Fire-related Disaster Prep for Home and Garden
- "Weathered: Inside the LA Firestorm" - PBS SoCal aired 3/19/25 (60 mins) An investigation into what caused the 2025 LA wildfires and how we can prevent/mitigate the damage from future urban fire disasters. Interviews with fire researchers and scientists on urban firestorms, aka "conflagrations." Watch at 40 minutes for homeowner recommendations on how to best prepare your home and property from flying embers like those that rapidly spread the Eaton fire through neighborhoods in Altadena.
- "Wildfire Lessons: What to do now to protect your home and garden" - Sunset Magazine April-May 2025. Provides excellent tips for preparing your property and landscaping.
- "5 Wildfire Safety Tips to Protect Your Garden" -Sunset magazine April-May 2025. A few easy steps can save not just your garden but your home as well. An exhibit at the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden can show you how.
- www.firewise.org This site, sponsored by the National Wildland/Urban Interface Fire Program, offers a free book (you pay shipping) called Firewise Communities: Where We Live, How We Live; it includes photographs of fire-safe landscapes.
- www.laspilitas.com Las Pilitas Nursery provides fire-safe guidelines and a list of fire-resistant plants.
- www.lafd.org/brush On the Los Angeles Fire Department’s website, you’ll find a fire-safety checklist.
- San Luis Obispo Fire Safe Display Garden The Fire Safe Garden, situated on a 1-acre hillside, provides a working model of landscape design principles aimed specifically at protecting property from wildfire.
Helpful Fire Resources as of 2/3/2025:
CalTech's Science Exchange
Resources for Recovery and Clean-up
- LA County Public Health Virtual Town Hall on Air Quality, Soil, Water, and Safe Cleanup After Wildfires (January 31, 2025)
- How to mitigate post-fire smoke impacts in your home (UC Boulder/CIRES)
- "The Fires: Air Quality, Public Health & What to Do Next" webinar hosted by the Coalition for Clean Air
- City of Pasadena Debris removal program
- My house didn't burn but ash from the L.A. fires fell in my yard. Can I eat from my garden? Is my soil safe? - Los Angeles Times
- Interested in allowing researchers to perform ash/soil testing on your property near the Eaton Fire? Fill out this Google Form.
- Paul Wennberg discusses air quality after the 2025 California fires - Caltech Science Exchange
Includes scientific papers analyzing data from previous fires and the science behind indoor air cleaners. - Caltech Aerosol Monitoring Site Collects Data in Aftermath of Urban Firestorm
- The Science of Post-Wildfire Debris Flows - Watson Lecture with Michael Lamb
- ASCENT Network real-time air quality data
- AQMD's AQI map
- Fire AirNow
- Purple Air (local, crowd-sourced reports)
- How to build your own air filter: https://cleanaircrew.org/box-fan-filters/
- Apply for a grant to receive supplies: https://www.cleanairk12.com/
Cell Phone Apps for Emergencies
Alert LA County mobile app
Alert LA County offers a free and convenient mobile smartphone application. Download this free app onto your smartphone so that you are equipped to receive emergency alerts and instructions from authorities if you are in an area within Los Angeles County that is being impacted by an emergency or disaster. You will also get free National Weather Service alerts and warnings on your cell phone. Download the Alert LA County app on your smartphone today! Click on either of the links below to download:
Register for L.A. County's emergency notifications: AlertLA
Apple iPhone users:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/alert-la-county/id1411575154?mt=8
Android users:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lacounty.alert
MyShake app
The MyShake is a comprehensive and free earthquake app. Receive timely, potentially life-saving early warning alerts in California, Oregon and Washington. MyShake uses the USGS ShakeAlertTM system to deliver alerts for earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 (or greater) several seconds before shaking arrives by receiving notifications on your phone. Participate in a smartphone-based global seismic network. Your phone becomes a mini-seismometer and contributes to the detection of earthquakes wherever you are.
Watch Duty app
Real-time wildfire maps, alerts, evacuation orders, shelters, air quality, and wind direction information and notifications.
Genasys Protect app
Download this app to make sure you know if/when to evacuate safely! If you have friends and family in the area, follow multiple locations, get notifications, and keep people informed of danger.
Alert LA County mobile app
Alert LA County offers a free and convenient mobile smartphone application. Download this free app onto your smartphone so that you are equipped to receive emergency alerts and instructions from authorities if you are in an area within Los Angeles County that is being impacted by an emergency or disaster. You will also get free National Weather Service alerts and warnings on your cell phone. Download the Alert LA County app on your smartphone today! Click on either of the links below to download:
Register for L.A. County's emergency notifications: AlertLA
Apple iPhone users:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/alert-la-county/id1411575154?mt=8
Android users:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lacounty.alert
MyShake app
The MyShake is a comprehensive and free earthquake app. Receive timely, potentially life-saving early warning alerts in California, Oregon and Washington. MyShake uses the USGS ShakeAlertTM system to deliver alerts for earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 (or greater) several seconds before shaking arrives by receiving notifications on your phone. Participate in a smartphone-based global seismic network. Your phone becomes a mini-seismometer and contributes to the detection of earthquakes wherever you are.
Watch Duty app
Real-time wildfire maps, alerts, evacuation orders, shelters, air quality, and wind direction information and notifications.
Genasys Protect app
Download this app to make sure you know if/when to evacuate safely! If you have friends and family in the area, follow multiple locations, get notifications, and keep people informed of danger.
City of Pasadena
Pasadena Local Alert Emergency System (PLEAS) – Register HERE
City of Pasadena website:
https://www.cityofpasadena.net/
Pasadena Water and Power:
https://pwp.cityofpasadena.net/news/
City Council District 3:
Council Member Justin Jones - [email protected]
Liaison Lisa Barrios – [email protected]
Phone: (626) 744-4738
Join the Mailing list
Pasadena Local Alert Emergency System (PLEAS) – Register HERE
City of Pasadena website:
https://www.cityofpasadena.net/
Pasadena Water and Power:
https://pwp.cityofpasadena.net/news/
City Council District 3:
Council Member Justin Jones - [email protected]
Liaison Lisa Barrios – [email protected]
Phone: (626) 744-4738
Join the Mailing list
L.A. County Emergency Guide (English version) -downloadable pdf:
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Federal Emergency Resources
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Air Quality:
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Garfield Heights Neighborhood Resources:
L.A. County 5-Step Neighborhood Action Plan
Download the 5-Step Neighborhood Action kit, forms, and facilitator guide below:
Download the 5-Step Neighborhood Action kit, forms, and facilitator guide below:
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Watch the 9/25/22 Dis Prep General meeting:
Watch the May 2021 General Meeting about the Neighborhood Disaster Action Plan, with Jeanne O'Donnell, Senior Program Manager of LA County Emergency Operations:
Map Your Neighborhood: "The Plan in Action"
This 10-minute video covers home and neighborhood preparedness when disaster strikes.