A:  Yes, the resources below teach you how to install native plant landscaping in your yard to create wildfire resilience.

Self-study resources

• Video: Landscaping for Wildfire Defense 
• Brochure: Rethinking Resilience to Wildfire – includes TPFs recommendations on plant selection
• Webpage: Invasive Plants of Southern California – Identify fire-prone plants for removal
• Book: Firescaping Your Home: A Manual For Readiness in Wildfire Country
• Book: Firescaping: Protecting Your Home with a Fire-Resistant Landscape, 2nd Edition

Practical classes for wildfire resilience:

• Landscaping for Wildfire Resilience (online and in-person, free)
• Paisajismo Resistente a los Incendios (en línea y en persona, gratuita)
• Fire-Resilient Gardens: A Maintenance Walk-and-Talk (in-person, free)
• Jardines Resistentes al Incendios: Paseo y Charla Sobre Mantenimiento (en persona, gratuita)
• Garden Design Basics for Wildfire Resilience (in-person, beginning in June)

Understanding the wildfire ecology of Southern California:

• Chaparral 101: Plants, People, and Place (online and in-person, free)
• Botany of Fire (online and in-person, free)
• Adaptive Chaparral Walk and Talk (in-person)

All classes are posted monthly on Humanitix.  To receive monthly class updates via email, sign up for our newsletter

A:   Yes!  We host a job board that provides a free market service for you to connect with landscape and garden service professionals who are committed to native plant, drought tolerant, and climate-resilient gardens.  Submit your request using this form and specify in your post that you are looking for firewise landscaping and maintenance.

(This job board is intended for referrals only and does not imply endorsement. Theodore Payne Foundation is not responsible for the practices or products of outside professionals and businesses.) 

A:  Yes! Fire-resistant landscaping is part of our California Native Plant Landscaper Certificate Program (CNPLC).  Learn more.  If you are a landscaping professional who is interested in creating and maintaining native, fire-resistant gardens, please also join our Professional Community.  Through Professional Community Membership, you will gain access to the job board and have the ability to bid for such work: education.theodorepayne.org/pro-community-membership.

We also plan to offer Garden Design Basics for Wildfire Resilience for landscape professionals in-person, beginning in June. 

A:  Absolutely.  We are also growers, but the need for native plants greatly outstrips our ability to produce them.  We would be happy to advise you or collaborate with you to create a greater supply of biodiverse, locally sourced, native plants for fire-resistant landscaping.  Contact us at info@theodorepayne.org or 818-768-1802.  

A: We love LA too, and we applaud and welcome your generosity and community spirit. There are many ways to get involved!

First, if you have the means, please support us by donating and by becoming a member of the Theodore Payne Foundation.  Your contribution directly helps us to… 

• Provide our community with over 125,000 plants and 45,000 seed packets representing the rich biodiversity of our state, including the plants local to our own threatened wildlands.  

• Train home gardeners and professional landscapers to create wildfire- and drought-resistant native landscapes 

• Facilitate community action for better stewardship of our native plants, land and resources 

Second, we recommend increasing your knowledge of wildfires, native habitats, and wildfire resilience in both built and natural environments.  The topic is nuanced and sometimes counter-intuitive; It is woven into much of our learning content. By becoming informed you can help spread awareness and guide smart decision making at individual and community levels.   

Finally, when active replanting and restoration efforts begin in burned areas, we will happily share any opportunities to participate in community projects. Meanwhile, we kindly suggest that you refrain from scattering seeds in burned wildland (unmanaged) areas.  We know this inclination is well intentioned, but there is a natural succession process that happens in such areas. Additionally, in traveling to and through burn areas people may unintentionally introduce invasive plants that pose a threat to native plants. Please do not enter areas closed for rehabilitation to allow the existing native seeds in wild areas the chance to germinate without competition.

For now, please focus on creating wildfire resilience in existing gardens and landscaping. If you want to get your hands dirty, consider volunteering at TPF to learn more about native plants and our Southern California ecosystems. Our volunteers have opportunities to work directly with our knowledgeable staff and participate in seed programs, plantings, fire-wise site maintenance, and more. 

A: Invasive plants can heighten an areas’ susceptibility to wildfires, floods, and landslides by displacing native plants that have specifically evolved to the local landscape. In the case of wildfire, certain invasive plants have characteristics that may cause them to burn faster, hotter, or catch more embers than native plants. This increased vulnerability to natural disasters leads to significant costs and endangers the wellbeing of humans and wildlife. While combating the spread of invasives is an incredible challenge, there are many things we each can do! 

First, follow these best practices when visiting, walking, hiking, or camping in wilderness areas:  

• Stay on designated trails. Invasive plants frequently are spread by humans unknowingly. Wandering off trails can disturb habitats and introduce seeds that are not local to new areas. 
• Keep your pets on leashes. This will help your furry friends stay on the designated trails and minimize the plant material or debris that may catch on their paws or fur and travel to a new place or pollinate invasives along the way! 
• Clean your gear and pets. Before and after a visit to a wilderness area, clean your clothes, shoes, backpacks, walking sticks, other gear, and pets to remove dirt, mud, and plant materials. This applies to boating and water sports too! 
• Avoid picking plants. Picking plants or flowers is another way to inadvertently spread seeds or pollen into a new area. 
• Follow local guidelines. Some parks or wilderness areas have specific guidelines or recommendations to prevent the spread of invasives or promote rehabilitation. Please adhere to trail closures while burn areas are recovering. 

Second, learn to identify common invasive plants in Southern California, such as fountain or pampas grasses, and avoid purchasing these from nurseries or planting in your home gardens.

Third, if you see these plants growing on your property, remove them mechanically by hand or with power tools––chemical treatments (herbicides) are generally considered a last resort.

Fourth, volunteer with us! We offer opportunities to clear invasives both onsite at the Foundation and offsite at regional parks and wilderness areas. Invasive plant removal is an important step in long-term management of green spaces. 

To learn more about common invasive plants in Southern California and their relationship to wildfire visit our website: theodorepayne.org/invasive-plants

A: Like many communities in Los Angeles, quite a few of our members were directly impacted by the fires.  Many were among those temporarily displaced by evacuations.  Those who lost their homes include TPF members, board members, volunteers, donors, and staff.  The scope of the loss is heartbreaking and the consequences are still being felt, understood, and processed. 

A few of the homes and schools on the current Garden Tour were impacted by the fires, though, luckily, none were completely destroyed.  Sadly, several homes from past garden tours were lost; we continue to be in touch with the TPF community impacted. We are fortunate to have a full complement of locations for the tour this year, and we appreciate the ongoing generosity and resilience of our community.  

As those of you who suffered loss begin to assess the damage, we welcome your stories and your observations of fire vulnerability and resilience in the developed and wild spaces affected.   We also want to be respectful of your privacy and allow you time to regain your bearings.  Put simply: we want to know how you are doing because we care, but please don’t feel any burden to make sense of your situation for our sake.  Surveying, rebuilding, and replanting will all happen in due time.  We are here for you now, and we hope to be a thought-partner when these activities begin in earnest. 

A: Chaparral and other native plant communities do not inherently cause wildfires, nor are they the cause of increasing wildfire severity. Southern California’s landscapes, particularly the hillsides common in Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) areas, are home to the rare and ecologically important chaparral plant community, which has evolved to survive a natural wildfire regime of lightning-caused fires occurring every 30 to 130 years. However, the primary drivers of today’s more frequent and intense wildfires are human activities, extreme weather conditions, prolonged drought, and the spread of invasive plant species. While all plants are flammable under the right conditions, chaparral itself does not make wildfires worse—rather, it is part of a fire-adapted landscape that has coexisted with fire for millennia. 

The recent wildfires were ember-driven firestorms, spreading rapidly under extreme Santa Ana winds after an unusually dry fall and winter. These fires ignited in wildland areas and quickly moved into developed communities, where human structures provided additional fuel for the conflagrations. Thoughtful land management, including reducing highly flammable invasive plants and protecting intact native ecosystems, can help create more fire-resilient landscapes while preserving the biodiversity that makes California unique. 

Understanding the wildfire ecology of Southern California: 

• Class: Chaparral 101: Plants, People, and Place (online and in-person, free) 
• Class: Botany of Fire (online and in-person, free) 
• Class: Adaptive Chaparral Walk and Talk (in-person) 
• Webpage: theodorepayne.org/wildfire-in-southern-california

Classes are posted monthly.
To receive monthly class updates via email, sign up for our newsletter.

A: While native plants, particularly annuals, are known for their phytoremediation properties, the recent conflagrations involve materials and toxins beyond our expertise in natural wildfire ecology. The steps necessary for health and safety will vary depending on location and site conditions, and we encourage homeowners to consult with specialists in soil and urban environmental health for recommendations regarding toxicity and chemical contaminant remediation. 

As part of our educational mission, we look to host experts on these and related topics in our public programming. We invite you to join our newsletter to stay informed about upcoming classes and speaker events that may address this issue. Sign up here. 

A: There have been many wildfires before, but the sheer scope of urban destruction of the 2025 fires highlights critical unmet needs. Given the extensive recovery efforts that will be underway and the importance of updating existing landscaping to be more resilient to both wildfire and drought, we anticipate a significant increase in demand for appropriate plants, fire-wise landscaping services, horticultural expertise, and community education. 

Our mission has never been more relevant.  We will continue to… 

• Produce locally sourced plants, seeds and bulbs that can create biodiverse, fire- and drought-resilient native habitats 
• Teach home gardeners and professionals how to create beautiful native landscapes that are resistant to fire and drought 
• Inspire and educate Southern Californians about the beauty and ecological benefits of California native plant landscapes. 

Additionally, we are working to address critical gaps to… 

• Substantially increase the supply of native plants for our community 
• Facilitate and inform community planning about wildfire resilient landscaping 
• Actively assist with efforts to create fire-wise landscapes
• Help Southern California develop wise stewardship approaches that can be effectively used in urban, transitional, and wilderness areas 

Your donations help us achieve these goals. Support our Wildfire Resilience Fund and make a donation today.