Lack of Brush Management is the Fuse to the San Diego Powder Keg
The Office of the City Auditor made seven recommendations to San Diego leadership in July of 2023 regarding brush management on City owned land. All of the recommendations were accepted, however, the COO that signed off on the advice had their position eliminated by Mayor Todd Gloria who assumed all responsibilities for the office in the spring of 2025.
According the San Diego Union Tribune “Critics had speculated this winter that the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles would spur San Diego officials to action on brush management. But officials said Wednesday their efforts are at a standstill.”
Finding 1: The City lacks comprehensive brush management oversight, causing inconsistent and potentially ineffective brush management efforts by some departments with significant amounts of land in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones. — Office of the City Auditor OCA-24-01
Recommendations Related to Finding 1
- To improve accountability for brush management on City-owned land, the Chief Operating Officer should adopt and implement an Administrative Regulation that:
a. Requires the Fire-Rescue Department (Fire-Rescue) to identify and maintain information on the location of lands managed by City departments subject to brush management regulations, and to distribute this information to the relevant City departments; and
b. Establishes policies and procedures (e.g., requiring the development of periodic workplans with relevant brush management goals, and submittal of these workplans to Fire- Rescue) for Fire-Rescue to proactively monitor City-owned land for compliance with brush management regulations, evaluate the work performed, and provide a publicly-available report of the outcomes to City Council and the Chief Operating Officer.
- The Fire-Rescue Department (Fire-Rescue) should conduct a resource analysis to determine whether it needs additional resources to proactively monitor City-owned lands for compliance with defensible space regulations. Once the analysis is completed, Fire-Rescue should present it to appropriate Council bodies, such as the Public Safety Committee, and make a commensurate request for additional resources during the City’s budget process.