Our thoughts are with all those affected by the devastating fires across Southern California. Theodore Payne Foundation will strive to help traumatized communities recover from this tragedy. Foundation efforts will focus on supporting ecologically sensitive choices. The following comprises information, guidelines, and resources to support collective efforts to address the challenges fire poses to both our natural landscapes and built environments.

Compounding Factors and the Escalating Fire Risk
The 2025 wildfires in Altadena and Pacific Palisades are extraordinary in both scale and behavior, dramatically amplifying the impacts typically associated with Santa Ana windstorms. Compounding factors that fueled the catastrophic fires include unusually powerful and erratic windstorms, low humidity, unprecedented heatwaves, and an extended dry spell during the traditionally rainy fall and winter seasons. This prolonged drought further dehydrated the landscape, creating ideal conditions for fires to spread across both parched wildlands and densely developed areas within the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI), where human-built structures provided additional fuel. Areas of WUI often include areas affected by invasive plant species, which can be more flammable than native vegetation adapted for our local ecology, further intensifying the fire temperatures and increasing risk. These fires underscored the escalating challenges posed by climate change, which magnified fire intensity and complicated containment efforts.

Allow Wildlands to Regenerate Naturally (as they have done for millennia):
In addition to razing cherished neighborhoods, the recent fires across Los Angeles County burned through Chaparral, Coastal Sage Scrub, and Oak Woodland in the Santa Monica and San Gabriel Mountains. Many species in these native plant communities are adapted to fire and able to rebound with no human intervention; recovery methods include crown sprouting (regrowing from underground roots or stems) and seeds that germinate only after a fire. Intervention can be harmful. Hydro-seeding, for example, can inhibit germination of the existing native seed bank, introduce inappropriate species to the site, reduce biodiversity, and fail to stabilize soils.

If your home is below a burned slope, installation of jute netting and straw wattles can reduce erosion without inhibiting long-term recovery of native vegetation. Deep-rooted natives, such as laurel sumac, re-sprout readily and hold steep slopes much more effectively than anything newly planted. Be wary of landscaping scams that purport to protect hillsides.

Plant Urban Areas with Natives to Provide Refuge for Displaced Wildlife:
Choose plants that are local to your area. A variety of species that produce flowers, seeds and berries at different times of year would be most beneficial, as would sources of fresh water.

Implement Home Hardening and Defensible Space Landscaping:
A fire-resilient home is easier to protect. Home hardening involves making structural improvements to a building—such as using fire-resistant materials, sealing gaps, and installing ember-resistant vents— to reduce its vulnerability to wildfires. Defensible space guidelines and fire-safe landscaping requirements vary by area and fire authority, so be sure to follow local regulations and recommendations. See below for more resources.

Be Patient with Nature:
Fire has long been part of Southern California ecology. The native vegetation is resilient, and we must give it time and space to regenerate. For now, take advantage of this opportunity to watch natural succession in action. Please check back with Theodore Payne Foundation for updates on how the plants in the Santa Monica and San Gabriel Mountains are responding as ecological recovery unfolds in the post-fire landscape.

Our Wildfire Resilience Program:
The Theodore Payne Foundation has been a leader in wildfire resilience education, inspired in part by the 2017 La Tuna Fire, which came dangerously close to our headquarters in the Los Angeles Sun Valley neighborhood. For us, this near-crisis underscored the urgent need for widespread public awareness about sustainable landscape practices and proactive wildfire preparedness, including critical home hardening measures. Since then, we have developed programs and resources emphasizing the use of California native plants to create fire-adapted urban landscapes. When properly placed and maintained, these plants can act as fire buffers while conserving water, reducing the spread of invasive species, and providing essential urban habitat for local wildlife. Over the past five years, the Theodore Payne Foundation has implemented wildfire awareness initiatives in key WUI areas, providing thousands of Southern Californians with vital information through in-person and online classes, public outreach events, and digital resources. Additionally, we’ve incorporated best practices for wildfire-resilient landscaping into our California Native Plant Landscaper Certification program for landscape professionals. Please look for these upcoming learning opportunities available to the public.

• Landscaping for Wildfire Resilience (online and in-person)
• Paisajismo Resistente a los Incendios (en línea y en persona)
• Fire-Resilient Gardens: A Maintenance Walk-and-Talk (in-person)
• Jardines Resistentes al Incendios: Paseo y Charla Sobre Mantenimiento (en persona)
• Botany of Fire (online and in-person)
• Chaparral 101: Plants, People, and Place (online and in-person)
• Adaptive Chaparral Walk and Talk (in-person)
• Wildfire Community Preparedness (in-person)
• Garden Design Basics for Wildfire Resilience (in-person)

Classes are posted monthly:  https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/wildfire-2179019

To receive monthly class updates via email, sign up for our newsletter: https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/subscribe?a=KGCiaD&g=Q42bZZ

Resources

• Theodore Payne Foundation | Wildfire in Southern California
  https://theodorepayne.org/wildfire-in-southern-california/
• Fire Ecology
  https://theodorepayne.org/fire-ecology/
• Post-Fire Regeneration
  https://theodorepayne.org/post-fire-regeneration/
• Landscaping for Wildfire Resilience
  https://theodorepayne.org/landscaping-for-wildfire-resilience/
• Rethinking Resilience to Wildfire (Brochure)
  https://theodorepayne.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Brochure_RethinkingResilienceToWildfire_Spreads_SM.pdf
• Invasive Plants of Southern California
  https://theodorepayne.org/invasive-plants/
• CalFire Home Hardening and Defensible Space
  https://www.fire.ca.gov/home-hardening
• County of Los Angeles Fire Department
  https://fire.lacounty.gov/rsg/
• Los Angeles Fire Department, How to Have a Fire-Wise Home
  http://www.lafd.org/safety/fire-safety/fire-what-to-do/how-have-firewise-home
• Official State of California website for information about LA fires
  https://www.ca.gov/lafires/
• California Fire Science Consortium
  https://www.cafirescience.org/about
• National Fire Protection Association
  https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/wildfire/firewise-usa