By CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA | Reporter
Community leaders in The Highlands have planned a wildfire safety meeting for Tuesday, March 19, at 7 p.m. at Calvary Christian School.
The meeting will include fire chiefs with the Los Angeles Fire Department West Division who will give a presentation on wildfire safety in The Highlands.
“With the Woolsey and Camp fires, it appears that we’re in a very similar situation where we’re surrounded by forests [and brush],” said Steve Cron, The Highlands representative on the Pacific Palisades Community Council.
Cron and his fellow Highlanders are deeply troubled with the prospect of a fire cutting off their sole escape route on Palisades Drive, as the fire road leading out of the top of the neighborhood would not be a feasible option.
After taking a tour with fire officials and Lisa Cahill, a representative for Councilmember Mike Bonin, the group agreed to host an informative meeting to answer questions and update the community on what has, and what needs, to be done.
“The nice thing about this is that they’ve come out and talked about brush clearance, escape routes and what would happen if up in The Highlands there was ever a fire,” Cron said. “You could imagine what a disaster that would be.”
But with fire officials not currently engaging in prescribed burns, a method used to burn hazardous areas under a controlled environment, continuous fuels in the area pose a great threat to the urban interface and community that has been built on the hillside.
The Highlands community most recently suffered a wildfire scare back in February of 2018 after a small brush fire broke out in Topanga State Park and singed a quarter of an acre.
In 2014, close to five acres burned after teens playing with matches set the area ablaze.
Calvary Christian School is
located at 701 Palisades Drive.
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