Wildfires are a year-round threat that affect every community in California. To strengthen preparedness and resilience efforts, agencies are taking proactive steps to reduce risk, build partnerships and equip communities with tools to better prepare and respond to wildfire events. 

In January 2025, the City of Westlake Village launched efforts to develop a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP), a key tool for identifying local wildfire risks and prioritizing actions to reduce them. 

To initiate the CWPP process, Westlake Village partnered with Conservation Concierges, a nonprofit focused on wildfire safety. Through this partnership the City received just over $25,000 in grant funding to start the scoping phase of the plan. This phase helps define the CWPP’s scope by assessing local wildfire risks, engaging key partners and residents and prioritizing actions; such as fuel reduction, evacuation planning and home hardening.

The City formed a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) that included Home Owners Association (HOA) members, fire personnel, neighboring agencies and other key partners who met regularly to help identify local wildfire risks and priorities. Ideas and priorities identified by the community and TAG include:

  • Development of wildfire fuel mitigation and evacuation route planning tools.
  • Creation of an approved vegetation list for fire-safe landscaping.
  • Home hardening education and voluntary property inspections.
  • Comprehensive HOA wildfire planning to improve insurance outcomes.

The initiative, led by Westlake Village City Manager Rob De Geus, emphasized that wildfire preparedness requires collaboration: 

“Preparing for a wildfire is not just a City responsibility, it’s a shared commitment with our residents and partners,” said City Manager Rob De Geus. “This planning process ensures our community is not only more aware of wildfire risks but also better equipped to respond to them.”

The CWPP is expected to take 12–18 months to complete and will include additional opportunities for residents and community partners to provide feedback and shape local wildfire resilience efforts.

In alignment, the City has secured a $100,000 grant from the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, which will partially fund the CWPP and fully fund the City’s annual weed abatement program. Additional grant opportunities are being pursued to fully fund the project.

To view the City of Westlake Village’s staff report and to learn more information on fire preparedness, check out this LINK article https://localinfonetwork.com/topic/305-wildfire-preparedness/#comment-483  

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