe Fire Danger have until June 3 to mitigate the situation.

“We’re down one person in our weed abatement department, and it’s going to take an extra full-time and a part-time employee to get the hours in,” Tillman says of meeting the deadline.

The crew is responsible for weeding, mowing and cutting dangerous vegetation in common areas that host outdoor activities, public parks and greenbelts, she says.

If the worst happens

At this point, it might take a communitywide effort to mitigate fire hazards. The city doesn’t seem to have a current emergency response plan or a formal evacuation plan in the event of a fast-moving wildfire. Lofthus says the best advice he can provide is for residents to register for the various alert systems to get real-time information about local emergencies.

“Whether it is a fire-related incident or an earthquake, make sure you have a plan in place, have food and water on hand for shelter-in-place events, and know how to manually release your garage door so you can exit your home via your vehicle in times of an evacuation. The most important reminder is that if you are told to evacuate, do so immediately,” he notes.

Lofthus says that the city plans to engage with the community to gather input and feedback on fire prevention at the May 20 meeting. As a contingency plan, he again urges residents to communicate with the city via alerts through the Contra Costa County Community Warning System. “This system is for all types of emergencies and public notifications.”

The warning system is good to have, but most Clayton residents hope their club, HOA, neighbors and city don’t make it necessary to use.

Resources

• Register for the County Community Warning System (CWS) to receive critical information including evacuation orders during a wildfire: http://alerts5.athoc.com/SelfService/CCCCWS/Register
• For info on becoming a FireWise community go to https://www.cccfpd.org/firewise/
• To learn how to create defensible space, go to https://www.fire.ca.gov/dspace