Burbank officials describe multi‑department wildfire response as residents press council to block rent hikes

Burbank officials told the City Council on Jan. 14 that city departments maintained emergency operations through a major wind event and subsequent regional wildfires even as residents and tenant organizers demanded local action to block post‑fire rental price increases.

At a briefing before public comment, Fire Chief Danny Alvarez said the department increased staffing and helped the region while handling far more calls than normal. "Beginning last Tuesday morning ... the fire department responded to 181 calls for service in the 24 hour period from Tuesday morning at 9 AM to Wednesday morning at 9 AM. And for perspective, in a 24 hour period, we usually average 32 calls," Chief Alvarez said. He also told council the city’s Emergency Operations Center had been activated and that Burbank had not been placed under evacuation orders.

Why it matters: Residents said the regional destruction and displacement will put severe pressure on Burbank’s rental market. Dozens of speakers during the meeting’s long public‑comment period urged the council to impose a temporary rent freeze and an emergency moratorium on no‑fault evictions to prevent what they described as immediate price gouging of units made scarce by the fires.

What officials reported - Fire response: Chief Alvarez credited interdepartmental coordination and mutual‑aid efforts. He said the city increased engine staffing and added a rapid response patrol; the department also supported strike teams elsewhere in Los Angeles County. He warned the community of continued "red flag" conditions and urged residents to sign up for Alert Burbank.

- Power and water: Mandeep Samra, general manager of Burbank Water and Power (BWP), said crews worked around the clock to restore service after the winds. He reported four utility poles in Burbank broke in the event and were replaced by Sunday. He said BWP recorded a high volume of calls to 311 (the transcript referenced "998 calls" to 311) and that most outage reports had been resolved; staff said a small number remained open. Samra also stressed that Burbank’s water supply remained safe to drink during the storms, saying, "the water in Burbank continues to be safe to drink and does not need to be boiled." He noted that public water systems are designed for structure fire protection, not to supply the kinds of flows used against wildfires.

- Emergency communications: Jonathan Jones, the city’s public information officer, described the city’s information hubs (readyburbank.org and the red‑flag updates page) and encouraged residents to sign up for Alert Burbank. City staff also said two interpreters (Spanish and Armenian) were made available for public comment.

Public concerns and city response Dozens of speakers — tenants, tenants‑rights organizers and community groups — pressed for immediate local protections after sharing examples of rapid online rent increases and eviction threats in the days after the fires. Speakers documented spreadsheets of hundreds of listings they described as “price gouging” and asked the council to enact an emergency rent freeze and moratorium on no‑fault evictions.

City Attorney (title used in public report) responded with legal context: the office pointed to existing state anti‑gouging law (Penal Code section 396), explained the 10% price‑cap that applies for vacant housing in statewide anti‑gouging enforcement, and described SB 1482 (the state tenant protection act) protections for occupied units (the attorney referenced the state cap at roughly 8.9% for the year). The city attorney said the city has a newly funded Housing Enforcement Unit and is prepared to investigate complaints, and urged residents to submit evidence to the city so staff can follow up. The clerk published a housing enforcement intake phone number (818‑238‑5180) on the record and the city attorney noted coordination with the district attorney and other enforcement agencies.

What the council did at the meeting Council members and staff declined to adopt an immediate local rent freeze at the Jan. 14 meeting. Councilors and the city attorney described existing enforcement resources and encouraged residents to report specific listings and notices so the city can follow up. The council did discuss potential urgency actions later in the meeting (the city attorney noted emergency agenda additions require a two‑thirds or four‑fifths finding). Council members also directed staff to continue public outreach and to coordinate with county and nonprofit resources for shelter and recovery assistance.

Context and next steps Speakers said price gouging and illegal rent increases were already being tracked by tenant groups and county partners. The city attorney said the city would look into allegations; the enforcement unit said prior enforcement efforts had resulted in compliance when formal warnings were issued. Council members asked for follow‑up reports from staff on housing and relief options and for contact information so displaced residents and local employees can be identified and referred to temporary housing resources.

Ending note: City officials reiterated that Burbank itself had no evacuation orders at the time of the meeting and urged residents to use the city’s emergency notification systems and official web pages for verified donation sites, shelter information and volunteer sign‑ups.