Welcome to Cal Fire/San Luis Obispo County Fire Department

Pre-Fire Engineering / Geographic Information System

The San Luis Obispo Unit is dedicated to the prevention of wild fire for the County. Through cooperation and funding provided CAL FIRE and the County of San Luis Obispo we are putting emphasis on what needs to be done long before a fire starts, Pre-Fire Management actions can reduce property losses, fire fighting costs, increase firefighter safety, and contribute to ecosystem health.

Pre-fire activities such as clearing a defensible space, putting in and maintaining fire safe landscaping, utilizing prescribed fire, creating fuel breaks, and practicing forest management are proven methods of reducing wildfire destruction.

By collecting, analyzing and mapping features in the County that contribute to our fire hazards we are able to provide information to reduce the adverse effect of wild fire in our Communities. Our highly trained Research Analyst plays a vital role with in the Unit. This information is utilized to provide quick response times, risk analysis, and incident mapping.

Map Request Form: SLU-GIS Project Work Order

Please use the tabs below to view our products.

Disaster Pre-Plan Mapping

These maps are intended for the responding units to give them the perspective that is needed to protect the communities we serve. The depict areas of concern, home locations, water recourses and fuel breaks and Incident Command Locations that can be used in the event of large scale incident to these communities. .Funding has been provide by the County Office of Emergency Services and future projects are to include Montana De Oro, East Arroyo Grande, and East Nipomo. Additionally, this spring coastal tsunami plans for the County.

Proposed CAL FIRE Fuel Reduction Projects.

In cooperation with the San Luis Obispo Fire Safe Council with the mission of protecting the people of San Luis Obispo County and their property from the effects of catastrophic wildfire through education, cooperation, innovation, and action.

Fire Hazard Severity Zone Mapping

The project will be driven by Geographic Information System (GIS) data in conjunction with modeling techniques designed to describe potential fire behavior and fire probability. Areas will be mapped in Moderate, High and Very High Categories. The project will run along two concurrent tracks: one designed to develop and refine the model itself regarding its scientific rigor, spatial accuracy, and data delivery mechanisms designed to facilitate end use by a wide variety of clients.

Other Projects

This link is to provide a section to include the many other projects that Pre-Fire and GIS are working on that can be shared with the public. All of these are in DRAFT and are not the final products.

2010 Grant Proposals

CAL VEG Update This project is in cooperation with the US Forest Service and FRAP to update the vegetative fuel modeling used to interpret fire behavior and determine Fire Hazard Severity Zones. To accomplish this ground validation of over 500 sample vegetation sites is in progress.

GPS setup

Station Wall Maps - Planning

Mobile Data Computers - Planning

Engine Map Books - Planning