Calabasas Council unanimously adopts Community Wildfire Protection Plan to prioritize fuel reduction and evacuation improvements

The Calabasas City Council unanimously adopted a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) on June 10, approving a multi-year blueprint to reduce wildfire risk and improve evacuation and community preparedness.

Public-safety staff and consultants described the plan as a product of 16 months of modeling, field validation and community engagement. "This plan identifies the risk and then provides detailed mitigation efforts to address those risks," said Peter Feller, president of the Agoura Hills Fire Safe Council, during public comment, urging the council to adopt the document. Michael Dyer, the city's public-safety and wildfire protection director, told the council the CWPP is designed to improve the city's competitiveness for grants and to coordinate treatments with county and regional partners.

The plan relies on industry-standard hazard modeling and local field visits to identify priority treatment areas. Chief Rob Hazard of consultant Dudek summarized the technical work: the team used flame-length and fire-progression modeling to identify locations where high-intensity fires intersect existing neighborhoods, then prioritized fuel-reduction work where it would most reduce risk to structures.

Allison, a project specialist with the consultants, said the plan also reflects public feedback gathered from workshops and an online survey: residents prioritized evacuation routes, fuel management on public lands and clear, practical steps homeowners can take to harden structures and create defensible space.

Chief Drew Smith of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, appearing remotely, praised the plan and thanked the project team: "This is a very well-developed plan that shows a proactive approach to community resiliency to wildfire threats."

The CWPP is not an environmental approval or a project-level authorization; it is a planning document that recommends projects and strategies for fuel treatments, structure hardening, public outreach, evacuation improvements and post-fire rehabilitation. Staff emphasized the CWPP will be used to coordinate partners and to support competitive grant applications for implementation funding.

Council members praised the plan's public process and technical grounding. Councilmember David said the plan and its story-map tools will help residents understand priorities and next steps. Councilmember Alicia asked staff to make the interactive story map widely available to residents so the public can find the specific recommendations affecting their neighborhoods.

The council's vote formalizes the city's acceptance of the CWPP; staff said the next steps include pursuing grants for prioritized fuel-reduction projects, integrating actions into city planning documents where appropriate, and beginning community outreach on defensible-space and evacuation preparedness. The council also asked staff to return with progress benchmarks and to report back on early grant-application opportunities.

What happens next: adoption makes Calabasas more competitive for state and federal wildfire-risk funds. Staff recommended that residents consult the plan's story map for neighborhood-level recommendations and contact the city's wildfire-preparedness staff about homeowner resources and pilot projects.