The Los Angeles area fires are the latest example of the devastation that wildfires can cause and the reason more San Diegans are now taking steps to get better prepared.

To assist them, a recent community meeting was held to share a way residents can receive guidance, resources and even grant funds to help harden their homes and neighborhoods against the threat of wildfire. There were 26 people who attended from Talmadge, 21 from El Cerrito and several more from College View Estates, College Area-East and even Normal Heights.

Held in the College Area, the evening meeting was facilitated by the Fire Safe Council of San Diego County, Alvarado Estates Fire Safe Council and Kensington Fire Safe. 

Wildfire Resilience Program Manager, Morgan Dioli, gave an overview about what FSCs do, their benefits and how to get one organized. As a staff member of the Resource Conservation District of Greater San Diego, she provides support to the leaders of 43 FSCs in the Fire Safe Councils of San Diego County network. Fire agencies and allied organizations are also involved, supporting community-based FSCs in their efforts to turn program ideas into action.

Following the successful meeting, Dioli said, “Alvarado Estates and Kensington are currently the only FSCs in the Mid-City, so starting these new councils will help people living in additional neighborhoods and enable them to develop regional strategies and activities, and capitalize on resources together.” 

In fact, by design, each FSC develops goals and initiatives to address their own issues and needs. Some of the issues discussed by residents during the Jan. 8 meeting included wildfire ignition risks associated with homeless encampments, the need for better brush management on public and private lands, and concerns about adding housing density in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones, which could impact evacuation routes, fire hydrant water pressure and other aspects of local infrastructure. 

Reliving the Montezuma Fire 

Many people brought up news reports of people abandoning their cars while trying to flee the Pacific Palisades Fire and reported fatalities of people in cars in the Maui Fire. They also reflected on their own experiences during the Montezuma Fire on Halloween, Oct. 31, 2024. 

The nearly 40-acre fire along Montezuma Road between Collwood Blvd. and Fairmount Avenue, resulted in the evacuation of Hardy Elementary School and the neighborhoods surrounding the fire zone which were represented at the meeting. The Montezuma Fire was extinguished by the coordinated efforts of 18 fire agencies, including engine strike teams, hand crews, fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Several law enforcement agencies were also involved in fighting the fire from the air and assisting with evacuations on the ground, even dealing with a shooting on the University campus, just before 5 p.m., while people were still maneuvering through and around SDSU.

It was a harrowing day for many, exacerbated by problematic notification alerts, blocked evacuation routes and other issues that community members would still like to discuss and address. All agreed that there is much to be done, so they collectively decided on FSC boundaries and pledged to work together to better prepare their families, their properties and their neighborhoods.

Many FSCs start with some educational forums to help residents learn about various wildfire preparedness topics, such as pre-evacuation planning for future fires, how to create defensible space around habitable structures, retrofitting with ember resistant (air) vents on homes to screen out flying embers, fire insurance issues and more.

Like many San Diego neighborhoods, Kensington has steep canyons with hilltop homes. According to Judy Harrington, Co-Chair of Kensington Fire Safe, “Brush management is an ongoing issue, not a one and done cleanup. Because vegetation is always growing, our FSC encourages residents to periodically reduce the hazardous fuel load around their home by providing free use of greens dumpsters during our biannual “Dumpathons.” 

Alvarado Estates also has an incentive style effort to encourage homeowners to take proactive steps to reduce their risks. Fire science shows that an estimated 90% of homes are destroyed indirectly by wind-blown embers that are carried ahead of the fire perimeter, even from miles away. In fact, the one home which burned down as a result of the Montezuma Fire was in that neighborhood and was located across the road at the top of the opposite hillside from the fire zone. It’s very important to keep rubbish away from the first 5 feet around a home where embers can ignite and to retrofit a home with ember resistant vents to screen out flying embers.  

Turning risks into resilience   

It’s efforts like these which can help to increase the readiness of whole neighborhoods, turning risks into resilience.

Knowing that greater community involvement is essential to progress, Eva Yakutis volunteered to be on a steering committee to help complete the initial steps to form the El Cerrito area FSC. “We got lucky with the Montezuma Fire because there wasn’t any wind and there weren’t any other fires to take away the firefighting resources we needed,” she said. “But, we’ve seen how wildfires in Maui and, now, in Los Angeles have wiped out entire neighborhoods. That’s enough reason to get our act together. I hope many more people will join in, so we can work together as a neighborhood to withstand wildfires in the future.”

To learn more about the Fire Safe Council program and opportunities to get involved in your neighborhood, contact [email protected] or go to firesafesdcounty.org 

Karen Austin is Co-Chair of the Alvarado Estates Fire Safe Council. She also serves on her HOA board and represents her neighborhood on the College Area Community Council.

TOP PHOTO: Taken by Kathy Valverde, an Alvarado Estates resident, this 3:38 p.m. photo on Oct. 31 shows the lineup of cars on the gridlocked Montezuma Fire evacuation route through the San Diego State University campus. Many people were said to have eventually left the hours-long lineup to return home, while others tried desperately to get to their Hardy School children who had been evacuated to an area near Viejas Arena. (Photo by Kathy Valverde)