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Soil Investigations for Data Collection in the Delta Initial Study/Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration 203 3.20.1 Environmental Setting In California wildfire protection jurisdictions are separated and overseen by three areas of government: Local, State and Federal. Majority of the Impact Areas in Contra Costa, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano and Yolo County are in portions of their respective county’s that are considered to be Local Responsibility Areas (LRA). Some of the Southern Proposed Project sites located in Alameda County are in State Responsibility Areas (SRA). Lastly, a few Proposed Project sites located in small regions Sacramento County and others in the Northern West portion of Alameda County are in Federal Responsibility Areas (FRA), (CalFire 2008). LRA, SRA and FRA have each determined Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZ) within each county, the zone classification is based on a multitude of factors: fire behavior models using vegetation density, adjacent wildland areas, and distance to wildland areas, another factor being the probability of a fire threatening nearby structures. The Proposed Project locations in Contra Costa, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano and Yolo County Counties all have FHSZ of low to no severity zones in their LRA and FRA, where the Proposed Project sites are proposed to take place. However, in the SRA portions of Alameda County the FHSZ is of moderate severity and in LRA portions of the county the Proposed Project locations are in areas of no severity (CalFire 2008). 3.20.2 Discussion a) Substantially impair an adopted emergency response plan or emergency evacuation plan? Less than Significant Impact. Strategic Fire Protection Planning prioritizes areas called wildland urban interfaces (WUI) where fire risks are not only a threat to areas of natural resources but also to “at risk communities” where large scale wildland fires may occur, posing a significant threat to life and property, these areas are known as wildland urban interfaces (CalFire 2014, USFS 2007). There are only a few Proposed Project sites within a wildland urban interface, these few sites reside in Contra Costa County and Sacramento County (ArcGIS 2010). These counties abide by Local and State Responsibility procedures to ensure a minimum of wildfire protection is met. Both Contra Costa and Sacramento counties have Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs) which include measures to reduce the risk of wildfire and reference emergency operations/evacuation planning. The Proposed Project will not impact public roads or highways, no complete road closures will take place, and soil investigation activities will not result in emergency vehicles or law enforcement delays. Additionally, safety and emergency response services will be covered in the Proposed Project’s Job Hazard Assessment daily to ensure safe mobility while on the Proposed Project site and evacuation if necessary. The Proposed Project work will not hinder Contra Costa or Sacramento counties’ ability to implement their CWPPs. While there would be a less than significant