Novato Sits Between Open Space and Diablo Winds
Surrounded by Mt. Burdell, Stafford Lake, and Indian Valley open space, Novato's 52,000 residents live at the grass-oak woodland interface. When Diablo winds blow through the Petaluma Gap, Novato's hillside neighborhoods face ember exposure from every direction.
Novato is Marin County's northernmost city, and its geography tells the wildfire story clearly. The city is ringed by open space — Mt. Burdell to the north, Indian Valley to the west, Stafford Lake to the northwest, and the rolling grasslands stretching toward Petaluma to the east. This open space is what makes Novato desirable for families and outdoor enthusiasts. It's also what makes Novato a wildfire risk.
Unlike southern Marin's steep, chaparral-covered canyons, Novato's fire risk is driven primarily by grass and oak woodland. The hills surrounding the city are covered in annual grass that cures to tinder between May and November, interspersed with coast live oak, valley oak, and bay laurel. Under Diablo wind conditions — the hot, dry northeast winds that pour through the Petaluma Gap and over the Marin hills — these fuels can carry fire rapidly into residential neighborhoods. Novato has not experienced a catastrophic urban wildfire, but the conditions for one exist every fire season.