Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Wildfire Mitigation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents and mitigation experts urge Thousand Oaks council to accelerate wildfire prevention work
Summary
Several residents and wildfire mitigation consultants urged the City Council to form a fire‑safe umbrella organization, expand resident education and accelerate parcel‑level mitigation after updated hazard maps designated large sections of the city as very high fire risk.
Residents and wildfire mitigation experts urged the Thousand Oaks City Council to adopt an urgent call to action on wildfire prevention, citing recent regional fires and updated state hazard maps that place large portions of the city at very high risk.
Chris Sam, a longtime Thousand Oaks resident who identified himself as a risk professional and leader of a local Firewise community, told the council that “a catastrophic fire impacting the city of Thousand Oaks is inevitable” and urged an immediate citywide mitigation effort, including a city fire‑safe council and greater resident education and engagement. He asked the council to adopt an urgent call to action and offered to volunteer time to help.
Peter Feller, president of the Agoura Hills Fire Safe Council and a wildfire mitigation consultant, told council that mitigation efforts must operate at the parcel level and focus on home hardening, defensible space and community wildfire prevention programs. Feller said communities around the Conejo Valley have established Firewise programs and ongoing education to track mitigation activities and improve resident preparedness.
Councilmembers and staff responded that the city has been engaging with County Fire. City Manager Drew Power said he had reached out to County Fire Chief Dustin Gardner and that the chief had been in contact with Mr. Sam; Police and Fire staff will follow up and the city will send a city representative to meet about possible collaboration and use of County Fire facilities for training and outreach.
Speakers said wildfire risk has affected homeowner insurance availability and home values in the region and that parcel‑level actions are a necessary complement to city and county planning. Councilmembers asked staff to continue coordination with fire agencies and residents and to provide updates as plans are developed.
