Wildfires In Palos Verdes
WILDFIRES IN PALOS VERDES?
Editors note: The following information is very comprehensive and detailed. Its purpose is to save lives and homes, your life, your home. Please take your time to scroll through it and TAKE ACTION. The first question: Are you prepared?
WHAT HAPPENED IN ALATADENA AND PACIFIC PALISADES?
All of us have seen in the news media the devastation and destruction that occurred in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades. What will happen to our homes and to us if we have 80 mph plus winds and a fire starts in one of our canyons on the Hill? Devastation and destruction! Our homes and our neighbors’ homes may burn if we are not prepared.
Nothing and no one can stop 80 mph or higher wind driven fire embers from entering our homes’ vulnerable ventilation vents or clinging to joints in a patio cover starting a fire that will ignite our house or setting fire to the landscaping or other flammable materials adjacent to our homes that heats the siding or stucco so hot that interior beams begin to burn from within.
During 80 mph or greater winds, the LA County Fire Department (LACOFD) will not be able to stop the fire embers, aircrafts carrying fire retardant and water cannot fly in high winds, our exit roads will become swamped with panicked residents’ trying to leave and firefighting equipment trying to get up the hill. The Fire and Sheriff’s Department goal in any wildfire is saving lives first and foremost, property is second.
Meanwhile, more homes will be burning, and bigger fire embers will be carried by the winds to the next house and the next and on and on and on.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
What we cannot do is nothing. What we can do is harden our homes (see the examples below). If all of us harden our homes, we harden our communities and we harden the PV Hill. Meaning fewer homes will burn. Fewer homes burning will reduce the amount of wind driven embers and lessen the devastation and destruction. And maybe, just maybe the extent of what happened in Altadena and the Palisades will not happen here.
HOW CAN I HARDEN MY HOME?
Being Ready for wildfire starts with maintaining an adequate defensible space and by hardening your home by using fire resistant landscaping and building materials. Defensible space is the buffer you create by removing dead plants, grass and weeds. This buffer helps to keep the fire away from your home. Hardening your home means using construction materials that can help your home withstand flying embers finding weak spots in the construction, which can result in your house catching fire. It takes a combination of both Defensible space and the hardening of your home to really give your house the best chance of surviving a wildfire. Visit Cal Fire's website to learn about fire risk and Fire Hazard Severity Zones. View the Fire Severity Zone Map for Rancho Palos Verdes.
HARDENING YOUR HOME
Prepare for wildfire and harden your home now! There are three ways your home can be exposed to wildfire: direct flames from a burning neighboring home; radiant heat from nearby burning plants or structures; and flying embers. Flying embers from a wildfire can destroy homes up to a mile away and are responsible for the destruction of most homes during a wildfire (i.e., Altadena and Pacific Palisades). Taking the necessary measures to harden (prepare) your home can help increase its likelihood of survival when wildfire strikes.
Here are ways you can harden your home and make it more fire resistant.
For more information on Hardening your home check out the CalFire video below:
SET UP YOUR ZERO ZONE
Establish and maintain your ‘zero zone’ (5’ from your exterior walls) – California law states that in a ‘very high fire severity zone’, which PV is, a ‘zero zone’ must be established and maintained within a 5’ perimeter of the exterior walls of your home. This means only hardscaping (concrete, rocks, pavers, etc.), minimal landscaping (a plant palette is being developed by LACOFD – when it is, we will share with you), no wood chip mulch. It also means that patio covers must either be free standing or wooden beam attachments made of fire retardant ‘concrete’ wood . . both minimally 5’ from your house. Furthermore, debris material under cantilevered decks must be removed and cleared to avoid embers from igniting the deck.
MAINTAIN YOUR DEFENSIBLE SPACE
Defensible space is essential to improve your home’s chance of surviving a wildfire. It’s the buffer you create between your house and the grass, trees, shrubs, or any wildland area that surround it. This space is needed to slow or stop the spread of wildfire and it helps protect your home from catching fire—either from direct flame contact or radiant heat. Defensible space is also important for the protection of the firefighters defending your home.
Defensible Space Zones
Two zones make up the required 100 feet of defensible space.
Zone 1: Extends 30 feet* from buildings, structures, decks, etc.
Remove all dead plants, grass and weeds (vegetation).
Remove dead or dry leaves and pine needles from your yard, roof and rain gutters.
Remove branches that hang over your roof and keep dead branches 10 feet away from your chimney.
Trim trees regularly to keep branches a minimum of 10 feet from other trees.
Relocate wood piles to Zone 2.
Remove or prune flammable plants and shrubs near windows.
Remove vegetation and items that could catch fire from around and under decks.
Create a separation between trees, shrubs and items that could catch fire, such as patio furniture, wood piles, swing sets, etc.
Zone 2: Extends 100 feet out from buildings, structures, decks, etc.
Cut or mow annual grass down to a maximum height of 4 inches.
Create horizontal space between shrubs and trees. (See diagram)
Create vertical space between grass, shrubs and trees. (See diagram)
Remove fallen leaves, needles, twigs, bark, cones, and small branches.
NOTE: Zone 1 recommendations came from a publication by the Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACOFD). Please visit www.fire.lacounty.gov and scroll down to Ready/Set/Go for information on Zones 2 & 3 plus other detailed info. It is an excellent publication. Also available in hard copy at RPV City Hall in the receptionist area.
OTHER VULNERABLE AREAS
Fencing – wooden fencing and gates can become a ‘fuse’ to your house. Replace with non-combustible materials.
Rain Gutters – screen your gutters or maintain them frequently to minimize buildup of dead plant debris.
Roof – cover all roof penetrating vents with 1/8 or smaller wire mesh. Keep roof clear of pine needles and dead leaves. Cut any tree branches within 10 feet of your roof.
Vents – All vent openings should be covered with 1/8 or smaller wire mesh. Attic vent covers should have baffled covers over the wire mesh
Windows – Wildfire heat can cause single pane windows to break allowing fire embers to enter your home. Replace with dual pane windows with an exterior pane of tempered glass.
EMERGENCY SUPPY KIT . . . BETTER KNOWN AS A ‘GO BAG.’
You will have evacuation warnings electronically (via cell phone) and by emergency personnel patrolling your community. Obey them! When the ‘mandatory alert’ comes, leave. Prepare your ‘go bag’ now. It should include:
Maps with your planned evacuation routes . . . but follow emergency personnel’s directions.
It is strongly recommended that you practice evacuating with your family to be better prepared
Prescriptions or special medications
Change of clothing with closed-toe shoes
Extra eyeglasses or contact lenses
Extra set of auto/house keys, credit cards, and cash.
First aid kit
Flashlight
Battery-powered radio and extra batteries.
Copies of important documents (birth certificates, passports, deeds, insurance papers, etc.).
Computer data on hard drives/flash drives.
Chargers for cell phones, laptops, etc. (always keep your devices well charged)
NOTE: This newsletter highlights the basics. For more detailed information please visit www.fire.lacounty.gov and scroll down to Ready/Set/Go or pick up a copy at RPV City Hall in the reception area. You will be glad you did.
WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS TOWNHALL
RPV Wildfire Preparedness Town Hall In case you missed it, a recording of the RPV Wildfire Preparedness Town Hall held on February 20 is now available on RPVtv’s YouTube channel. This informative event brought together residents, City staff, representatives from our public safety agencies, and utilities to discuss how our community prepares for wildfire and what homeowners should be doing to protect their properties. Thank you to the RPV staff, Los Angeles County Fire and Sheriff’s Departments, California Department of Insurance, SCE, Cal Water, West Basin, and the Metropolitan Water District for your attendance, presentations, and all you do to keep our City safe! You can view the town hall video, presentation slides, handouts, and a list of answered questions on the City’s website.
February 2025 Wildfire Preparedness Town Hall | Rancho Palos Verdes, CA – Official Website
HARDEN OUR HILL
If all of us make efforts to harden our homes, fewer homes in Palos Verdes may burn. Devastation and destruction from the wildfires will be less plus a fire hardened home may be easier to insure than a non-hardened home. Check with your insurance company.
STAY INFORMED
Get Alerted during an emergency!
Sign Up for Alert South Bay
Alert South Bay is an opt-in emergency and evacuation alert system using the Everbridge software application. It sends notifications via email, text message, cellular and landline phones. Users can subscribe to receive alerts from Rancho Palos Verdes and 11 other South Bay Cities. Register by: Texting “alertsb” to 888-777, visiting alertsouthbay.com, or downloading the free Everbridge app on Google Play or App Store.
Download the MyRPV App
Download the “MyRPV” App on Google Play or the App Store to receive emergency and safety related push alerts for the City of RPV directly from RPV City Staff.
FIND EMERGENCY INFORMATION
PVP Ready
During an emergency where you will need to take action to stay safe, such as evacuation or shelter in place, the City will provide notifications and alerts referencing areas impacted based on their zones. To see what zone you are in and the current status of your zone, visit PVPReady.gov, click “Find Your Zone,” and enter an address in the search bar in the upper left corner of the zone map.
Dial 211 for Disaster Preparedness & Response Information
211 partners directly with the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Services to be the primary provider of disaster preparedness and response information services to the community before, during and after disasters. In times of local or national distress, 211 LA County responds by providing timely and accurate information for any member of the community to learn valuable and life-saving information. Learn more about 211.
Regional Fire Information: Watch Duty App
Watch Duty is an app that provides notifications and information about wildfires in the area. It is free to use and overlays the same Genasys Protect map shown on the PVP ready website.
WHAT WE CANNOT DO IS ‘NOTHING.’
The winds will come. The wildfires will come. The wind driven fire embers will come. We don’t know when, but we know they will come. We are living in a time of climate change where weather patterns are not predictable and changing constantly. The winds and fires that consumed Altadena and Pacific Palisades will eventually come to our Hill. We must be prepared. We must harden our hill. For our communities, our neighbors and ourselves.
Note: PVP Watch will continue to watch our city governments, the LACOFD, the Sheriff’s and our utilities to provide you, our readers, with any additional information that becomes available on ‘Wildfires in Palos Verdes.
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