Fire Readiness
Fire readiness
The two most important things we can do to keep ourselves, our families, friends, neighbors, and animals safe during wildfires and other natural disasters is to thoroughly prepare in advance and listen to first responders when they tell us to evacuate.
The two most important things to do around our homes and workplaces are:
Maintain 5 feet of defensible space around structures.
Make sure that there are no opportunities for flying embers to enter structures or ignite combustibles that are directly adjacent.
Since 2022, this council has treated fire readiness as a top priority. Here’s what we’ve done so far:
Funding the Work
Allocated up to $1 million to fire readiness and prevention — for fuel removal, debris clearing, planting native trees, education, warning and evacuation plans.
Ratified the Fire Protection District ordinance (2025), strengthening how our valley organizes and sustains fire protection for the long term.
Installed battery backups at city facilities, because fire response depends on city functions that keep running when the power doesn't.
Reducing the Fuel
Carried out fuel reduction on city properties — the city clears its own land first, because we can't ask residents to do what we won't. We sent an RFP for this work in 2026 and began working with the CREW.
Advanced defensible space programs helping residents create the buffer between vegetation and homes that firefighters need to make a stand.
Community wildfire protection planning that maps our risks and priorities valley-wide, so resources go where the danger is greatest.
Partnering and Preparing
Built working partnerships with the CREW and the Ojai Valley Fire Safe Council — the organizations doing hands-on mitigation and neighbor-to-neighbor education across the valley.
Invested in public education so residents know their evacuation zones, their routes, and their responsibilities before the smoke comes.
Advanced evacuation readiness — because in a valley with limited ways out, the plan you make in advance is the one that saves you.
Allocated $1 million to fire readiness and prevention — real money, dedicated to keeping this valley defensible.
Ratified the Fire Protection District ordinance (2025), strengthening how our valley organizes and sustains fire protection for the long term.
Installed battery backups at city facilities, because fire response depends on city functions that keep running when the power doesn't.
What's Next: Four Commitments
Get warning sirens evaluated. This council is moving forward with investigating options for outdoor warning sirens. Cell alerts fail when towers burn, when power drops, and when people are asleep with phones silenced — a siren wakes the whole valley at once. The investigation will tell us the right system, coverage, and cost for our geography.
Put ember screens in residents' hands. Most homes lost in wildfires don't burn from the flame front — they ignite from embers that travel ahead of it and slip into attic and foundation vents. Ember-resistant vent screens are one of the cheapest, most effective home-hardening measures that exist, and this council is moving forward with providing them to residents. If we vote to move forward, I’ll work to make the program simple and equitable: prioritizing seniors, renters, and fixed-income households who are least able to retrofit on their own.
Make every neighborhood evacuation-ready. In my next term, I'll champion plans to become a Firewise community, working at the neighborhood level. This includes practice routes, clear communication protocols, and special attention to residents who need help evacuating, including seniors, people with disabilities, and households without vehicles.
Connect fire readiness to energy resilience. Our microgrid and resilience hub work is fire policy too. When fire or preventive shutoffs take down the grid, city facilities with solar and battery power become the places residents can find electricity, air filtration, and accurate information. I'll make sure our climate investments and our fire planning are designed as one system.
What Do you think? Please share!
The role of Ojai City Councilmember is about being your representative in our local government. I have priorities, but my main agenda is to serve YOU, the residents of Ojai. I’d love to hear your thoughts, concerns, and visions for our town.