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Wildfire  Disease and Insect Infestations—Unless diseased or insect-infested trees are swiftly removed, infestations and disease can spread to healthy forests and private lands. Timely active management actions are needed to remove diseased or infested trees.  Destroyed Endangered Species Habitat—Wildfire can have negative consequences for endangered species by degrading their habitat.  Soil Sterilization—Some wildfires burn so hot that they can sterilize the soil. Topsoil exposed to extreme heat can become water repellant, and soil nutrients may be lost.  Reduced Timber Harvesting—Timber can be destroyed and lead to smaller available timber harvests.  Reduced Agricultural Resources—Wildfire can have disastrous consequences on agricultural resources, removing them from production and necessitating lengthy restoration programs.  Damaged Cultural and Historical Resources—The destruction of cultural and historic resources may occur, scenic vistas can be damaged, and access to recreational areas can be reduced. Parks and recreational areas in San Mateo County have greater vulnerability to wildfires than do more developed regions. San Bruno Mountain Park, a landmark of local and regional significance, is one of the more noteworthy of this type of area. It stands as an open-space island amid the peninsula’s urban northern end of the Santa Cruz Mountain Range. Its ridgeline has numerous slopes exceeding 50 percent and elevations from 250 feet to over 1,300 feet. Fourteen species of rare or endangered plants, along with numerous endangered and threatened butterflies, make their home on San Bruno Mountain. The San Bruno Mountain State and County Park Master Plan, last updated in 2001, recommends development of a fire management plan to cover fire management policies and procedures, public education, reduction of the existing heavy fuel load, and how to best utilize fire for the enhancement of endangered species’ habitats. 16.5 FUTURE TRENDS IN DEVELOPMENT Urbanization tends to alter the natural fire regime and can lead to expansion of urbanized areas into wildland areas. Placement of additional housing in the wildland/urban interface areas located in high or very high relative fire hazard zones can increase the fire threat, particularly in historical fire corridors. Development in these areas can burden existing fire protection services, particularly in areas dependent on volunteer firefighters. Additionally, fire risk can be exacerbated by impacts from other hazards such as drought and extreme heat. Secondary impacts can be addressed with access to vulnerable areas by fire suppression personnel and equipment. The expansion of development into high wildfire hazard areas can be managed with strong land use and building codes. The planning area is well equipped with these tools, and this planning process has asked each planning partner to assess its capabilities with regards to the tools. As San Mateo County experiences future growth, it is anticipated that the exposure to this hazard will remain as assessed or even decrease over time due to these capabilities. Most of the homes in San Mateo County’s WUI areas were constructed before 2008, when California’s WUI Building Code (California Code Chapter 7A) went into effect. This code requires ignition-resistant building materials in WUI areas. Structures built before it took effect and those without adequate vegetation management are at higher risk to wildland fire ignition. The State of California has enacted significant legislation that attempts to manage and mitigate wildfire risk. Appendix C provides a summary of this legislation, much of which will have an impact on future development 16-13