The recent Palisades and Altadena fires brought Los Angeles’ inherent contradictions into sharp focus as residents fled their homes in darkness, uncertain if they would ever see their cherished, often magical, properties again. Many were born and raised in these places, many had young families they called home, yet faced an unprecedented but not entirely predictable crisis. While high winds and fires were recorded in the journals of Spanish explorer Portola and remembered in Tongva tribal histories, California’s 21st-century fire record has reached unprecedented intensity, revealing the growing vulnerability of our urban landscape.
This vulnerability, while dramatic, illustrates a fundamental truth about life in LA: extraordinary beauty comes with extraordinary risk. Los Angeles presents a unique urban proposition – a global metropolis nestled against untamed natural environs. The forces shaping our southern areas operate on a geologic timescale far beyond human comprehension. Recent fires exposed this reality, beginning in bone-dry chaparral hills that hadn’t experienced natural burn cycles for decades. Following two wet seasons and 9 months without rain but with high winds generating low humidity, all new growth became perfect kindling, threatening the thousands of densely constructed homes. The structures built 50 to 100 years ago were under less protective seismic and fire-resistant codes proving to be especially vulnerable.
The intensity of these fires exposed critical weaknesses in our emergency response systems. The standard home fire response—two trucks and fifteen firefighters—proved woefully inadequate against wind-driven blazes consuming entire blocks in a short time span. As three retired LAFD Captains noted, the extreme weather forecasts should have triggered advance strategic positioning of fire truck equipment and substantial personnel. Adding to these challenges, critical infrastructure failures complicated the response when the LA Department-of-Water-and-Power emptied the reservoir intended for fighting fires in the Palisades without informing the LAFD. Despite these overwhelming odds—being undermanned and lacking water at hydrants—the scheduled firefighters demonstrated remarkable dedication, working double shifts without food or sleep.
As the southland fires continue to burn, we must look beyond immediate firefighting to address long-term resilience through comprehensive protection strategies. Environmental management must play a crucial role, conducting regular controlled burns in high-risk areas, dedicated maintenance of wild-environ trails as fire breaks, and introducing animal grazing to reduce wild-plant fuel loads. These preventive measures must be coupled with the establishment of defensible buffer zones around clusters of homes, creating manageable spaces that give firefighters a fighting chance.
In the immediate aftermath of these fires, community organization will become the cornerstone of recovery. Neighborhood groups are thrust into coordinating multiple priorities simultaneously: securing Environmental-Protection-Agency approval for hazardous debris removal, stabilizing flood-prone areas, and working with LA County Public Works on exterior cleanup and restoration. Those homes that escaped direct fire damage require deep cleaning to remove accumulated ash and smoke-damaged interiors. Through collective action, these community groups need to demand the city expedite the promised permit process, and restoration of essential infrastructure, while advocating for regulatory relief.
The lessons learned from recent fires must reshape our approach to modern fire protection, and revise enforcement of the fire safety measures already in place. Property owners shall implement the LAFD Fire Prevention Bureau guidelines, beginning with five-foot hardscape perimeters around all structures. This individual responsibility extends to the community level, where increased spacing between houses must replace the dense construction patterns that enabled recent fires to spread so rapidly. By incorporating advanced fire systems, including ember-resistant vents, fire-resistant siding, non-combustible deck, and patio construction, and enhanced sprinklers, multiple layers of protection will work in concert with community-wide safety measures.
This rebuilding process brings both immediate challenges and long-term opportunities for affected communities. While LA City’s preference for “like for like” replacement using existing infrastructure and codes offers a straightforward path forward, homeowners must still navigate a complex web of administrative paperwork with the city and FEMA, insurance inspections for settlements, and financing options. The preservation of neighborhood character depends heavily on encouraging residents to rebuild rather than relocate—a goal that may require city subsidies to help implement enhanced fire safety measures with sprinklers for example. To guide this transformation, resources like the “Regenerative Materials NOW: A Playbook for Designers & Specifiers” will provide crucial direction for creating safer, more resilient homes maintaining the area’s architectural integrity.
Looking ahead, our experiences must inform the development of a modern firefighting framework that addresses current challenges comprehensively. This evolution requires a multi-faceted approach: establishing effective mass evacuation routes, implementing strategic fire breaks between buildings, and advancing training programs for emergency teams to improve response to fire behaviors. City programs must similarly adapt, ensuring robust early warning systems, fully coordinated communication networks, and consistent vegetation management throughout the year. These improvements cannot exist in isolation but must work in concert with the citizens and advocate within LA City and County to create a resilient emergency response system.
The undeniable impact of climate change on fire behavior demands that we move forward to more effective fire prevention and control. While the urgency of rebuilding calls for expedited processes, we seize the crucial opportunity to implement best-practices safety improvements with revised building codes. This watershed moment demands innovation, cooperation, and an unwavering commitment to change. Through collective action and forward-thinking solutions, we can preserve Los Angeles’s unique character while adapting to new environmental realities, ensuring that future generations can safely enjoy Los Angeles which is unlike few places on Earth with a sublimity to residents who get to call this remarkable landscape home.
New Path Forward
The Palisades/Altadena fires are a glaring lesson. SMa.r.t. will have more to say regarding fire safety code evolution, rebuilding after a mega-fire, non-combustible building materials, and other resilience alternatives in our following articles.
Jack Hillbrand AIA, Architect for SMa.r.t.
Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow
Samuel Tolkin, Architect & Planning Commissioner; Thane Roberts, Architect;
Mario Fonda-Bonardi AIA, Architect; Robert H. Taylor AIA, Architect;
Dan Jansenson, Architect & Building and Fire-Life Safety Commission,
Michael Jolly, AIRCRE; Marie Standing; Jack Hillbrand AIA, Architect;
Phil Brock, SM Mayor (ret)
