LAFD Station 74 Garden

see the beauty of a low maintenance, fire-defensive garden

Los Angeles Fire Department Station 74 (Website, Facebook) models an optimally fire-wise landscape aesthetic and beautifies an industrial segment of Foothill Boulevard in Sunland-Tujunga. The highly sloped garden includes a young native oak, a dry river to direct water, and a mix of low-maintenance, fire-wise native foliage.

January 2025 Notice: While fires and recovery are in progress, we encourage Angelenos
to stay in their home communities and visit our fire defensive demonstration gardens
via their dedicated websites. We’d love for you to visit in person once danger has passed,
and nearby residents are further into recovery processes.
Thank you for your love and consideration.

 

Los Angeles Fire Department’s Isaiah Marin strolls through Cleveland and Black Sage

The garden was then-sixteen year old Travis Whitcomb’s Eagle Scout project. Whitcomb noticed the barren area and committed to providing the fire fighters with a beautiful, easy to maintain space. He also aimed to provide the Sunland-Tujunga community with a model for fire-wise landscaping. Whitcomb harnessed the goodwill of community members from throughout Sunland-Tujunga, including FormLA Landscaping, to design and install the garden.

Plant Palette

While no plant is fire proof, there are plants that hold hydration well in high, dry heat and do not travel to wild spaces. When well placed, spaced and maintained, they can be fire defensive. See our Pinterest page for the Sierra Madre Post Office palette and several others.

Fire-Defensive Garden Tour

See Fire Defensive Gardens in Tujunga, Shadow Hills and Sun Valley

Date: Saturday, October 12, 2019

Time: Pre-Tour Talks 8:45 am – 10:30 am, Self-Guided Tour 11:00 am – 3:00pm

Location: Theodore Payne Foundation, Gardens throughout Tujunga, Shadow Hills & Sun Valley

Gain an understanding of fire mitigation techniques and what home hardening and fire wise gardens look like via this timely garden tour and educational program hosted by Theodore Payne Foundation.

Tour properties demonstrate how proper design and maintenance can help protect homes and landscapes in high-risk fire areas. The self-guided tour features private residences, a community-based public installation, and local fire stations.

The morning educational program will prep tour-goers to experience fire-wise strategies. FormLA Landscaping’s Cassy Aoyagi will discuss 10 key fire-wise landscaping strategies, and Ellen Mackey, a senior ecologist certified by the Ecological Society of America, will show how she hardened her home to fire. A Q&A will follow their presentations.

Tickets can be purchased online or at Theodore Payne Foundation. Registration includes pre-tour talks, free educational materials, and the tour. Tour addresses will be provided by email one day before the tour.