The Los Angeles City Community Wildfire Protection Plan
A framework for hazard mitigation, community preparedness, and resilience
MySafe:LA is developing a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) for the City of Los Angeles. Unlike disaster plans for first responders, a CWPP is aimed at the community involved, and is designed to share critical information on infrastructure, risks, response models, and mitigation relative to the risk from wildfire.
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).
Why does L.A. City need a CWPP?
With more than 250,000 homes at risk of wildfire, the need for ongoing, detailed information on the risks, prevention activities, and response models in the City of Los Angeles is essential. Based on the CalFire published Very High Fire Severity Zone map, the San Fernando Valley is completely surrounded by extreme wildfire risk. Some of these risks include the most popular canyons in L.A., including but not limited to Laurel Canyon, Runyon Canyon, Mandeville Canyon, Coldwater Canyon, and Beachwood Canyon are all likely to experience a wildfire – just as the city is likely to experience a devastating earthquake at some point in the coming few years.
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.
