Rolling Hills city officials, concerned residents and the Los Angeles County Fire Department want to get the word out about an urgent threat — wildfires are now a year-round threat.
To do this, the city recently posted six short videos on its website in which Deputy Forester Trevor Moore from the LA County Fire Department’s forestry division teaches how to help prevent wildfires in his hometown and the Palos Verdes Peninsula as a whole. .
This is the second installment of this series of videos on reducing dead vegetation in canyons. The first series, which aired last year, was about how residents can reduce the risk of their homes catching fire with the help of neighborhood bullock captains.
One of the main concerns of the peninsula is the volcanic vegetation and rolling hills of three miles of hills, with the highest elevation at 2,100 feet in a hot and dry Mediterranean climate.
But Peninsula residents in all four cities can take tips from the videos. The videos were inspired by the Lower Block Captains program, which connects neighbors with first responders during emergencies like wildfires or earthquakes.
Lack of rain and dry vegetation are certainly a concern, Moore said in a recent interview, but he declined to make predictions this year.
“I wouldn’t say we’re predicting a crazy (fire) season,” Moore said.
A recent video series, “Canyon Management,” focuses on the importance of reducing dead vegetation in the city’s many canyons.
But most importantly, according to Moore, are the videos he and his captains created in 2021 focused on “hardening your home.” Those videos provide tips on how to protect one’s home from fire and fire.
If homeowners are concerned about wildfires, they should start with those videos, Moore said.
“I always stress to Joe the homeowner to start at home and make a fire escape,” Moore said. “So if you do all this great work in the valleys, it doesn’t matter if you don’t do anything around the house.”
Lead Block Captains Arlene and Gene Honbo help coordinate with the various Block Captains spread across the city in 24 zones or neighborhoods. This coordination is needed because the entire Palos Verdes Peninsula has been designated a “Very High Fire Severity Zone” by the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Watch the “Hardening Your Home” videos at bit.ly/3B1tC9B
Watch the Canyon Management videos at bit.ly/3nVLryU