Are We Prepared?

Last Friday, July 12, I had the honor of delivering a keynote address to leaders from over 30 cities from throughout Southern California. I took the opportunity to discuss a topic that I consider among the most pressing for many communities throughout our state – what to do in the face of the growing threat of wildfires. It’s a topic of such importance to me that in May, I hosted a town hall in Glendale on wildfire preparedness. Tonight, I will be bringing that same town hall to the Los Angeles portion of our district. Clearly I have wildfire on my mind, and frankly, we all should.

The hottest, driest season of the year has just begun, and it’s almost guaranteed to be a long one. With extended periods of hot, dry weather and our record vegetation bloom this past spring, we have the ingredients to make for a potentially rough wildfire season. Considering all of this and the fact that many communities devastated by the most recent fires are still struggling in their recovery efforts, I cannot help to ask myself – what can we do to be as prepared as possible?

There are a range of factors that determine whether a home survives a wildfire, including when the home was built and a variety of home-hardening techniques, such as installing ember resistant vents. However, we learned from the recent wildfires, like the Woolsey and Camp fires, that one of the most effective techniques is defensible space.

Defensible space is defined by Cal Fire as “the buffer you create between a building on your property and the grass, trees, shrubs, or any wildland area that surround it.” In speaking with the experts, I learned that defensible space is essential to improving the likelihood that a home will survive a wildfire. You can see the evidence in areas hit hardest by wildfires, where you have neighborhoods almost completely destroyed except for one home.

Defensible space is such a key factor, that this year I authored AB 1516, a measure that will improve defensible space requirements for property owners. The measure has passed the Assembly and is making great progress in the Senate. In addition to this bill, I secured $5 million in this year’s budget to assist low-income households, the elderly, and other Californians with defensible space compliance.

I know for many of us who own homes, the task of making our homes more resistant, especially improving defensible space, can be challenging. Having to radically alter our landscaping can seem not only like a major undertaking, but an unpleasant one. But we have to consider where we are.

Over 100 Californians have died from wildfires over the last two years. In 2017 and 2018, over three million acres burned in high-severity wildfires, destroying over 30,000 structures.

Communities like ours, that are entirely or almost entirely part of a very high fire hazard severity zone, should be the most concerned. A large portion of our district, including most of the Crescenta Valley and all of the City of La Cañada Flintridge are in these zones deemed the most at risk for the occurrence of wildfires, and severe ones at that.

It is not a question of if, but when a wildfire will strike. Communities like ours that have extensive amounts of vegetation that dries out in the summer heat, are extraordinarily vulnerable.

True wildfire resilience is not a solitary effort; it is a joint responsibility and requires community involvement. It only takes one out-of-compliance property to put entire an entire neighborhood at risk.

The good news for us in our community is we already have a culture of awareness, togetherness, and collective responsibility. I’m proud to say that the Crescenta Valley has one of the most devoted and effective Fire Safe Councils in the state. In addition, our community has proven time and again to place safety as a priority of paramount importance.

We all have to be ready.

I am challenging all of us to continue to educate ourselves on the best practices and to get right to work on making our community as fire-resilient and prepared as possible. For my part, I will continue to focus on my work in the legislature to make communities safer and to ensure that everyone has the resources and information necessary.

I encourage those of you who did not have a chance to attend the last town hall, to consider attending tonight’s. If you are unable to attend in person, I will also be live-streaming the panel discussion portion of the event. You can find more information about it on my website, or by calling my District Office.

This is only the beginning of the conversation. I look forward to continuing to work with our firefighting agencies, local governments, my colleagues, and you to find the best solutions to ensuring the safety of our lives and property.

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on wildfire preparedness and would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. If you would like more information on my town hall or other preparedness resources, please contact my district office at (818) 558-3043, or send me an email at Assemblymember.Friedman@Assembly.ca.gov.

  laura friedman