2013 CALIFORNIA FIRE SEASON
IS UPON US!
Yes. It is true, Califonia’s Fire Season has already started.
FEMA is working on a plan to mitigate the danger in what they call the East Bay
Hills area of Northern California.
Below is the FEMA annoucement. Here is a link to the EIS
website: http://ebheis.cdmims.com/Home.aspx.
FEMA announcement:
FEMA draft EIR 2013-04-25
FEMA Releases Draft Environmental Impact Statement
Addressing Hazardous Fire Risk Reduction Projects in East Bay Hills
Release date: APRIL 25, 2013
OAKLAND, Calif. – The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will today release a draft environmental
impact statement (DEIS) on proposed hazardous fire risk reduction projects in
the San Francisco Bay Area, in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. The
DEIS is being published in the Federal Register and will be filed with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency later this week.
The University of California, Berkeley (UCB), the City of
Oakland, and the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) have submitted a total
of four grant applications to FEMA, through the California Emergency Management
Agency (Cal EMA), for federal financial assistance to implement hazardous fire
risk reduction projects in the East Bay Hills of Alameda and Contra Costa
counties and at the Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline in Contra Costa County.
The funding sought in the four grant applications could be
provided under FEMA’s Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) program and Hazard
Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). If awarded, the funding would be used to
implement hazardous risk reduction projects in the East Bay hills and in the
Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline, bordering the San Francisco Bay, in the City of
Richmond. FEMA will use the draft EIS, along with input from the public
and other agencies, and in conjunction with other relevant materials, to reach
a final decision on the submitted applications.
The East Bay Hills and the vicinity of Miller/Knox Regional
Shoreline have a hot and dry fall season, wind-conducive topography, flammable
vegetation, dense development, and limited accessibility for firefighting. The
area is subject to hot, dry winds that can drive a wildfire from the regional
parks and other open space areas into residential areas. These factors combine
to create a substantial regional fire danger with most of the undeveloped areas
in the East Bay Hills in a very severe fire hazard zone.
Hazardous fire risk reduction refers to long-term,
cost-effective actions that reduce the risk of a hazardous wildfire, such as
the massively destructive Oakland Hills fire of 1991. Historically, 15
major wildfires in the East Bay Hills have burned a total of almost 9,000
acres, destroyed approximately 4,000 homes, and killed 26 people. One of the
fires, the 1923 Berkeley Fire, destroyed more than 550 homes in a few hours. A
fire in 1970 consumed more than 200 acres and burned 37 homes. The 1991 Tunnel
Fire killed 25 people, destroyed more than 3,000 homes, and did an estimated
$1.5 billion in damage.
Fire risk may be lowered by creating a fire break and reducing
the amount of flammable trees, shrubs, and debris that can act as fuel during a
wildfire. The proposed vegetation management work would primarily focus
on reducing highly flammable, non-native invasive species.
Based on the wildfire hazard characteristics of the East Bay
Hills and the Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline, FEMA has identified that a need
exists to reduce hazardous fire risk to people and structures in these
areas. FEMA is proposing to address this need by providing financial
assistance to the sub-applicants -- UCB, EBRPD, and Cal EMA, through the
Pre-Disaster Mitigation program and the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.
FEMA will host three public meetings on Tuesday, May 14th and
Saturday May 18th. The meetings will be held from 2:00 p.m. to
4:00p.m. and 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on May 14th in the Richard
C. Trudeau Center’s Main Room, 11500 Skyline Boulevard, Oakland, CA 94619
and on Saturday, May 18th, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., in the
Claremont Middle School’s Gymnasium, 5750 College Avenue, Oakland, CA
94618.
The upcoming public meetings will provide information on the
draft EIS, which describes the proposed East Bay Hills hazardous fire risk
reduction projects and potential environmental impacts on the natural,
physical, and human environments in the project. The purpose of the
meetings is to provide information on the draft EIS, to receive oral and
written comments, and to allow the public, local businesses, associations,
stakeholders, affected governmental agencies, and interested parties to speak
directly with federal, state and local representatives regarding the draft
EIS.
Written comments must be submitted or postmarked by midnight on
June 17, 2013. Oral and written comments may be made at the public meetings.
Written comments may also be submitted through the project website at http://ebheis.cdmims.com, via
email at EBH-EIS-FEMA-RIX@fema.dhs.gov, or
via mail to P.O. Box 72379, Oakland, CA 94612-8579.
This blog,
“AccountantForDisasterRecovery.com” has been addressing taxpayer income tax
issues related to catastrophic losses for five years
All rights to reproduce or quote
any part of the chapter in any other publication are reserved by the author.
Republication rights limited by the publisher of the book in which this chapter
appears also apply.
JOHN
TRAPANI
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It All Adds Up For You
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This material was contributed by John
Trapani. A Certified Public Accountant who has assisted taxpayers since 1976,
in analyzing and reporting transactions of the type covered in this material.
Internal Revenue Service Circular 230 Disclosure
This
is a general discussion of tax law. The application of the law to specific
facts may involve aspects that are not identical to the situations presented in
this material. Relying on this material does not qualify as tax advice for
purpose of mounting a defense of a tax position with the taxing authorities
The
analysis of the tax consequences of any event is based on tax laws in effect at
the time of the event.
This
material was completed on the date of the posting
© 2013, John Trapani, CPA,
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