Sonoma County
Six neighborhoods, numbered in the order the crew goes first. The assessment is the same for every parcel in the county; the ground is not.
- 01Glen Ellen and Kenwood
Two unincorporated communities along Highway 12 in the Sonoma Valley, with houses set into oak woodland and along vineyard edges on both sides of the valley floor. Many lots run uphill from the road into the Mayacamas and the Sonoma Mountain slopes, and the first five feet, the vents and the driveway are the topics that come up most.
- 02Fountaingrove and Skyhawk
Hillside neighborhoods on the north-east side of Santa Rosa, inside the city, much of it rebuilt to current code with a Class A roof and ember-resistant vents already in place. What the assessment adds there is the ground: the first five feet, fences and gates that connect to the house, and the vegetation on the slope below the lot line.
- 03Healdsburg and Fitch Mountain
The city of Healdsburg, and the older houses on the wooded slopes of Fitch Mountain east of it, where narrow roads, one way in and out, and mature trees close to the roofline are the topics a desk can see and a visit settles.
- 04Forestville and the Russian River
Unincorporated west county along the river, with cabins and houses under redwood and fir, steep lots, wooden decks over slopes, and driveways a fire engine may not be able to turn on. Under-deck enclosure, the roof edge and the way in and out are where the assessment spends its time.
- 05Sebastopol and the west county
The city of Sebastopol and the ridges west and north of it: orchard and pasture edges, older farmhouses, outbuildings and barns near the house, and long grass in the first thirty feet. Defensible space, attached structures and the propane tank are the usual findings.
- 06Sonoma Valley
The city of Sonoma and the unincorporated valley around it, from the flat vineyard blocks to the houses on the east and west slopes. The assessment reads the hazard zone and the responsibility area off the map for each parcel, because the answer changes from one side of a road to the other.
What is the same everywhere
The fourteen topics, CAL FIRE's hazard maps for every county, the county's own parcel data and evacuation zones where we have verified its layers, and a person reading imagery beside the record. Your fire district and responsibility area are read off the maps, never guessed from the town.