The county policy defines shelter in place as “a last-resort design concept with relocation (evacuation) of residents to a safe location being the preferred action.” No projects incorporating the new guidelines have been submitted since the standards went into effect, county planning officials said. Paul Marks, chairman of the San Dieguito Community Planning Group that reviewed the existing shelter-in place projects, said he remains skeptical that the idea worked in this week’s firestorms.
The Witch Creek fire was not a valid test because the threat to those particular communities was not significant enough, he said. Richard Montague, whose Firesafe 2000 company of retired fire chiefs prepared some of the shelter-in-place plans, said the guidelines only work if homeowners and their communities maintain the strict standards for landscaping, construction and other improvements. Joel Hirschhorn, author of “Sprawl Kills – Better Living in Healthy Places,” says shelter-in-place developments might provide “a second line of defense” but they can’t overcome the problem of building homes in suburbs subject to wildfires.”
