General (06)
Susana Barrios
From:Martha Freeman <freeman4@me.com>
Sent:Friday, July 24, 2026 10:50 AM
To:Public Comment
Cc:Christine Nguyen; Ashleigh Aitken; Natalie Meeks
Subject:\[EXTERNAL\] Request for Clarification: Ember Spotting in the Dudek Wildfire Study
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Dear Mayor Aitken, Members of the City Council, and City Staff,
As an Anaheim Hills resident and member of Anaheim’s first Firewise community, I
appreciate your effort to provide an evacuation plan and have read the Dudek report. I have a
question that I believe deserves clarification before the study is finalized.
The wildfire progression maps (Figures 7–9) estimate when the fire will reach neighborhoods
and use those times to evaluate evacuation. However, modern wildfire science has shown
that, in wind-driven WUI fires, homes usually ignite from wind-blown embers or nearby spot
fires well before the main flame front arrives.
Modern versions of the FlamMap software includes an ember-spotting capability. Yet I
couldn’t find any explanation of whether that capability was used or how ember-driven
ignitions were incorporated into the fire progression maps.
If ember spotting was not modeled, what is the technical basis for using flame-front arrival as
the measure of structure exposure? More importantly, what evidence supports the report's
conclusion that this still represents a conservative, "worst-case" basis for evacuation
planning?
Thank you for considering these questions.
Sincerely,
Martha Freeman
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