Diamond Bar council hears wildfire-preparedness briefing as residents report power outages and vegetation concerns

Diamond Bar — The City Council on Jan. 21 heard a multi-agency briefing on wildfire preparedness, water-system resilience and emergency notifications after recent wind-driven fires in Los Angeles County, and residents urged faster and clearer responses to power shutoffs and vegetation hazards.

City Manager Daniel Fox invited Los Angeles County Fire Department representatives and leaders from Walnut Valley Water District to update council members and the public on preparedness steps taken after wind events that preceded the Palisades and Eaton fires. Acting Assistant Chief Dustin Robertson of the Los Angeles County Fire Department outlined evacuation guidance, response levels and public tools for tracking incidents. Walnut Valley Water District General Manager Sherry Shaw described the district’s storage, generator and mutual-aid capabilities.

The presentations mattered because Diamond Bar sits in a wildland-urban interface where fast-moving fires, high winds and utility interruptions can converge to threaten homes and public safety. Council members and residents used the meeting to press officials for clearer evacuation warnings, better maintenance of hillsides and infrastructure, and explanations for why some neighborhoods experienced repeated public-safety power shutoffs (PSPS) while others did not.

Robertson urged residents to prepare now and to leave immediately when an evacuation order is issued. “The ready part of it is right now,” he said, summarizing the department’s Ready, Set, Go guidance. He told the council that evacuation orders — not warnings — are the signal to depart: “It’s the evacuation order… When it’s time to go, it’s time to go.” He recommended the free Watch Duty and Genesis Protect apps and described the county’s large first-alarm brush response for this area, which can include multiple engines, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft because Diamond Bar sits in a “mutual threat zone” shared with neighboring counties.

Shaw said the Walnut Valley Water District maintains what she called extensive storage and redundancy to support firefighting. “We have 32 reservoirs providing an average of 50,000,000 gallons of water in storage at all times,” she said, and noted the district’s 13 generators at critical sites and membership in mutual-aid networks such as PWAG and CalWARN. Shaw described routine maintenance, hydrant testing and outreach including fire-resistant landscaping workshops and a February 8 workshop at the Diamond Bar Center.

Council members asked practical questions about response times for medical calls during wide-area events, how PSPS messages are issued and why some neighborhoods in the city appear to receive repeated, extended outages. Robertson said medical and emergency medical services continued to be staffed during the recent wind events but acknowledged the county experienced atypical staffing pressures the night of the Palisades fire. On false or repeated evacuation notifications, Robertson said the county’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) receives location identifiers and issues the public messages; a misplaced or misstated identifier can cause an alert to go incorrectly to a broader area.

Several residents asked council to press Southern California Edison (SCE) for explanations and remedies after extended PSPS outages in parts of southern Diamond Bar. Longtime resident Eleonore Barua asked, “Why is it only the south end of Diamond Bar that’s being affected?” and said outages lasting many hours are causing safety and quality-of-life concerns. City officials said they would continue to invite SCE representatives to a council meeting to seek answers.

Other residents pressed city staff about vegetation management and hillside maintenance. Amy Mao, a board member of the gated Diamond Hills Ranch community, said residents seek a “comprehensive preventative plan” and asked, “Who can we contact within the city to begin those conversations?” City Manager Fox and staff said public-works and fire-department channels would be the primary contacts for weed abatement and defensible-space coordination and that staff would follow up individually.

Residents also described specific local problems. Douglas Barcomb and Lorraine Neely reported inconsistent street-lighting and deferred brush clearing on private parcels that border their neighborhoods, and urged the city to increase inspection cadence and enforcement where ownership and maintenance responsibilities are unclear. Neely said she has repeatedly reported a hill that once received twice-yearly clearing and now appears to be the property of a neighbor; she called for more reliable city follow-up when residents report hazards.

What’s next: staff said the city will keep seeking SCE participation in a council meeting, continue local outreach on wildfire readiness beginning in March, and promote the Walnut Valley Water District’s upcoming workshops. Robertson reiterated that residents should prepare evacuation plans and “know how you’re gonna get out of your street and your community,” and Shaw encouraged residents to consult the district’s website and attend community workshops about fire-resistant landscaping and local water-supply resilience.

Community members who raised issues at the meeting were told staff or department liaisons would follow up directly; council did not take formal votes on new emergency authorities or ordinances during the presentation.