County supervisors OK building code changes for wildfire protection

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The Board of Supervisors on Wednesday backed stricter building requirements to lessen wildfire damage.

Supervisors Jim Desmond and Dianne Jacob proposed the changes to the building codes, which she said will make the county "a model for fire protection" in California and save lives.

"It's not a matter of if, but when, when the next major wildfire hits this region," Jacob said.

The last two major blazes in San Diego, in 2003 and 2007, took the lives of 17 people and numerous animals, and caused billions of dollars in damage.

No one in the audience spoke for or against the prop...