Safety in the time of Fires

Is it safe to buy a home in San Diego East County?

I’d like to begin with praise for the firefighters, police and thousands of volunteers who have made the best of a bad situation for our county. My heart goes out to the thousands of displaced and homeless. This is a difficult time for all of us, but I’d like to focus today on what prospective home buyers can do to avoid inherent dangers in certain homes.

We recently discussed the land slides on Mount Soledad in La Jolla and some of the things a home buyer can do to evaluate the safety of a property. That was a short time ago, but we need to take another look in light of the raging fires in Southern California.

The first thing to do is look for the obvious. If the property is at the top, bottom or middle of a steep incline you have to wonder if landslides are a danger. If the property is surrounded by flammable materials or above a dry canyon you have to consider fire danger. A property in a riverbed with a looming dam above it could be threatened by floods. Coastal cliff properties can be expected to drop into the ocean eventually. All this is obvious to the thoughtful buyer and much of it can be mitigated with good professional advice.

In between the preliminary look for obvious safety problems and seeking expensive professional advice, you want to find authoritative information that is convenient and free. You want to consider some of the less visible safety threats as well. There is so much to consider on the safety front including the human factor- is this a high crime area, are there sexual predators nearby? What are the resources available?

Fire – Best bet is SanGIS & LAFCO (below) for general info about your area of interest. The CDF site is not too informative to home buyers, but a visit or call might get better information.

Landslide/earthquake – Here is a list of maps for local communities. And a list of earthquake faults in California. At USGS you can make a custom map showing earthquake faults (see left, not much detail), waterbodies & dams, and other features. Overall I have found it very difficult to get accurate, convenient information about fault lines, and yet disclosure requires it.

Flood – FEMA is a good place to start. SanGIS interactive maps are OK when they work. USGS (above) might be helpful. All mapping sites require patience on your first visit.

A FEMA flood zone map

Crime – Nature isn’t the only safety concern. ARGIS is your main source of local data with a wealth of information. Ten most wanted, sex offenders and crime incidents for a very specific area can be displayed. Data covers incorporated suburbs but does not extend to rural areas. City-Data offers a wealth of info on most communities including the number of sex offenders.

General resources – These are secondary sources for useful information. SanGIS has an extensive map library including maps from many agencies. LAFCO is another source for this kind of information. You can see the boundaries of local fire & water districts, you can study the damage from the previous Cedar & Paradise fires, you can see groundwater limitations for rural areas and a lot more. You can learn about the County General Plan, Community Planning Groups and Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP) zones in the area. All of this is helpful in your evaluation of a property. While you’re at it, remember that when you view a property from a Redfin page, you will find links to a great deal of demographic information ‘Community Overview’ and ‘Area Schools’.

General safety planning – Study local roads for evacuation problems. Will they be able to handle the traffic of an urgent evacuation? Will they be viable during a flood or heavy smoke or landslide? Will emergency vehicles be able to reach the home you want to buy? How far is the nearest hospital, fire/police station? Other infrastructure considerations include water, electric, other utilities- will they be threatened by fire, landslide or flood? Will your nearby cell tower survive?

Animals – If you have pets, plan to have horses or farm animals, you need to consider whether the location you choose will support their safety in an emergency. Will you be able to transport them on short notice to a safe area?

Safe Area – Where is the nearest ‘safe area’? A school, stadium, or other public facility should be designated. Do they allow animals? Can they handle a large volume of communication and other needs? How will you reach it (what route) from the property you want to buy?

Finally you can ask about insurance. You will find that most companies will not insure against ‘geological activity’ but you may be able to get earthquake insurance. Fire or flood insurance may be very expensive for certain properties. This is a valuable clue- the price and availability of insurance is a good hint of the risk. If it’s very expensive, there is probably a high risk. You just got a free risk analysis!

Don’t be afraid to buy in East County. Be smart. Best wishes!