The Los Angeles City Community Wildfire Protection Plan
A framework for hazard mitigation, community preparedness, and resilience
A Wildfire Plan for Every Wildland Intermix in Los Angeles
MySafe:LA is developing the first-ever Community Wildfire Protection Plan, often called a CWPP for the City of Los Angeles. Typically, these plans are for open rural environments or small to medium-sized communities with a specific delineation between metro and wildland areas. The City of Los Angeles is far more complicated, with about 502 square miles of territory, 3.82 million residents, and more than 500,000 visitors and out-of-the-city workers daily. Protecting lives and property is the mission of the Los Angeles City Fire Department. Still, it’s a tall order, with only 106 fire stations and fewer than 3,400 total sworn firefighters, of which only 1,018 are on duty at any given time.
Why Does Los Angeles Need a CWPP?
Given that over 250,000 homes are vulnerable to wildfire threats, the City of Los Angeles must maintain a continuous flow of comprehensive information regarding the risks, preventative strategies, and emergency response plans. According to the Very High Fire Severity Zone map published by CAL FIRE, the San Fernando Valley faces extreme wildfire danger from all directions. Furthermore, there are considerable regions throughout the city that are also at significant risk; this includes well-known canyons in Los Angeles, such as Laurel Canyon, Runyon Canyon, Mandeville Canyon, Coldwater Canyon, and Beachwood Canyon, all of which are positioned to experience a wildfire potentially. This threat parallels the likelihood of the city facing a catastrophic earthquake within the next few years.
You Can Share Your Thoughts for the Plan!
We strongly believe that any plan involving the community, such as this Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), necessitates active and meaningful input from the community members. To facilitate this, we will be making a comprehensive text version of the plan available to the public throughout December 2024 and January 2025. This period presents a valuable opportunity for you not only to review a draft of the plan in detail but also to provide your feedback on issues that you believe are significant for both you and your neighborhood. Your insights are crucial in shaping a plan that truly reflects the community’s needs and priorities.
To learn more about the new CWPP, download the Executive Summary.
To read the plan and make comments, visit the CWPP Community Input Page
A complex city
A mediterranean climate
Another factor that impacts the need for a CWPP is the L.A. climate model. Essentially, Los Angeles has traditionally benefited from a mediterranean (semiarid) mild climate. Historically, this relates to three key natural conditions: The region’s latitude is outside of the range of the most severe North Pacific winter storms; a cooling layer of marine air moderates the summer sun, and the tall mountain ranges shield the region from potentially intense blasts of desert heat and cold.
Historically, L.A. experiences two seasons: The first and most recognized is the dry and mildly warm period lasting from April to early November. The second is the “wet” season, when colder air and some periods of rain occur, typically from November to the end of March. The typical annual rainfall levels for the Los Angeles region are in the 15-inches range. During an El Nino year, the annual rainfall can increase by 50% or more.
Climate change is doing exactly that – it’s changing weather in Los Angeles, and a CWPP will help residents gain a better understanding of not only the impact on the local weather, but the impact on their daily lives as well. In 2023, nine atmospheric rivers dumped 11.5 inches of rain on L.A. in less than 14 days. While the growth that rain generated was lovely to see, by late summer it had become fuel for the next deadly wildfire.
So, how is climate change affecting us? Heat – deadly heat for extended periods. Drought. It was reduced in 2023, but how does the future look? Grim. Landslides? Mudslides? Flood watches? and of course – wildfires.
So, how is climate change affecting us? Heat – deadly heat for extended periods. Drought. It was reduced in 2023, but how does the future look? Grim. Landslides? Mudslides? Flood watches? and of course – wildfires.
What's next?
Take the wildfire survey!
As we develop a CWPP for Los Angeles, collaboration with the public is essential. We’re seeking input from people who live in the wildland urban interface. People like you! Can you help? Our wildfire survey doesn’t take long to complete, and we’re giving away fun prizes like Starbucks cards, VISA gift cards, and much more. A minimum of ten winners will be awarded during the current survey period (spring 2024).
