Beverly Hills is known for its expanses of green space and canopies of trees. As of 2019, the city was home to approximately 25,000 trees in the public right-of-way and municipal parks, with the oldest planted trees dating back to 1907. Still, this is Los Angeles–a desert, by any measure–and at a time of worsening fires and a changing climate, fire safety has taken on added importance. While the city has commissioned numerous fire safety reports over the years, a new report out this week takes a new, holistic look not just at the threats to the city, but how police, fire, businesses, and the community can help reduce them.
With the release of the new Wildfire Assessment Report, slated for release on July 9 at 9 a.m., the city is holding two community meetings on July 12 and 13 at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., respectively, to provide residents an opportunity to hear from the consultants who authored the report and the experts who contributed to it. The report looks at key areas of risk and risk mitigation, including public trees, private landscaping, public education, evacuation challenges, smoke impacts, structure resiliency, and many other issues.
