Reduce the Chance of Ember Ignition, Ease Evacuation, Protect Firefighters

January 17, 2025. By Cassy Aoyagi: We are devastated for LA’s losses and so grateful for those still fighting to save Angelenos, our homes and communities. We’re relieved to hear shelters and fire houses are stocked to the brim (we love you LA!).

We feel the lull in wind. More humidity. With fires still burning and more Santa Anas expected next week, this weather presents a critical opportunity to get homes prepared. Does this feel like an ask to be selfish in our city’s time of need? Far from it.

Fire moves fastest and hottest in urban environments. What you do to prepare your home and property now will protect those of your neighbors and community – and our fire-worn firefighters. Have time to help a neighbor? That will help protect you too! The impact of these actions is cumulative – every home and business owner that takes them protects the next.

Quick, Cheap Home Hardening

Why harden your home first? It is the best way to reduce the changes of embers igniting it. These inexpensive options have a big impact:

• Keep Windows Closed: Yes, for air quality. This will also deny embers to the more vulnerable interior of your home. Cost: $0
• Protect Vents: While not as inviting as an open window, home vents will allow embers to gain access to your home. Replace them with ember resistant vents, add ember resistant mesh to your vents, or temporarily cover with fire rated drywall – here’s how. Cost: $5-100+ per Vent

Zone 0 Red Flag Checklist

The 5-feet closest to your home, particularly at ground level, is critical to your home’s ability to resist ignition as well as firefighters’ ability to engage a home. Take time when fire is far to accomplish the following:

• Clear:
  • Remove anything stored under a deck
  • Store explosives, including fertilizer, gasoline and propane, in sealed containers, distanced from homes
  • Store flammables (cushions, mats and rugs, toys, tools, sails and umbrellas) similarly, or in your garage, or pool
  • Move garbage cans, particularly cans with contents, into the garage – if they must remain outside, take them as far from structures as possible and seal the lid
  • Remove any further tip hazards
• Clean:
  • Wet and rake mulch away from the foundation, then shovel or sweep (don’t blow) litter away from the full circumference of your foundation, focus where leaf litter collects
  • Remove cobwebs
• Check:
  • Check your home as you round it – note where windows, skylights and doors, including garage doors, need better seals. 
  • Apply the most permanent solution you can – worst case scenario, use tape or plumbing sealants.
• Pre-hydrate:
  • Irrigate foliage in the days before low humidity and high wind to boost its resistance and resilience to stress
  • Take care with hydrating slopes, as saturated soils can destabilize

Of course, if you have more than a weekend to get prepared, we recommend consistent home maintenance, making a plan to complete more home retrofits, and consistent landscape maintenance.

We cannot guarantee spending your weekend this way will save your home. Last week’s Santa Anas unleashed ember storms that horrified even the most seasoned fire fighters. Yet, research shows each task provides some protection – without you or anyone you love staying behind.

Be as safe as you can be, LA. We love you.

More Information

• LA County Emergency Services (Evacuations)
• 5 Steps to Take Before You Get Evacuation Orders
• Fight Fire without Water
• Think Home First
• Why Your Artificial Turf is Burning
• Take 10 Steps for Fire Safety

January 23: here are the sources and resources guiding our services right now

We want to share all we can to aid in your preparation and recovery. The information available changes fast. Here is what is impacting how we serve you and Los Angeles right now.

Timely Updates

We can commit to providing exactly the information you need to understand how we can serve you without alarming images or sounds. We will not succeed in being the most current or comprehensive source of information. If you need the most timely updates, please join us in following:

official guidance

Here is where we look for guidance in our efforts to help you assess, prepare, clean-up and fully recover:

January 15: LANDSCAPERS HAVE AN OUTSIZED IMPACT ON LA’S HEALTH AND WILDFIRE RESILIENCE

We all want to help clients, friends and fellow-Angelenos clean-up and/or quickly prepare for fire in case it moves into their neighborhood. Here is guidance from official sources about how we and our teams can stay safe as we do so.

Do not attempt to remove hazardous fire debris on impacted properties. The Los Angeles County Fire Department must inspect the property before any work is to begin. This process is time-intensive but free. 

Avoid use of equipment that could throw sparks in red flag conditions, especially PDS weather. This includes most power equipment, such as blowers, mowers, chainsaws and weed wackers. Even electrical tools can spark.

Clean up safely after fire. This can be quite dangerous. This is how we can protect ourselves:

• Wear gloves, long sleeved shirts and pants to avoid skin contact.
• Wear a disposable mask with a rating of N-95 or better during clean-up. Read label on package for proper use. Here’s why.
• Gently sweep surfaces, then follow with wet mopping.
• Avoid getting ash into the air. Don’t use a leaf blower or shop vacuum

Prepare Zone 0 when and where it is safe. Quickly preparing the 5 feet closest to LA homes – cleaning and clearing them during lulls in Santa Anas – may help homes resist ember ignition. It will help firefighters see and address ignitions. After the immediate danger passes, we can help defend homes and neighborhoods with more fully ember resistant Zone 0s

Please stay safe as you work for the safety of others. We are all needed to help LA recover. We’ll be in team with you as we do.

January 10: We love you. May You Be safe.

The Eaton and Palisades Fires alone are a level of devastation that is nearly impossible to wrap our minds around. We have deep gratitude to the firefighters working days on end to protect us, our homes and communities.

Thank you to those who have checked in. We are safe. We are grateful to know many of you are too.

As we grapple with the grief we all share, we wrap our hearts around what we know of Angelenos. We love and look out for one another. We help and repair one another. 

With more dry, hurricane force winds, we need to know we’ve done everything we can to help your prepare. We are hopeful even friends far from wildlands are in a “Set.Go!” state of preparation. If you are safe, set, and free of evacuation orders, we encourage attending to the 5 feet closest to homes as an added layer of defense for firefighters engaging your home.

Be safe out there. We love you.

Sincerely, 

Cassy, Kirk and the FormLA Landscaping Team