Preparing For The Worst Wildfire (And Other Headlines)

As vegetation dries up and the Santa Ana winds start to blow, Los Angeles County residents face an increased risk of wildfires — especially in areas that have not burned in decades.

The Potential Impact For Topanga Canyon

Take Topanga Canyon, for example. It’s been 30 years since that community has experienced a devastating fire, and there’s been a lot of chaparral growth since then — a shrubland plant that can provide a lot of fuel to flames. Now, experts are analyzing just how bad the next major wildfire will be.

My colleague Jacob Margolis spoke with Drew Smith, a fire behavior analyst with L.A. County Fire, about why responders are preparing for the worst case scenario.

The dense chaparral combined with potential Santa Ana Winds and steep terrain could lead to a “nightmare scenario,” Jacob reports. Firefighters are also battling time in these situations, Smith says. Firefighters must contain a blaze within the first 10 minutes, or there’s a risk it will spread far and fast.

Topanga Canyon is not alone in this situation. Though it’s been a mild fire season, Smith warns against complacency.

“Under the right conditions,” he says, “we have a high potential for a devastating fire in the Santa Monica Mountains that hasn’t seen fire frequency in 25 years.”

Read more of Jacob’s story today to learn how you can prepare for a wildfire.

Stay safe and cool, L.A. There’s more news below — just keep reading.

More news

(After you stop hitting snooze)

• Speed cameras are coming to Los Angeles, Long Beach and Glendale. It’s part of a pilot program allowed by a new law recently signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.  
• The use of diphacinone, a type of rat poison, has been put on pause due to a law recently signed by the Governor. The hope is that it will help L.A.’s wildlife since many creatures have been sickened by it. 
• Here’s a list of a few other bills signed into law by the Governor, and a few that have been vetoed. 
• Entrepreneur and actress Suzanne Somers, famous for playing the ultimate “dumb blonde” on Three’s Company, has died. She would have turned 77 today.
• Investigative journalists discovered a loophole in the Clean Air Act that has allowed regulators to downplay the harms of pollution that come with big wildfires. This regulatory escape hatch has allowed millions of Americans to continue to breathe toxic air, and California is the biggest offender. 
• Here’s more: The exceptional events rule allows regulators to get away with bypassing air pollution concerns in order to meet federal air-quality standards. California Newsroom journalists wrote about how the Environmental Protection Agency allows regulators to get away with it. 
• Speaking of wildfires and air pollution, many homeowners are finding out that companies will not insure their homes. The Grist’s Lois Parshley has more on why homeowners face rejection from insurance companies. 
• Looking for some fun this week? Listen to New York Times best-selling author Molly Baz talk about her new cookbook More is More: Get Loose in the Kitchen on Monday at The Theatre at Ace Hotel. Get your groove on at the Angel City Jazz Festival all throughout this month at various locations. View the exhibition William Blake: Visionary at The Getty Center now through January 14. Check out these events and more are on the Best Things To Do This Week list.

Wait! One more thing…

making fashion sustainable in Los Angeles

How many fast fashion brands can you think of? For me, Zara, Forever 21 and Shein come to mind. Before I became aware of the negative environmental impact of fast fashion brands, I indulged monthly in the latest styles from those companies. It can be hard to take your hand off that cute $9 bodysuit in exchange for clothing that costs more money, but lasts much longer.

The thing is — the clothing that stands the test of time is often the best thing for our planet. And Los Angeles, the epicenter for American-made clothing, is the perfect place to learn all about why that is.

How To LA’s Brian De Los Santos and Megan Botel spoke with a few folks that know a thing or two about sustainable fashion and why it’s so crucial for us to buy from hyper-local businesses that practice a conscious clothes-making process, from using organic textiles to plastic-free packaging. Workers are also more likely to be paid fairly.

Mary Price, the founder of the Ocean + Main clothing company in L.A., says there is no single use plastic in her company, for example. She also says the company only makes what it can sell and doesn’t overproduce items.

“I’ve been in the business for 30 years and have seen the copious amounts of waste in production across the globe,” Price says. “And the way that we treat people and the planet to produce garments has gotten so far away from how we used to manufacture. Between making our clothes and growing our food, we’ve just gotten so far from the source.”

Listen to the HTLA podcast to learn more about how L.A. is embracing the sustainable fashion movement.