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Agoura Hills approves 2025 Community Wildfire Risk Assessment, council urges swift action toward a CWPP
Summary
After a detailed presentation by Jensen Hughes, the council unanimously approved the 2025 Community Wildfire Risk Assessment, which identifies Liberty Canyon and eastern neighborhoods as higher-risk areas and recommends steps including public education, fuels management, home hardening and evacuation-planning; staff said funding is secured to begin the subsequent Community Wildfire Protection Plan.
Agoura Hills The City Council voted unanimously to approve the 2025 Agoura Hills Community Wildfire Risk Assessment (CWRA), a data-driven analysis intended to support a forthcoming Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) and to unlock grant funding for mitigation projects.
Jensen Hughes principal presenter David Kerr walked council members through the report's methods and findings: modeling that combined hazard (fire behavior), ignition and historical fire data, and mapped exposures (structures, infrastructure and natural-resource values). The assessment used high-end weather scenarios (the 3% worst-case wind/dry conditions) to model flame lengths and fire-line intensity and then layered those results with community assets to identify higher-risk corridors. Liberty Canyon and portions of the eastern city were flagged repeatedly as areas of elevated frequency and hazard.
Kerr and staff emphasized the assessment is the first step; the CWRA is meant to feed a CWPP that will define spatially-specific projects, treatment standards, and funding priorities. Public engagement included 381 survey respondents and two workshops; common public concerns cited in the report included insurance and home-hardening costs, defensible-space enforcement, and evacuation challenges. Jensen Hughes and city staff recommended actions including expanded public education, increased interagency coordination (MRCA, National Park Service, LA County Fire), vegetation and fuels management along key egress routes, and evaluation of communications redundancy for evacuations.
Public commenter Jay Crutcher urged urgency, noting live-fuel moisture is low and many residents feel unprepared; he recommended faster movement to the CWPP phase. Council members echoed urgency and asked staff to prioritize high-value and low-cost "low-hanging fruit" projects while pursuing grant funding. The council noted that Agoura Hills has secured grant funding to begin CWPP development and that staff will work with Jensen Hughes and stakeholders to develop the next-phase plan and a project prioritization framework.
What happens next: With council approval, staff will proceed to develop the CWPP (the planning phase that identifies specific mitigation projects), pursue state and federal grant opportunities, and return to council with prioritized projects and implementation recommendations.
