Agoura Hills City Council
May 27, 2026

Wildfire Hazard and Risk Assessments
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

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Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

5.0 Wildfire Hazard and Risk Assessments
Given the high fire prone nature of Agoura Hills and surrounding areas, a fine-scale wildfire hazard and risk assessment including hazard, exposure and vulnerability analyses has been undertaken to help identify and prioritize the most at-risk communities and inform strategic planning and preparedness efforts (Figure 33). The assessment incorporates a combination of methods – field visits, wildfire behavior modeling, geospatial analytics, current research and best practices – in collaboration with the City of Agoura Hills, the Agency Working Group, local fire safe council members, LA County Fire, subject matter experts and other interested parties in the community. The assessment provides a foundation for prioritizing a range of wildfire mitigation strategies across the City.

Figure 33. Key components of wildfire hazard and risk assessment for this CWPP.

The sections that follow describe the various fine-scale hazard and risk assessments undertaken to identify areas of the City of Agoura Hills that are more likely to be impacted by wildfire. To understand the differences between these analyses, we differentiate between “hazard” and “risk.” Hazard refers to the potential behavior of wildfire (e.g., rate of spread, flame length, intensity) given topography, fuels and weather.

Risk is the likelihood of a wildfire occurring, the associated fire behavior, and the potential impacts or consequences given the exposure and susceptibility (aka vulnerability) to loss, damage or disruption to a range of assets and values.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

5.1 WILDFIRE BEHAVIOR MODELING
The objective of the wildfire behavior modeling is to identify areas within the Planning Area that are prone to severe fire conditions. Fire behavior characteristics such as rate of spread, flame length, fireline intensity, crowning and spotting are driven by the natural environment where topography, weather and fuels are primary forces. Fire behavior modeling is performed to estimate these characteristics and is based on key assumptions related to the primary driving forces – weather, fuels, and topography.

The following sections present the key assumptions and input data for the wildfire behavior modeling, which falls into four categories, as follows:

1. Software

2. Landscape Data

3. Weather Data & Analysis

4. Fuel Types & Fuel Models
The analytical boundary adopted for the wildfire behavior modelling includes the administrative boundary of the City and an approximately 3-mile buffer extending out from the City’s boundary. See Figure 34.

Figure 34. Analytical boundary of wildfire hazard assessment for Agoura.

The CWPP focuses on the impacts of a potential wildfire to the City, but by including additional landscape outside the city in the fire behavior modeling, the hazard analysis can identify influential topographic and fuel loads in the surrounding landscape that may impact the City. Since the primary threat of wildfire to Agoura Hills This map illustrates the analytical boundary of the
wildfire behavior modelling which includes the
administrative boundary of the City, plus approximately an additional 3-miles of surrounding landscape.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

comes from ignitions located outside of the administrative boundary, it is important that this buffer be included in the overall analysis so that ignition sources, primary fire flow paths and distribution of the flow paths that threaten the community can be identified. Understanding threats outside the City can provide a better understanding of where future fire mitigation actions could prove to be most effective in protecting vulnerable locations within the City.

5.1.1 Software
Established wildland fire behavior modelling software provides the basis for evaluating the wildfire hazard, threat, and exposure analyses for the CWRA. The primary modelling software includes FLAMMAP (Version 6.0), FOFEM, and FireFamily Plus (Version 5.0). Wildfire Analyst Enterprise and NEXUS 2.0 were also used to capture some dynamic fire behavior features. The wildfire models used in the analysis are publicly available with the exception of Wildfire Analyst, which is a proprietary software application.

5.1.2 Landscape Data
Spatial fire modeling utilizes eight spatial files as required inputs into the fire behavior model(s) which are commonly referred to as a landscape file or LCP file in the fire modeling community. The LCP is made up of layers
representing Fuel Models, Canopy Cover, Canopy Height,
Crown Bulk Density, Canopy Base Height, Elevation,
Aspect, and finally slope. Figure 35 is a graphic of a
representative LCP file data.

LCP files are commonly obtained from the LANDFIRE9
program and are representative of conditions as of 2023.

The LCP files contain all the spatial data used in the fire behavior models except for weather. The weather data
used in the models is described in Section 5.1.3.

5.1.3 Weather Data and Analysis
Weather is one of the most important and variable
elements of the wildland fire environment. Important components of fire weather that influence fire behavior are temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, wind, and atmospheric stability. These elements have the potential to enhance or retard wildfire spread and intensity.

As input into the fire spread model, fuel moisture and weather values are analyzed and evaluated based on weather percentiles. For the wildfire behavior modelling, weather values at the 97th and 90th percentiles (hottest, driest 3% and 10% of the days) were utilized as inputs into the fire spread model to generate the results that were then used in the risk assessment. For the base analysis, a 17-mph wind has been used to represent Santa Ana conditions. Based on feedback from LACoFD, a 31-mph wind based on conditions during the 2025 Palisades Fire was also performed. A northeast wind event at 23 mph, similar to winds observed during the Woolsey Fire, was also explored as part of a sensitivity analysis. Refer to Figure 37 for sample output from these sensitivity studies. Note: As both the 2018 Woolsey Fire and 2025 Palisades Fire scenarios were extreme 9 LANDFIRE (Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools) is a comprehensive program in the United States that provides data and tools for land management, particularly concerning wildfires, vegetation, and ecosystems. https://landfire.gov/ Figure 35. Landscape spatial files (LCP) used
in wildfire hazard assessment. Data obtained
primarily from LANDFIRE.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

events, they did not provide significant variability in fire behavior conditions. That is, they would not be useful in identifying high priority areas in the landscape, as the entire landscape showed problematic fire conditions for both events.

Historical weather data was obtained from https://famauth.wildfire.gov/index.html/ or the Cheeseboro Remote Automated Weather Station (RAWS) from 2006 through 2024 (Figure 36). Fire Family Plus Version 5.0 (USDA Forest Service, 2020) was used to compare historical and current fire weather parameters associated with temperature, wind, and precipitation, and to generate a suite of inputs to the fire behavior models. The Cheeseboro RAWS is located northeast of the City of Agoura Hills at an elevation of 1,707 feet.

Figure 36. Remote Automated Weather Station (RAWS) used for the Wildfire Behavior Analysis.

Fire Danger – Energy Release Component (ERC) and Burning Index (BI) One key fire danger rating index related to weather and regional climate that is used to understand the potential for severe fire is the Energy Release Component (ERC) index. ERC is a number related to the available energy (BTU) per unit area (square foot) within the flaming front at the head of a fire. This index provides an approximation for fuel moisture conditions associated with climatological changes throughout a fire season.

Thus, the larger the ERC value, the potentially more severe the fire. Values typically range from 0 to 100, though they can be higher depending on weather extremes and fuel model. Specifically, ERC is used to describe fire danger trends because it is less sensitive to daily weather variations than other fire danger indices.

The ERC calculation is also affected by fuel loadings in different size classes. NFDRS Fuel model Y, the default analysis fuel model assigned the Cheeseboro RAWS includes both live and dead fuels and has a significant portion of the fuel load driven by large dead fuels.

This map shows the location of the Remote
Automate Weather Station (RAWS) used
to determine the historical and current
weather parameters as input into the fire
behavior models. Weather data is from
2006 through 2024.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Large fuels are not a primary component in and adjacent to the City of Agoura Hills and therefore another NFDRS index, Burning Index (BI), is tracked by Los Angeles County Fire Department to monitor fire danger. The BI is an index that rates fire danger related to potential flame length over a fire danger rating area. The BI is expressed as a numeric value related to potential flame length in feet multiplied by 10. The scale is open-ended, which allows the range of numbers to adequately define fire problems, even during low to moderate fire danger.

Information on current BI indices is located at https://fire.lacounty.gov/fire-weather-danger/.

Figure 37 provides the variation in historical maximum, minimum and average values of the ERC and BI fire danger indices for the Cheeseboro RAWS from 2012 – 2025. The 90th and 97th percentile conditions are shown with grey lines and are indicative of when extreme fire behavior may occur.

Based on the results of weather, ERC and BI analyses, high fire conditions can occur almost any time throughout the year. As ERC values are tracked by Predictive Services (https://gacc.nifc.gov/oscc/fuelsFireDanger.php) and BI values are monitored by LACoFD (https://fire.lacounty.gov/fire-weather-danger/), both indices can be monitored to provide an indication of potential fire danger on a daily basis based on the thresholds identified in Figure 37. Finally, the weather conditions at the 97th percentile annually were used as inputs into the fire behavior models used to inform the hazard component of the CWPP.

Figure 37. ERC (left) and BI (right) for Cheeseboro RAWS, National Weather Service station ID 045313.

5.1.4 Fuel Characteristics & Fuel Models
The key characteristics of vegetative fuels that affect fire behavior include fuel moisture, fuel type, fuel loading, chemical properties, horizontal continuity, and vertical arrangement. These characteristics are combined to create fuel model datasets that, when combined with weather and topography, describe fire behavior.

Understanding vegetative fuel models, their effects on fire behavior, and how the models change after the implementation of a fuel treatment can help fire managers design effective wildfire mitigation strategies.

5.1.4.1 Fuel Moisture
Fuel moisture is a dynamic variable controlled by seasonal and daily changes in the weather and is an important influence on wildland fire behavior. Simply stated, vegetation is most flammable when fuel moisture levels are low and less flammable when they are high. Fuel moisture levels will largely determine if a fire will ignite and spread. Fuel moisture is typically categorized as dead and live fuel moisture.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

+ Dead fuels. Dead fuels act like a sponge absorbing or giving up moisture to the air and ground which surrounds them. The moisture exchange rate between dead fuels and their surrounding environment varies by the size of the dead fuel particle, with fuels less than ¼ in diameter reaching equilibrium with their surroundings within one-hour. Because of this rapid exchange rate, these smaller size class fuels exert significant control over wildfire burning characteristics, especially in the grass and shrub dominated fuels associated with the Planning Area.
+ Live fuels. Live fuel moisture is the moisture in living, growing vegetation and is controlled by the internal physiological mechanisms of the vegetation and external influences such as rainfall, drought, aspect, elevation, and seasonal drying patterns. Typically, live fuel moistures are highest in the spring through early summer and at their lowest in late summer through early winter when seasonal rains typically begin.

Live fuel moisture of 60% or below is a “critical” threshold where live fuels display similar burning characteristics as dead fuels.

Live fuel moisture status can be tracked at https://fire.lacounty.gov/fire-weather-danger/, with the Santa Monica Mountains data most applicable to the Agoura Hills Planning Area. Figure 38 shows both current and historical live fuel moisture data for the Santa Monica Mountains live fuel moisture sampling stations.

Figure 38. Current and historical live fuel moisture data for the Santa Monica Mountains station Based on the 18-year historical weather data for the Remote Automated Weather Stations (RAWS), as described above, Fire Family Plus 5.0 was used to generate a suite of inputs to the fire behavior models for Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

each ERC level (Table 8). Additionally, wind roses (Figure 39) were evaluated to determine the dominate wind direction. The bars of the wind rose represent the direction and speed from which the wind is blowing.

Table 8. Fuel Moisture and Weather Outputs – Base Fire Scenario Weather Percentile 90% 97%
Energy Release Component 59% 68%
Burning Index 48% 55%
20-ft Windspeed Direction WSW WSW
20-ft Windspeed 15 mph 17 mph
Herbaceous Fuel Moisture 30% 30%
Woody Fuel Moisture 60% 60%
1 HR Fuel Moisture 3% 2%
10 HR Fuel Moisture 4% 3%
100 HR Fuel Moisture 8% 7%
1000 HR Fuel Moisture 30% 30%
Figure 39. Wind Rose for the City of Agoura Hills
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

5.1.4.2 Fuel Types and Fuel Models
Fuels are categorized into specific fuel models (e.g., non-burnable, grass, grass-shrub, shrub, timberunderstory, timber-litter, and slash- blowdown), which describe the physical properties of the vegetation that support fire. Fuel models are grouped by fire-carrying fuel type and the number of fuel models within each fuel type varies. Each fuel type has been assigned a mnemonic two-letter code. + Non-burnable fuel models (NB). Land areas that are
considered non-burnable portions of the landscape are
displayed on a fuel model map as NB. Urban
development, barren land and water are all considered
unburnable in fire behavior models.
+ Grass (GR). The primary carrier of fire in the GR fuel models is grass. Grass fuels can vary from heavily
grazed grass stubble or sparse natural grass to dense
grass more than 6 feet tall. Fire behavior varies from moderate spread rate and low flame length in the sparse grass to extreme spread rate and flame length in the tall grass models. + Grass-Shrub (GS). The primary carrier of fire in the GS fuel models is grass and shrubs combined; both components are important in determining fire behavior. The effect of live herbaceous moisture content on spread rate and intensity is strong and depends on the relative amount of grass and shrub load in the fuel model.
+ Shrub (SH). The primary carrier of fire in the SH fuel models is live and dead shrub twigs and foliage in combination with dead and down shrub litter. A small amount of herbaceous fuel may be present, especially in SH1.
+ Timber-Understory (TU). The primary carrier of fire in the TU fuel models is forest litter in combination with herbaceous or shrub fuels. The effect of live herbaceous moisture content on spread rate and intensity is strong and depends on the relative amount of grass and shrub load in the fuel model. + Timber-Litter (TL). The primary carrier of fire in the TL fuel models is dead and down woody fuel. Live fuel, if present, has little effect on fire behavior.
+ Slash-Blowdown (SB). The primary carrier of fire in the SB fuel models is activity fuel or blow down.

Forested areas with heavy mortality may be modeled with SB fuel models.

Table 9 describes the fuel models found in the Planning Area and the amount of area designated as each fuel type. Note: For this analysis, the 2023 40 Scott and Burgan Fire Behavior Fuel Model from LANDFIRE has been used. See Figure 40 for a spatial distribution of the fuel models across the landscape.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Traditional wildfire
behavior models do not capture fire
spread into urban fuels and thus will show
as “unburnable”. However, we know that
fire can readily burn into the built
environment, particularly under conditions
of high wind and low relative humidity.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Table 9. Breakdown of Generalized Fuel Types/Fuel Models within the Planning Area.

Fuel Model Type Vegetation
Group Fuel Type Acres % Coverage
Non-burnable – Fuel models (NB1-
NB9)
Non-burnable 14,182 25.3%
Grass - Nearly pure grass and/or forb
types are represented by grass fuel
models (GR1- GR9)
Grassland/Forb 5,213 9.3%
Grass-Shrub – Up to about 50 percent
shrub coverage are represented by
grass shrub fuel models (GS1-GS4)
Grassland/Forb
Broadleaf Forest
and Woodland
19,884 35.5%
Shrubs – Cover at least 50 percent of
the site; grass sparse to non-existent
are represented by shrub fuel models
(SH1-SH9)
Chaparral 14,110 25.2%
Timber-Understory – Grass orshrubs
mixed with litter from forest canopy
are represented by timber understory
fuel models (TU1-TU5)
Conifer Forest
and Woodland
762 1.4%
Timber-Litter – Dead and down
woody fuel (litter) beneath a forest
canopy is represented by timber litter
fuel models (TL1-TL9)
Broadleaf Forest
and Woodland
Conifer Forest
and Woodland
1,807 3.2%
Total 55,958 100.0%
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Figure 40. Fuel types/models within the Planning Area

5.2 WILDFIRE HAZARD ASSESSMENT
The objective of the wildfire hazard assessment is to identify areas within the Planning Area that are prone to severe fire conditions, and to use this as the basis for designing and prioritizing fuel treatments and other mitigation strategies as part of the CWPP process.

The wildfire hazard assessment performed to shape the development of the CWPP includes:
(1) Simulated Fire Frequency
(2) Fine-scale Fire Severity
(3) Fire Flow Paths
(4) Potential Crown Fire
(5) Flame Length
(6) Ember Exposure

5.2.1 Simulated Fire Frequency
Simulated Fire Frequency (SFF) or “Fire Frequency” outputs were created using the Minimum Travel Time (MTT) module in FlamMap to understand where on the landscape wildfire has the greatest probability of Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

spreading based on historic ignition locations within the Planning Area. SFF can also be used to identify where the pathways of fire spread are most rapid under a defined set of weather parameters, as well as help identify potential fuel reduction activities, that will assist in interrupting or altering the spread, direction, and/or intensity of fire entering the community.

To develop the SFF data layer, historic ignitions from 1992-2020 were used to simulate fire spread over a 12-hour active burn period assuming all ignitions in a single year are burning simultaneously. The resulting fire perimeters and flow paths are then over-laid to determine where fires occurred more frequently. Note:

These simulations assume no suppression activities. See Figure 41.

Figure 41. Simulated Fire Frequency (SFF) across the City and surrounding areas.

As seen in Figure 41, wildfire frequently flows through Las Virgenes/Chesebro/Palo Camado Canyons, Liberty Canyon, Kanan and Cornell Road south of Highway 101 and to a lesser degree Lindero Canyon.

This corresponds with historic wildfire corridors observed by LA County Fire Department. These locations all feature north/south oriented canyons which funnel and accelerate winds during Santa Ana weather events.

5.2.2 Fine-Scale Fire Severity
Fire severity is used to classify how intensely a fire will burn under a variety of environmental conditions. Fire behavior is the product of the natural environment or the unique combination of topography, weather and fuels.

Topography and weather are factors on which humans have little effect but, fuels can be altered through human intervention or natural processes such as fire (rapid) or decomposition (very slow). Therefore, when assessing fire severity (“hazard”), the focus can be on fuels and the associated fire behavior and how severe those This map illustrates
the relative
frequency wildfires
have occurred in
and around the
Planning Area
based on
simulations of
historical incidents
over a 12-hour burn
period. Fire history
data (1992-2020)
was obtained from
the USFS.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

conditions may be. This can be determined by fire behavior characteristics such as rate of spread, flame length, fireline intensity, torching, crowning, spotting, fire persistence and resistance to control.

The fire hazard analysis conducted for the Planning Area represents a combination of four fire behavior and fire effects outputs merged into one representation to display the alignment of potential problematic areas on the landscape that would exhibit high severity fire. The four modeling outputs used to develop this analysis are:
+ Flame length + PM2.5 emissions
+ Spotting distance + Fuel loading
Each of the above layers are stratified into five rating classes (Low to Very High) then merged into a single display to identify areas on the landscape where the highest potential for hazardous fire conditions exists. This analysis is designed to: (1) Allow land managers to identify locations in the landscape where the greatest fire hazard exists, and (2) Prioritize locations where management action may reduce these hazards.

The hazard analysis does not consider the nexus of hazard to values at risk but only evaluates the landscape features and fire behavior modeling outputs that influence fire hazard.

Figure 42 displays the outcome of the fire hazard analysis, while Table 10 summarizes the hazard ratings for the 97th percentile weather conditions for the City and for the surrounding landscapes. Locations shown in red have the highest potential for high severity/hazard and indicate areas where fuel treatments would provide beneficial effects to reduce the potential impacts to high value resources and assets, while improving firefighter and public safety and enhance fire suppression efficiencies.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Key Wildfire FAQs

1. What is the difference between wildfire hazard and risk? • Fire hazard = the potential fire behavior at a location (how intense or fast a fire could burn, based on fuels, weather, and topography) • Fire risk = the likelihood and consequences of wildfire (how likely a fire is to occur and, if it does, how damaging it would be to life, property and critical services)
• Fire vulnerability = accounts for the potential increase in damage or loss due to social or physical susceptibilities to wildfire impacts
In short:

Hazard describes how bad a fire could be; risk describes how likely it is and what it would affect.

2. Why are the CAL FIRE FHSZ maps different from the fine-scale fire hazard and risk maps in the CWPP?
The difference comes down to purpose, scale and how the maps should be used. They are complementary tools, but they answer very different questions.

CAL FIRE FHSZ Maps
• Primary purpose: Regulatory classification of wildfire hazard for planning and building code enforcement.
• Used to:
o Trigger California Wildland-Urban-Interface Code (CA-WUI) requirements (formerly California Building Code Chapter 7A and California Fire Code Chapter 49) o Support defensible space enforcement (PRC §4291)
o Inform General Plans, Safety Elements, and disclosures • Designed to be consistent statewide, not regionally or locally specific.

Fine-Scale Fire Behavior Maps (Chapter 5 of the CWPP)
• Primary purpose: Localized wildfire hazard and risk mitigation planning • Used to:
o Evaluate fire spread pathways, intensity, and fire frequency o Support CWPPs, evacuation studies, fuel treatment design, and suppression planning o Develop local projects, identify priorities and monitor progress o Compare relative risk within and between communities
Bottom line:

FHSZ maps answer “Where does the State say wildfire hazard is high enough to regulate?” Fine-scale models answer, “How might fire actually behave here, under specific conditions?” Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Figure 42. Fire severity across the Planning Area. Fire severity includes flame length, spotting distance, PM2.5 emissions, fuel loading
Table 10. Fire hazard severity by % acres in the City and surrounding area for 97th% weather conditions Planning area NonburnableVery Low Low Moderate High Very High Entire Analytical Area 25% 2% 20% 20% 18% 14%
City of Agoura Hills 54% 1.6% 10% 9% 16% 10%

5.2.3 Fire Flow Paths
Fire Flow Paths are an output derived from the Simulated Fire Frequency analysis. These fire behavior outputs examine the intersection and concentration of where fires originating from different parts of the landscape would converge or intersect on the landscape. As part of the overarching risk assessment, documented fire locations for the time 1992 through 2020 were simulated and allowed to burn unsuppressed for a 24-hour period under 97th percentile fuel moisture conditions and a 17mph wind from the northeast. Flow paths from these simulations were compiled in GIS to determine locations along the corporate boundary of Agoura Hills where fires are most likely to impact the community.

This map illustrates the
anticipated severity or
intensity of a fire, in the
event fire were to occur
in and around the
Planning Area. For the
CWRA, fire severity
consists of a combination
of fire behavior
characteristics – flame
length, max spotting
distance, fuel loading,
and PM 2.5 emissions.

This data layer has been
based on fire behavior
modelling given current
fuel loads, topography
and 97th percentile
weather conditions, and
is independent of any
specific ignition source.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

The analysis indicates that the east side of the community, particularly in Chesebro and Liberty Canyons are highly prone to wildfire, while the locations west of Kanan Road and the west side of the city show fewer intersects with the modeled fires. This same analysis was used to show the potential impacts on major travel routes in the city, with results indicating that locations along Chesebro Road, Agoura Road and Liberty Canyon Road showing the greatest number of fire intersections. These major travel routes will be the principal evacuation routes for members of the community in the event of a significant wildfire. Figure 43 shows the flow path intersection with the road systems and the administrative boundary of the city.

Figure 43. Fire Flow Paths intersections of major roadways and Agoura Hills city boundary.

The fire flow path analysis focused on historic ignition locations and how fire spread impacts linear features like roads and boundary lines but additionally flow paths can also be used to see how a fire might spread into a community. To look at how a fire may impact certain locations within the City, three ignition points were selected north of Agoura Hills and allowed to burn unsuppressed for six hours under weather conditions like those that occurred in the 2025 Palisades Fire. The locations selected for these ignitions were Chesebro Canyon, Palo Comado Canyon and Red Oak Elementary School near Lindero Canyon (Figure 44).

This map illustrates
major wildfire flow
paths for simulated
ignitions in Chesebro
Canyon. A wildfire
flow path is a major
route in which a fire
spreads due to wind,
terrain, or other
factors. Outputs were
captured for each
ignition location
based on a Minimum
Travel Time (MTT)
analysis. This map
demonstrates where
wildfire flow paths
are most likely to
cross Major Roads.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Figure 44. Simulated fire flow paths with ignition points in Palo Comado Canyon (top left), near Red Oak School (top right), and Chesebro Canyon (bottom).

Palo Comado Canyon Fire Path Red Oak School Fire Path
Cheseboro Canyon Fire Path
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Each simulation demonstrates how a fire burning during a Santa Ana weather event can spread into the core of the city and impact the built environment.

Note: These simulations likely underestimate fire spread within the community as flammable landscape vegetation and structure-to-structure fire spread is beyond the capabilities of current fire models. The flow paths indicate where community impacts are most anticipated under these burning conditions given these defined ignition points and weather conditions.

5.2.4 Potential Crown Fire
In addition to flame length (see below), the type of predicted fire can provide a strong correlation to the potential for extreme fire behavior characteristics such as how fires spread (surface or crown). The type of predicted fire also governs the potential strategic and tactical operations alternatives by fire agencies during a wildfire.

Examples could include the use of aircraft or the potential for indirect attack methods based on crown fire potential or fast- moving brush fires.

The following are fire types and how they can influence potential fire behavior:
+ Surface Fire – A surface fire burns in the surface fuel layer, which lies immediately above the ground fuels, but below the canopy. Surface fuels consist of needles, leaves, grass, dead and down branch wood, logs, shrubs, low brush, and short trees (<3 feet). Surface fire behavior varies widely depending on the nature of the surface fuel complex (vertical and horizontal arrangement). Surface fires are generally easier to contain than any type of crown fire.
+ Crown Fire – A crown fire burns in the elevated canopy fuels. Canopy fuels normally consumed in crown fires consist of the live and dead foliage, lichen, and very fine live and dead branch wood found in the forest canopy. Reducing the potential for crown fire is very important in reducing the risk of lofted fire brands that may threaten structures and the WUI. In addition, crown fires are defined as either “passive” or “active.” A passive crown fire (“torching”) is defined as the ignition of a single or small group of trees, but does not spread continuously through the canopy of the trees.

An active crown fire is where the entire fuel complex is involved in flame, but the initiation and spread of the crown fire is dependent on the heat released from surface fuel.

An independent crown fire is a rare, intense wildfire that spreads through tree canopies without needing heat from a surface fire below, relying on strong winds, fuel density, and steep terrain for its own momentum, creating a fast-moving, self-sustaining blaze in the treetops. Note: Because this type is extremely rare, only passive and active crown fires are simulated.

Figure 45 illustrates the spatial distribution of potential crown fire (active and passive) and surface fire across the planning area.

For the City of Agoura Hills, crown fire initiation and propagation are not considered an issue of great concern. Crown fires under the limits of the current fire models are associated with timber understory and timber litter fuel types only, with these fuel types representing only 4.6 percent of the overall Planning Area.

Where timber dominated fuel models exist on the landscape, the fuels are comprised of an oak dominated overstory, which is more resistant to crown fire initiation than conifer species.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

The fuel structure in and around Agoura Hills will not allow for the development of an active crown fire.

Fire behavior modeling does indicate that passive crown fires have the potential to occur on 0.9% of the Planning Area and are mostly confined to extreme southeast portion of the analysis area within the Santa Monica Mountains.

While crown fire is not a landscape level issue for Agoura Hills, there are locations within the City where torching of individual trees used as landscaping near structures and along road systems can occur. This is particularly true where groups of pines, eucalyptus, cypress, or pepper trees occur.

Figure 45. Modeled crown fire behavior across Agoura Hills.

A simple tool that property owners may use to evaluate if trees within their home ignitions zones have the potential to be ignited from a surface fire is the “Crown Fire Initiation” model, that uses the surface fire intensity, foliar moisture of the tree canopy, and the separation distance between the surface fuels and the lowest level of canopy of a tree to determine if torching is probable.

Fire behavior outputs from fire hazard assessment indicate that in urban environments adjacent to wildland fuels, flame lengths are generally 4-foot or less. By using a standard foliar moisture of 90-percent the simple crown fire initiation model indicates that there needs to be a canopy separation distance of 11 feet (red lines) to mitigate potential ignition of the tree canopy (Figure 46).

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Figure 46. Crown Fire Initiation.

5.2.5 Flame Length
Flame length is the observable feature of wildland fire that is directly related to a fire’s intensity. Flame length can also be used as a proxy for fire hazard and is an easily relatable fire behavior characteristic to communicate fire hazard to the public. Flame length has also been correlated by fire scientists to the potential success of fire suppression operations. Generally, flame lengths less than 8 feet can be successfully attacked by ground-based firefighting resources (Table 11). The correlation between flame length and suppression success is also useful when designing fuel treatments to mitigate fire hazard, with fuel treatment prescriptions often targeting posttreatment conditions that produce flame lengths of 4-feet or less.

Table 11. Fire Behavior Characteristics and Suppression Capability Flame Lengths
(feet)
Fireline Intensity
(BTU/foot/Second) Interpretation
0-4 0-100 Fires can be generally attacked at the head or flanks by persons using hand tools. Handlines should hold the fire 4-8 100-500
Fires are too intense for direct attack at the head of the fire by persons with hand tools. Handlines cannot be relied
upon to hold the fire. Equipment such as dozers, engines and retardant aircraft can be effective.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Flame Lengths
(feet)
Fireline Intensity
(BTU/foot/Second) Interpretation
8-11 500-1,000
Fires may present serious control problems – torching out, crowning and spotting. Control efforts at the head of the fire will probably be ineffective.
11+ 1,000+ Crowning, spotting and major fire runs are common. Control efforts at the head of the fire are ineffective.

Highly influenced by windspeed, flame length can vary greatly within the same fuel types under different wind conditions. For this risk assessment, winds associated with 97th percentile weather conditions (17 mph) were evaluated. A tabular summary of the distribution of flame lengths across the Planning Area is shown in Table 12, while Figure 47 displays the spatial distribution of the modeled flame lengths across the landscape.

Table 12. Modelled flame lengths in the City and surrounding landscape.

Flame Length
97th percentile weather
Agoura Hills Surrounding Landscape
Non-burnable 54% 25%
0 – 4 feet 3% 5%
4 – 8 feet 16% 35%
8 – 11 feet 26% 29%
11+ feet 1.6% 5%
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Figure 47. Modeled flame lengths across Agoura Hills.

5.2.6 Ember Exposure
Embers constitute one of the greatest threats to homes and other structures as they may be carried for long distances ahead of the main fire front or from burning urban fuels (e.g., structures), igniting receptive fuel beds in and around structures. See Figure 48 for general transport mechanism for embers or firebrands during a wildfire incident. For this plan, fire modeling was used to evaluate the potential ember exposure expected under the 97th percentile conditions scenario from the previous section.

Flame Length is an
estimate of the mean
flame length (in feet)
for all potential fires
that may occur given
vegetative
conditions, fuel
moistures, and peak
winds. This metric is
often used as a proxy
for fire intensity.

Model inputs are
based on 97th and
90th percentile
conditions obtained
from 20 years of
weather records from
remote automated
weather stations
(RAWS) during the
core fire season.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Figure 48. General generation, transport, and ignition mechanisms for ember cast in a wildfire.

To develop the Ember Exposure map (Figure 49), the maximum spotting distance of each pixel on the digital landscape was determined from FlamMap using the worst-case scenario fire weather; in this case, the fire weather observed during the Palisades Fire was used, including a 31-mph sustained Santa Ana wind. Using the outputs from FlamMap, each pixel on the landscape was buffered in ArcGIS to represent the maximum spotting distance. For example, a pixel with a 300-foot maximum spotting distance was buffered 300 feet in all directions from the center of the pixel. This creates a circle on the digital landscape with a 300-foot radius. When all pixels on the landscape are buffered, the outcome is a series of overlapping circles that represent how many surrounding pixels might contribute embers to the pixel in the middle. The number of potentially contributing pixels is then divided by the total number of pixels that could contribute within a radius equivalent to the maximum spotting distance observed for the Planning Area. This yields a percentage that represents the proportion of surrounding pixels (i.e., the surrounding landscape) that would potentially provide embers to a given pixel: the Ember Exposure.

Spotting from embers is highly erratic and very difficult to model accurately with the current best available science and modeling, so it is best to assess these percentages relative to each other, rather than as a direct probability. For example, the maximum probability of Ember Exposure for the Planning Area is 4%. Rather than interpreting this as a 4% probability that a location will be exposed to embers, interpret it as 4% of the surrounding landscape will contribute embers in a wildfire. A location that received embers from 4% of the surrounding landscape will have nearly twice the Ember Exposure level of a location that only receives embers from 2% of the surrounding landscape.

The maximum spot distance modeled in this analysis was 2,992 feet (just over half of a mile), but this should be considered a conservative estimate. The fire behavior analysis conducted here demonstrates very conservative fire behavior because the recent 2018 Woolsey Fire removed vegetation around nearly the entirety of the Planning Area, so it is in early stages of regrowth. There are a very limited number of trees in the fuel layer used to model fire behavior, and while trees are the primary driver of embers in the model, mature shrubs become a significant source of embers as they age. Further, this model does not capture any flammable landscaping around homes and highly granular pockets of wildland vegetation on unmanaged open spaces within the city.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Given the model emphasis on trees as sources of embers, the highest modeled risk of embers is primarily in neighborhoods along the eastern border of the Planning Area, along Cheeseboro Canyon, and along the southern border of the Planning Area at the base of Ladyface Mountain and adjacent to City Hall. An additional pocket of elevated ember exposure is along Medea Creek Park because of the high concentration of trees there. Notably, because the trees along this riparian area are primarily native oaks and various deciduous species, the riparian zone will normally have reduced flammability, but in extreme fire events and during drought, riparian zones burn readily and can be substantial sources of embers if dried leaves have accumulated along the banks. In several recent southern California wildfires, heavily vegetated riparian zones have served as conduits pulling fire along and into neighborhoods.

Currently Oak Park Fire Safe Council is administering a grant to treat riparian vegetation along Lindero and Medea Creeks to reduce the potential of a wildfire spreading through these drainages under extreme fire weather conditions (https://opfsc.org/2024/09/2023-2024-wildfire-prevention-grant/). Action item KW-9 of this plan proposes a similar project along Shady Creek Drive.

It is extremely important to recognize that it only takes a single ember to create a spot fire or burn down a home; therefore, areas characterized by Low Ember Exposure are still at risk during a wildfire, and mitigation measures can reduce the probability of ignition and spread. Equally, the Ember Exposure analysis models embers sourced from wildland vegetation, but wildfire disasters with widespread structure loss primarily stem from house-tohouse ignitions when a wildfire transitions into an urban conflagration. In these events, structures themselves become the primary sources of embers, as was seen during the 2025 Palisades and Eaton Fires. Given the older age of housing across the planning area (nearly all homes pre-date the 2008 Chapter 7a WUI building codes), any non-hardened structure within an ember exposure zone has potential to be ignited by embers in even a small, local wildfire.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

5.3 COMMUNITY RISK ASSESSMENT
In its simplest form, community wildfire risk is the likelihood of a fire and its potential consequences on the community. It includes:
(1) The identification of potential fire hazards and associated characteristics such as location, intensity, frequency and probability of fire.
(2) The analysis of exposure and vulnerability of physical, social, health, environmental and economic assets or values in the community; and
(3) The evaluation of the effectiveness of coping capacities in response to and recovery from potential wildfire impacts.

Figure 49. Ember exposure probability across Project Area. The percentage represents the proportion of the surrounding area that would contribute embers to a given location, rather than the probability of the location being exposed to embers. The highest ember probability on this map is 4.2%.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

This provides a basic framework to not only identify potential risks but, more importantly, determine various strategic actions for individuals, communities, agencies and other stakeholders to better prepare for, mitigate, respond to and recover from future wildfire threats.

The community risk assessment is based on a combination of approaches – both quantitative and qualitative – to determine the nature and extent of wildfire risks across the Planning Area. In addition to the quantified risk assessment in Section 5.3.1, various physical and social vulnerability analyses (neighborhood- and parcel-level vulnerabilities, community-level vulnerabilities, vulnerable populations) were conducted to help further inform overall risk and targeted mitigation actions.

5.3.1 Quantitative Risk Assessment
To understand the potential wildfire risks across the Planning Area, a quantified risk assessment was performed. More detail about the methodology can be found in Agoura Hills’ CWRA but a summary of approach and results is presented below. The governing risk equation is as follows:
(0.6 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝑆𝑆 𝑆𝑆 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆) + (0.4 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹𝐹 ) × (𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸𝐸 + 𝑉𝑉 𝑉𝑉 𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉 𝑉𝑉 ) Where,
Fire Severity – is a combination of various fire characteristics, as described above. [Scale: 0-5] Fire Frequency – is the simulated fire frequency, as described above. [Scale: 0-5] Exposure – is the density of values or assets at risk from fire exposure. [# of assets] Vulnerability – is an additional term(s) to account for the potential increase in damage or loss due to inherent social or physical susceptibilities to wildfire impacts. [1 – 2.5] As seen in the generalized risk equation, there are two components describing the fire: (1) fire severity and (2) fire frequency. See Sections 5.2.2 and 5.2.3 for
detailed discussions regarding these two
individual components. The reason for
combining these two components is to
acknowledge that wildfire risk is not only a
function of how severe a fire is, but also how
frequently it occurs. In other words, some of the
most concerning fires are those that occur less
often but are severe (low frequency high
intensity), particularly if they occur near high
value assets or in vulnerable areas. High frequency-low intensity fires (such as those that occur in grasslands), may occur more often but they tend to be low intensity and therefore more manageable from a firefighting perspective.

Figure 50 shows the combined Fire Severity and Fire Frequency components of the risk equation and provides an indication of where higher intensity-higher frequency fires are more likely across the Planning Area. As seen in the figure, Liberty Canyon has the highest relative likelihood of problematic fires.

Some of the most concerning fires are those that occur
less often but are extremely severe (low frequency high intensity), particularly if they occur near high value assets or in vulnerable areas. High frequency-low intensity fires (such as those that occur in grasslands), may occur more often but they tend to be low intensity and therefore more manageable from a firefighting perspective.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Figure 50. Combined hazard (0.6 fire severity + 0.4 frequency) across the City.

Wildfire risk is not just a function of the fire itself but also what values/assets may be impacted, so the general risk equation includes a component for “assets” and “vulnerability.” Completed during the CWRA development process, three (3) different measures of risk were evaluated to understand different aspects of risk. These are:
(1) Risk to All Assets (“Comprehensive Risk”)
(2) Risk to Natural Resources
(3) Risk to Economic Resources
As each of the three (3) measures evaluates risk from a different perspective, the types of assets or values, and the vulnerabilities included in each analysis are specific to that perspective. For example, risk to economic resources includes buildings and structures, as equally weighted assets, that provide the City with economic value. Note: The economic risk map assumes that all structures have equivalent financial value. Therefore, higher economic risk areas will skew the results to where there is a higher density of structures in combination with higher fire intensity. Comprehensive risk captures all assets, but is generally more weighted to reflect risk to people, property and infrastructure, particularly as these assets are also where populations are likely to reside.

Refer to Figure 51 for the Planning Area risk maps. Risk is displayed from green to red, with dark red indicating areas of higher risk. “Non-burnable” regions (i.e., urban areas and water) are also indicated on the risk maps.

Note: Current wildfire models do not have an urban fuel model. This does not mean urban areas cannot burn; it just means that fire science has yet to credibly define urban fuel burn characteristics.

Combined fire hazard
is the combination of
fire frequency and
fire severity, which
provides a relative
indication of where
higher intensity fires
are more likely to
occur. The data in
this layer is based on
97th percentile wind
and weather
conditions, and
vegetative coverage.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Figure 51. Community Risk from three different perspectives across the City.

These maps illustrate relative wildfire risk across the Planning Area from three different perspectives: (1) Comprehensive Risk including structures, vulnerabilities, critical infrastructure and natural resources, (2) Risk to natural resources, (3) Risk to individual economic resources. Comprehensive risk captures the relative risk of wildfire to all community assets, which tends to skew risk to property and infrastructure, particularly as these assets are also where populations are likely to reside. Natural resources risk reflects the relative risk of fire impacting natural assets across the City. Economic risk reflects the relative risk of fire impacting economic resources, where each structure is assumed to provide equivalent economic value. Given this assumption, the results skew economic risk to areas with a higher concentration of structures (e.g., denser neighborhoods).

Wildfire Risk - Comprehensive Wildfire Risk - Natural
Wildfire Risk - Economic
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

As seen in the comprehensive risk map in Figure 51, very high risk zones are concentrated in the region of Liberty Canyon. Additionally, much of the City is also considered to be at a moderate to high risk due to the density of assets and high potential fire severity across the city. Peacock Ridge ranges around moderate to high fire risk, as does Morrison Ranch and Fountainwood. Morrison Ranch, however, has more area under the high hazard classification and Fountainwood has more area under the urban or non-burnable classification. Chateau Creek, Hillrise, Annandale and Old Agoura all contain larger areas of both high fire hazard and urban or nonburnable zones. Lake Lindero is primarily of the non-burnable and urban classification.

IMPORTANT NOTE: “Non-burnable” regions (i.e., urban areas, agriculture, water and barren lands) in the following risk maps are not truly “non-burnable” with exception of the water features. The “non-burnable” areas are only a limitation of the wildfire behavior models, which currently do not have fuel models for these land-type uses. This does not mean they cannot burn. It just means that fire science has yet to develop credible burn models to describe the fire characteristics (e.g., flame length, rate of spread) through these spaces. That said, these areas can be considered to have a lower likelihood of burning as a wildland fire. In some cases, for the urban areas, these are no longer wildland fuels, but urban fuels.

5.3.2 Community Vulnerabilities

5.3.2.1 Technical Background
In 2025, wildfires destroyed 18,385 structures across the United States, of which 12,773 were residences. In Southern California, the January 2025 Los Angeles County fires, including the Eaton and Palisades Fires, destroyed over 16,000 structures, and resulted in 30 civilian fatalities.10 While earlier research focused on the home ignition zone as providing the primary sources of structure vulnerability (e.g., construction materials, home hardening and defensible space features immediately around the home), current research and technical guidance also highlight the significance of landscape level features and neighborhood designs on influencing structure vulnerability to wildfires. That is, a structure’s vulnerability is determined by a complex interaction of vulnerabilities at different scales – building, parcel, neighborhood, and community. Ways in which these scales influence vulnerability include:
+ Potential neighborhood and community design vulnerabilities – Key influences on vulnerability include housing density or separation distances with other structures, zoning and land-use planning, access/egress routes, setbacks to hazardous
topographic features both natural
and man-made (e.g., steep slopes,
ridges, gullies, drainage ditches,
open spaces/parks), integration of
greenbelts and recreational uses
within the built environment, and
road placement. These
characteristics impact the likelihood
of (1) wildfire spreading into a
community, (2) frequency and/or
intensity of fire exposure, (3)
structure-to-structure ignitions and
associated fuel loads and
intensities. Figure 52 shows an
10 https://www.nifc.gov/nicc/predictive-services/intelligence, 2025 Figure 52. Example of a fire flow path via a greenbelt/drainage into a community. (Source: FEMA)
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

example of how neighborhood or community design can lead to fire flowing into a neighborhood and influence structure vulnerability.
+ Potential vulnerabilities from adjacent vegetated open space – Large, uninterrupted, mostly unmanaged open space (e.g., parks, greenbelts, recreational use spaces) can provide a potential source of wildland fire or fuel bed for ember ignitions proximate to homes. + Potential vulnerabilities from
adjacent non-WUI designed
structures or neighborhoods –
Neighborhoods with older
construction located within the
WUI or proximate to the WUI are
generally not designed to meet
modern building and fire code
standards for wildfire resistance.

This makes these neighborhoods
and structures more easily
ignitable, and they can ultimately
become a fire source and ember
generator that may present a
threat to adjacent homes and
neighborhoods – whether those
neighboring structures are
designed to WUI standards or not.
+ Building component and parcel details – Non WUI-compliant building construction, lack of vent protection, combustible siding, combustible decking and fencing, non-fire-resistant roofing, the location of structure on site (e.g., mid-slope, hilltop), maintenance practices of structure and landscaping, and proximate fuels (e.g., flammable materials, sheds, other structures) within 30-100 feet all impact ignitability The heat transfer mechanisms which ignite structures occur due to fire from wildlands, open spaces, greenbelts, and communal spaces to structures, but also from fire spreading from structure-to-structure and from other items in the built environment. This phenomenon is known as an urban conflagration.

Figure 54 provides a high-level overview of the various heat transfer mechanisms that cause structure ignition regardless of the characteristics of the community, neighborhood, parcel, or building.

Figure 53. Various community and neighborhood level features that can influence wildfire exposure at a local level (Source: FEMA).

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Figure 54. A structure can ignite during a wildfire due to direct contact, flying embers, and radiated heat. (Source: FEMA)
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

5.3.2.2 Observations of Neighborhood-Level Vulnerabilities While earlier research focused on the home ignition zone as providing the primary sources of structure vulnerability (e.g., construction materials, home hardening and defensible space features immediately around the home), current research and technical guidance also highlights the significance of landscape level features and neighborhood designs on influencing structure vulnerability to wildfires. That is, a structure’s vulnerability is determined by a complex interaction of vulnerabilities at different scales – building, parcel, neighborhood, and community.

During the site and based on some of the wildfire modelling, many neighborhoods across the City are vulnerable to one or combination of neighborhood- or community-level vulnerabilities, including:
(1) Limited access/egress routes
(2) Proximity to large, uninterrupted wildland vegetation or poorly maintained open spaces (3) Proximity to north-south trending drainage pathways (e.g., Chesebro, Palo Comado, Lindero Canyons) (4) Proximity to integrated greenbelts into the built environment (e.g., Medea Creek) (5) Proximity to older, non-WUI code compliant neighborhoods See Figure 55 for examples of neighborhood- and community-level vulnerabilities observed across the City.

In addition to some of these high hazard neighborhoods, even communities that are more remote from large areas of continuous vegetation are still vulnerable to wildfires due to embers that can be carried large distances from the fire front, landing and igniting receptive fuel beds on and immediately surrounding a structure, as seen during the 2018 Woosley. Fire receptive fuel beds can include ornamental landscaping, dead vegetation, litter, debris built up in rain gutters, and mulch beds. Enclaves, islands, and riparian corridors of wildland vegetation and ornamental vegetation are also found within neighborhoods and interspersed with structures throughout communities. These create significant opportunities for wildfires to ignite and destroy structures.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Limited access/egress routes
Example greenbelt, drainage
(Medea Creek)
Overgrown, narrow egress route
Large, uninterrupted
open space
Large, uninterrupted, steep, wildland Proximity to drainage and large, uninterrupted open space
High-hazard fuels in common space
Figure 55. Observed neighborhood- and community-level vulnerabilities Large, uninterrupted open space
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

5.3.2.3 Observations of Parcel-Level Vulnerabilities
In addition to community-scale vulnerabilities, several neighborhoods were observed to have parcel-level vulnerabilities throughout Agoura Hills. Homes and other structure types had varying degrees of vulnerability to wildfire, including:
+ Defensible space is the space around a
structure that, under normal conditions, creates
a sufficient buffer to modify or arrest the spread
of a wildfire to a structure. Flammable
landscaping and other combustible items, such
as firewood or debris piled near a structure,
pose an ignition threat. Structures are more
susceptible to ignition when exposed to
significant radiant and convective heat from
burning material. Several neighborhoods,
particularly older communities (e.g. Old Agoura),
across the City have significant overgrown
vegetation, high hazard plants/trees or
combustible man-made fuels (e.g., trash bins,
storage sheds) proximate to the home. See
Figure 56.
+ Vents – Vents in eaves, attics or crawl spaces
are an easy entry point for embers to penetrate
the interior of a structure, particularly vents
located in the underside of soffits. Where
embers enter attic spaces, fires in can go easily
undetected from the outside, as attics typically
do not have smoke detection or sprinkler
protection. In past fires, structures have been
lost when fire personnel have left the scene
unaware that a fire has ignited in the attic. The
majority of homes across the City have limited
vent protection (e.g.,1/8” or 1/16” non-corrosive
metal mesh or a listed ember resistant vent
system) against embers during a wildfire.
+ Wood Fences – Wood fences act as a fuel
source and also as a fire pathway carrying fire to
a structure. Wooden fences connecting adjacent
homes present a major threat. If ignited, these
fences can act as “wicks” that contribute to fire
spread from home to home (Figure 57). Wood
and other combustible fencing materials such as
vinyl, that may ignite, melt, or transmit heat, were observed in multiple neighborhoods across the City. + Siding – Combustible siding can provide a pathway for flames to reach vulnerable portions of a structure, such as eaves or windows. Siding is especially vulnerable when combustible materials (e.g., vegetation, wooden decks and fences, stacked firewood) are near a structure’s siding and can provide a heat source to Figure 56: Overgrown vegetation in Zone 0 and 1
proximate to the exterior of the home. This
introduces several paths for fire to spread and
encroach the home.

Figure 57: Wooden fences and vegetation near
and between homes can act as a “wick” that
contributes to fire spread.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

ignite siding. Most homes in Agoura Hills appeared to have stucco siding or other ignition-resistant material.

However, in some older neighborhoods (e.g., Lake Lindero area) combustible siding is still present. + Roofing – Roof construction and maintenance is a key
factor influencing structure loss in wildfire. Vulnerability is not just related to roofing material, but also design, construction details, condition, and whether the roof is clear of combustible material (e.g., pine needles and
other debris). The majority of the homes in Agoura have Class A roof systems. However, some homes have
complex roof designs (e.g. Figure 58) that create
multiple ledges, valleys and other features where
vegetative debris and embers have a higher likelihood
of collecting, leading to ignition along gaps at the
various roof joints.
+ Garages – Gaps at the top, bottom and edges of
garage doors allow embers to enter a home. Garages
often contain combustible materials or flammable
liquids that a highly susceptible to ignition and
challenging fires. Garages typically also have vents
along the façade to provide venting for a variety of
purposes (e.g., gas furnace or hot water heaters,
natural ventilation, clothing dryer). These vents can
provide easy entry points for embers, as most garage vents are unscreened or have large openings (e.g., greater than 1/8” openings). Similar to other vents, protection is garage vents is likely deficient across the City.
+ Nooks and Crannies – Grooves, inside corners, and roof valleys are areas where flammable debris (e.g., leaf litter, bird nests) collect over time. Embers can land on this debris, leading to ignition. These areas can also accumulate a large number of embers, which increases the likelihood of ignition of combustible concealed spaces just behind the exterior façade, roof covering or similar outer building material. Many homes in Agoura Hills have tiled roofs. Tiled roofs tend to have gaps at the roof edge underneath the tiles, which if left unprotected, can allow flammable debris to collect. + Windows – Single pane windows can be a major vulnerability during a major fire. Single pane windows can oftentimes break due to impact by airborne materials or crack and fallout due to thermal exposure to intense heat. This can create large entry points into the structure allowing flames, hot gases and embers to penetrate the home, igniting interior combustible materials. The majority of homes in Agoura have doublepaned windows.

Wildfire will continue to threaten Agoura Hills. However, residents and homeowners can and should take proactive measures to mitigate this threat. Current land use planning, zoning regulations, and codes adopted by the State of California and local fire departments provide the regulatory basis for preparedness, but these alone will not protect life safety and other community values.

5.3.2.4 Social Vulnerabilities
While many people might be exposed to the same wildfire, differences in demographic and socioeconomic characteristics can result in very different short and long-term impacts. Vulnerable or functional needs populations may have limited capacities to prepare for, respond to, and recover from a wildfire incident. These Figure 58: Example of a complex roof,
which introduces several locations where
flammable debris and embers can gather.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

individuals are also less likely to be involved in wildfire mitigation activities (Ojerio, 2008). As a proxy for individual-level vulnerability data, key demographic and population statistics for Agoura Hills from the 2020 U.S.

Census and 2023 American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau, http://data.census.gov) were assessed to identify potential vulnerable populations:
+ Population: 19,429
+ Housing Units: 7,585
+ Average population density: ~2,500 people/square mile + Racial makeup: 68.7% White (non-Hispanic), 15.3% Hispanic or Latino, 0.8% Black or African American, 7.9% Asian, 0.1% American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.1% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 10.2% Other/Two or More Races
+ Language other than English spoken at home: 20.1% of the population
+ Disabilities: 4.9% of the population
+ Vulnerable age groups: 3.4% of the population under 5 years,

16.0% 65 years and older
+ Poverty: 5.7% of the population live below the federal poverty level These characteristics may influence people’s ability to plan and prepare in advance of a wildfire, respond quickly and independently during a wildfire, and recover following a wildfire. For example, older individuals are likely to have difficulty undertaking defensible space maintenance around their properties and may also need assistance evacuating. Those with limited English proficiency may need emergency communications, as well as information about wildfire preparedness, shared in a language other than English. Limited access to financial resources may hinder the ability of lower-income populations to invest in emergency preparedness and mitigation measures, as well as to recover from losses. Other characteristics, and combinations of different characteristics, impact social vulnerability in different ways. Planning for vulnerable or functional needs populations is critical to providing a holistic wildfire mitigation preparedness plan that works for the entire community.

Understanding where vulnerable populations are geographically is important for targeting outreach and interventions to reduce impacts. A small sample of the many attributes that contribute to social vulnerability was explored as part of the CWPP development process. The number of households with at least one member aged 65 or over was found to have the greatest spatial variation (Figure 59). These individuals are more likely to have greater challenges with all aspects of wildfire preparedness and areas with a greater proportion of these vulnerable populations may need additional resources. This is simply a starting point for understanding how social vulnerability varies across Agoura Hills and should be combined with other, more locally specific, information.

Vulnerable or functional needs
populations include those who
are physically and/or mentally
disabled (e.g., blind, cognitive
disorders, limited mobility),
limited or non-English speaking,
culturally isolated, medically or
chemically dependent, homeless,
Deaf or hard-of-hearing, of
vulnerable ages (e.g., elderly or
young), or lack digital services.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Figure 59: Percent of households in each census block group with at least one member aged 65 or over As shown in Figure 59, Old Agoura and the northeastern parts of Agoura Hills have the highest proportion of older residents, with up to 80% of households having at least one member aged 65 or over. Households in the area east of Kanan Rd. between Eagleton St. and Timberlane St. also have, on average, over 50% of households with at least one older member.

5.3.2.5 Fire Department Response Capacities
Community-level vulnerability refers to the resilience of various built environment characteristics to wildfire threats over both the short and long-term. While there are numerous values in the natural, built and human environments that may be exposed to the same wildfire, how much loss or damage is experienced by those values can vary dramatically depending on the inherent physical resiliency of those assets to wildfire – individually or as a collective. Some examples of physical vulnerability include age of construction, code compliant structural hardening and defensible space, limited access/egress routes, and structure separation distances. Community-level vulnerabilities may also include coping capacities of the community (e.g., the availability of resources to effectively respond to or recover from a wildfire threat). Some coping capacity proxies may include fire service response times, firefighting water supplies, emergency power supplies, communication dead zones, etc. Note: As vulnerability assessments are often limited by the availability, quality and scale of the datasets, the corresponding analyses have been governed by these limitations.

This map illustrates the
percent of households in
and around the Planning
Area with at least one
member aged 65 or over.

Households and
neighborhoods with a
larger elderly population
may be more vulnerable
during a wildfire. Data was
obtained from the U.S.

Census is shown at the
Census Block Group
scale.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Fire service response time coverage has been evaluated as a proxy for wildfire coping capacities across the City. See Figure 60.

Figure 60: Fire Department response time coverage across the City.

As seen in Figure 60, the majority of the city has a very good fire department response time with expected arrival times of less than 4 min to the nearest fire station. The northern portion of Old Agoura and the southern portion of Liberty canyon have slightly higher response times, primarily between 4 and 6 min, reaching between 6 and 8 minutes in few places.

5.4 COMMUNITY INPUT ON HAZARDS AND RISKS

5.4.1 CWRA Development: Community Input on Hazards and Risks During the CWRA development process, three forms of community outreach were used to understand the experiences, perceptions and concerns of local residents, agencies, organizations, and other interested parties to past and future wildland fire threats in and around Agoura Hills. The forms of community outreach included:
+ Public survey
+ Public workshops
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

+ Digital polling
A summary of the feedback is provided in the following sections. See Appendix B and Appendix E for additional details.

5.4.2 Feedback from Individuals & Households
As described in Section 2.2.5.1, a public survey was administered as part of the CWRA process to gather feedback on wildfire-related concerns, past experiences and recommendations for mitigations to future wildfire threats. Approximately 371 households responded to the survey. Additional in-depth analysis of the survey responses was undertaken as part of the CWPP development process. For more detailed information on survey responses, please see Appendix E.

The following are common themes that arose from the survey:
+ Major wildfire concerns:
o Insurance availability and cost
o Home hardening – cost and enforcement
o Vegetation management, including HOAs – cost and enforcement o Evacuation, including power outages and signal traffic outages + Suggested opportunities and strategies to increase public education and awareness:
o Community workshops with greater advertising and webinar formats o Providing information on proper materials and contractors for home hardening o Door-to-door campaigns and tabling at public events
As described in Section 2.2.5.2, two (2) public workshops were held during the CWRA development process (May and July 2025). Attendees represented various agencies, organizations, interested parties and general public across the City. Additionally, one (1) public workshop was held during the CWPP development process (March 2026). The March 2026 workshop had over 50 attendees from Agoura Hills. The workshops included a breakout session where facilitated groups discussed concerns, recommendations, and improvements.

The following are common themes that arose from workshops:
+ Major wildfire concerns:
o Vegetation management, including cost and enforcement (e.g. HOAs provided as an example) o Home Hardening, including cost and enforcement
o Evacuation routes, including power and signal traffic outages o Emergency communication
o Community education on mitigation efforts & egress routes o Costs of home hardening
o Insurance availability and cost
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

+ Most important assets within the City:
o Human life & community cooperation
o Property
o City parks & natural environment and animals
+ Suggested ways to increase public education and awareness:
o Community workshops with greater advertising and webinar formats o Providing information on proper materials and contractors for home hardening o Door-to-door campaigns and tabling at public events

5.4.3 Feedback from Community Groups
As described Section 2.2.4, a broader stakeholder digital poll was administered from March 3 – 31, 2025 as part of the CWRA process. Thirteen representatives of fire agencies, fire safe councils, land managers, utilities and other community groups responded to the digital poll.

Additionally, two (2) meetings were held with members of the City’s CWPP Ad Hoc Committee on March 4, 2026 and April 16, 2026 to collect feedback and input from select City elected officials and members of the public.

The following are common themes that arose from the digital polling:
+ Major wildfire concerns:
o Availability of funding to pursue WUI-related projects o Inter-agency coordination during a wildfire
o Feasibility and enforcement of defensible space measures o Egress and evacuation challenges (e.g., notifications, evacuation planning, vulnerable populations) + Suggested opportunities and strategies to increase wildfire resiliency:
o Provide more guidance information for evacuations
o Increase community education initiatives
The following are common themes that arose from the two Ad Hoc committee meetings (to be included after the meetings take place).

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Community Wildfire Resiliency Strategy
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

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Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

6.0 Community Wildfire Resiliency Strategy
While wildfires are part of the natural landscape and cannot be eliminated, their devastating impacts to community assets, the environment, social infrastructure, and local economies can be reduced through the collective action of all involved groups, both government and non-government. As wildfires have been increasing in frequency, scale, and severity over the past several decades, traditional approaches to mitigating wildfire risk – such as government policies, programs, planning codes, zoning regulations, firefighting operations, and vegetation management – are no longer sufficient. The complexity and breadth of impacts highlight the need to take a more comprehensive and proactive approach to managing those risks. Resiliency to wildfires means engaging and collaborating across the whole community, across all scales and sectors, to more holistically build individual and community-level capacities to prevent, prepare, respond to, and recover from wildfire incidents.

Based on this goal of a comprehensive and proactive approach, a Community Wildfire Resiliency Strategy and Recommended Actions have been developed to help mitigate the hazards and risks of wildfires in the City of Agoura Hills for the next 5-10 years. These are based on the results of the fire hazard, risk, and vulnerability analyses in Chapters 3-5 and the conceptual framework for fire adapted communities (FAC). FAC provides a general framework to address a broad range of individual and societal capacities to build community wildfire resilience, which is a major goal of this CWPP.

Figure 61 shows the key components of the Community Wildfire Resiliency Strategy for the City of Agoura Hills on the FAC framework. Additional information for the FAC framework can be found at https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/fire/fac and https://fireadaptednetwork.org/.

Figure 61. Key Components of Community Wildfire Resiliency Strategy for the City of Agoura Hills Fire Adapted Communities:
“There is no one silver bullet
that reduces risk; there are
many tools that, when used
together and strategically,
reduce risk. And it’s not the
responsibility of one agency or
group to mitigate; it’s the
responsibility of everyone who
lives and works in the
community. Fire adaptation
happens when local, multijurisdictional stakeholders work together to identify risk, mitigate
it, and maintain the work over
time." USDA
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

For this CWPP, the key components of the strategy include protecting life safety, property, and critical infrastructure as well as having a robust fuels mitigation strategy, early warning detection systems, public notification and communications, evacuation preparedness, and public education. These strategic components are described in the following sections and include existing, planned, and proposed activities that are essential for increasing wildfire resiliency across Agoura Hills. Where there are areas of improvement, they are indicated in the sections below and summarized in more detail in the Recommended Actions (Chapter 7).

6.1 PROTECTING LIFE SAFETY
The first priority of the City of Agoura Hills, Los Angeles County Fire Department, Los Angeles County Sherrif’s Department, and other key federal, state, and local stakeholders is the life safety of residents and first responders.

6.1.1 Public Safety
As with any natural hazard, minimizing the risk wildfire poses to public safety necessitates a comprehensive approach from prevention and mitigation to preparedness, response, and recovery. Collectively, the wildfire resiliency strategy and proposed action items described in this plan aim to reduce the potential risk to human life for both the general public and first responders. At an individual level, community members can become aware and actively engaged in understanding the various wildfire hazards and risks that may impact where they live and work, and take the necessary steps to prepare themselves, their homes, and their family members to minimize risk. The educational information and resources provided by the City’s Emergency Preparedness webpage, local Fire Safe Councils, LACoFD and other relevant agencies in the City are available to aid individuals and community groups. Initiatives such as “Ready-Set-Go” help individuals understand steps to take to increase wildfire resilience. See Section 6.9 for more about public education and awareness programs.

These informational materials cover the key concepts of fire life safety for residents including:
(1) Prevent ignition – Reducing ignition sources and fire hazards in and around your property (2) Control ignition – In the event fire occurs, minimize the potential for fire spread and growth (e.g., structural hardening provisions, vegetation management, defensible space) (3) Notification and communication – Knowing and being familiar with public notifications systems and their limitations and signing up for county emergency alert systems (4) Evacuation – Be familiar with evacuation routes from your home, place of work, and other frequented locations; be familiar with any publicly available evacuation centers/shelter-in-place facilities (if provided); be prepared using Ready-Set-Go program
During wildfire events, it is often unsafe or impossible for firefighters, let alone members of the public, to defend structures, particularly during large, wind-driven incidents. During wildfire events, logistical limitations such as water availability, personnel, equipment, and access can overwhelm response efforts and prevent firefighters from defending every structure. As a result, structures and other valued assets must be prepared in advance to withstand wildfire exposure through passive measures such as defensible space and fire-resistant construction.

Fighting wildfires and protecting structures is complex, dangerous, and resource-intensive. Evacuation orders are lawful directives, and it is highly recommended that the public evacuate when directed to do so.

6.1.2 Firefighter Safety
There are many factors that affect the ability of firefighters to protect structures and other community assets.

Firefighters arriving on scene quickly perform an assessment or “triage” to determine whether a structure or asset can be safely defended. Prior to engaging in structure defense activities, firefighters look for access and Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

egress issues, whether a structure or improvement has vulnerabilities, hazardous material issues, adequate water sources, adequate defensible space, and whether the defensible space provides safe operational space.

The state law for defensible space outlined in the Public Resources Code (PRC) 4291 and Government Code Sections 51175-51189, require that any property within a designated Fire Hazard Severity Zone in a State Responsibility Area, within a Local Responsibility Area’s Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (updated in 2025), within Wildland Urban Interface areas (WUIs), or any other property at the discretion of the Fire Department, be provided with 100 feet of maintained defensible space from all sides of any structure. Research suggests that even the 100 feet of defensible space may not be sufficient for firefighters to safely engage in structure defense (See Section 6.1.2 for more details). This is reflected by the Los Angeles County Code of Ordinances Section 325.2.1, which allows the required defensible space distance to be increased in extra hazard situations to up to 200 feet, at the discretion of the fire code official or commissioner.

Guidelines established for wildfire safety zones can enhance safe operational space for firefighters and the public. However, the additional element of burning structures and other “non-native” fuels can significantly increase fire intensities that can threaten the life safety of firefighters and the public. Safe separation distance (SSD) calculations can provide a better estimate for whether a structure can be defended with lower risk of thermal injury. This distance is often greater than 100 feet. Onsite consultation with the fire code official, local Fire Safe Councils, or LACoFD is recommended to determine whether the clearance around a structure or other improvement is sufficient to provide a safer structure defense environment.

6.2 PROPERTY PROTECTION
Most actions to increase the resiliency of a structure or property to wildfires can be categorized into one of two groups:

1. Structural hardening – Mitigation actions associated with the structure itself, from the top of the building down to the foundation.

2. Defensible space – Mitigation actions associated with natural and manmade features from 0 feet to 100+ feet
around a structure.

6.2.1 Structural Hardening
Structural hardening is the term used to broadly describe any actions that are done to the structure to protect vulnerable areas from ignition. These vulnerable areas most commonly include exterior elements such as the roofing, siding, and vents, among others. Structural hardening adds another layer of passive fire protection in addition to the protection afforded by the vegetation management and defensible space measures described in subsequent sections. In general, buildings constructed before the adoption of Chapter 7A into the California Building Code in 2008 (which is now incorporated into the California Wildland Urban Interface Code) are less likely to have modern, wildfire-resistant construction features. Thus, older structures are likely to be less hardened and more vulnerable to wildfire impacts.

In the event of a fast-moving, large-scale wildfire, firefighting resources may be quickly overwhelmed. This means that active structure defense by firefighters may not be available for most structures or may be considered unsafe for a variety of factors (e.g., intensity of the fire, weather conditions, local topography, access issues, lack of water supplies). Thus, the survivability of a structure in a major wildfire event can depend on where the property or structure is situated relative to local topography, the presence and condition of structural hardening provisions, condition of defensible space and proximity to other combustible fuels/structures in the built environment.

In general, the primary responsibility
for preventative actions to protect a
structure from wildfire is with the
property owner.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Several guidance documents and technical resources are available to provide property owners with best practices to further increase the resiliency of new properties or developments to wildfires. See below.

City of Agoura Hills Emergency Preparedness Guidance
 Wildfire Preparedness Webpage
https://www.agourahillscity.gov/business_detail_T4_R40.php Los Angeles County Guidance (Accessed at https://fire.lacounty.gov/rsg/)  Home Hardening /Defensible Space Webpage
Full-Scale Research on Wildfire Resiliency of Joints and Building Detailing  Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) Full-Scale Fire Testing https://ibhs.org/risk-research/wildfire/
 Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI) https://fsri.org/about  National Institute of Standards and Testing (NIST) https://www.nist.gov/fire Design Guidance for New and Existing Construction
 FEMA Marshall Fire MAT Products https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/riskmanagement/building-science/mitigation-assessment-team  SFPE Foundation Virtual Handbook on WUI Risk Assessments https://www.sfpe.org/wuihandbook/home
 University of Nevada, Reno Wildfire Home Retrofit Guide https://extension.unr.edu/publication.aspx?PubID=3810
 Maranghides, A., et al, WUI Structure/Parcel/Community Fire Hazard Mitigation Methodology https://www.nist.gov/el/fire-research-division-73300/wildland-urban-interface-fire73305/hazard-mitigation-methodology-1  FM Global, Data Sheet 9-19: Wildland Fire https://www.fm.com/resources/fm-data-sheets  Hedayati, F. et al, Wildland Embers and Flames: Home Mitigations that Matter https://ibhs.org/risk-research/wildfire/
 NFPA Handout on Wildfire Preparedness https://www.nfpa.org/downloadableresources/safety-tip-sheets/how-to-prepare-your-home-for-wildfires  US Green Building Council CA Wildfire Rebuilding Guide https://www.smmfsc.org/_files/ugd/caaf3b_8bea39a6d9a84db1a8499527c8b5cab8.pdf ?index=true
Databases for Fire-Listed Products and Assemblies
 FM Approvals, Approval Guide https://www.approvalguide.com/ Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

 Intertek Directory of Building Products
https://bpdirectory.intertek.com/pages/DLP_Search.aspx
 UL Product iQ https://productiq.ulprospector.com/en
 CAL FIRE Building Materials Listings https://osfm.fire.ca.gov/divisions/fire-engineeringand-investigations/building-materials-listing/bml-search-building-materials-listing/

6.2.2 Retrofit Resources & Other Local Resources
In addition to new construction, the guidance documents and technical resources listed in Section 6.2.1 can also provide helpful recommendations to retrofit existing properties to increase resiliency to wildfires.

Table 13 provides further guidance on mitigation actions that can enhance protection of life safety and improve the survivability of existing structures in the community.

Table 13. Structural Hardening Measures for Existing Properties Structural
Component Mitigation Measures
Roof Replace wood-shake or shingle roofs with a Class-A material or ember-resistant materials suitable for extreme fire exposure. Plug openings in roofing materials, such as the open ends of barrel tiles, to prevent ember entry and debris accumulation. Regardless of the type of roof, keep it free of bird’s nests, fallen leaves, needles and branches.

Chimneys Screen chimney and stovepipe openings with an approved spark arrestor cap with a 5/8-inch screen.

Eaves Cover the underside of the eaves with a soffit, or box in the eaves, which will reduce the ember threat. Enclose eaves with fiber cement board or 5/8-inch thick, high-grade plywood. If enclosing the eaves is not possible, fill gaps under open eaves with caulk.

Exterior
Siding
Noncombustible siding materials (e.g., stucco, brick, cement board, and steel) are better choices. If using noncombustible siding materials is not feasible, keep siding in good condition and replace materials in poor condition. Caulk or plug gaps greater than 1/8-inch in siding.

Windows
and Skylights
(including
solar tube)
Single-pane windows and large windows are particularly vulnerable in older homes built prior to current fire codes. It is recommended to install windows that are at least double-glazed and utilize tempered glass for the exterior pane. The type of window frame (e.g., wood, aluminum, or vinyl) is not as critical; however, vinyl frames can melt in extreme heat and should include metal reinforcements. Skylights should be kept free of leaves and other debris, and overhanging branches should be removed to reduce ember accumulation. In the WUI, skylights should be flat and constructed of double-pane, tempered glass to improve fire resistance. Solar tube skylights may also be used if they are constructed with noncombustible or tempered materials, incorporate ember-resistant seals, and are properly installed to prevent ember intrusion. As with all roof openings, regular maintenance and proper installation are critical to reducing wildfire risk.

Vents All vent openings should be covered with 1/8-inch or smaller wire mesh. Another option is to install ember-resistant vents. Baffles can also be used to protect vents in eaves or cornices.

Do not permanently cover vents, as they play a critical role in preventing wood rot. Fireresistant materials should be used to protect eaves & soffits.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Structural
Component Mitigation Measures
Rain Gutters Always keep rain gutters free of bird’s nests, leaves, needles, and other debris. Roof gutters shall be provided with a means to prevent accumulation of leaves, needles, and debris, such as a noncombustible gutter cover. Check and clean them several times during the year.

Decks Keep all deck materials in good condition. Consider using fire-resistant rated materials or heavy timber construction. Routinely remove combustible debris (e.g., pine needles, leaves, twigs, and weeds) from the gaps between deck boards and under the deck. Enclosing the sides of the deck may reduce this type of maintenance. Do not store combustible material under the deck.

Combustible
Items
Keep the porch, deck, and other areas of the home free of flammable materials (e.g., baskets, newspapers, pine needles, and debris). Keep firewood, bales of hay or straw, and other combustible/flammable materials at least 30-feet away from a structure.

Residential
Fire Sprinkler
Systems
Automatic residential fire sprinkler systems are required in all new residential structures. An automatic residential fire sprinkler system is not required for additions or alterations to existing building that are not already provided with an automatic residential sprinkler system.

Annual maintenance service or inspection of these systems is strongly recommended to ensure operability.

Detached
accessory
structures
All detached accessory structures should ideally follow the same provisions as the main structure. Detached accessory structures should be constructed of non-combustible materials or of ignition-resistant materials.

More detailed information on reducing structural ignitability can be found in the California Wildland Urban Interphase Code, Los Angeles County Fire Code, and Public Resources Code 4291, as amended by the City of Agoura Hills.

The Agoura Hills Fire Safe Council has a variety of resources to help the residents of Agoura retrofit their homes to be more resilient. The interactive home hardening guide (available: https://agourahillsfsc.org/wildfire-homehardening-guide/) explains in detail the common areas where structural hardening measures provide the most benefit, and common weak-points in a typical single-family home.

The City of Agoura Hills and the Agoura Hills Fire Safe Council are working together on a home hardening program to provide free ember-resistant vent mesh to the residents of Agoura Hills. Installing wildfire-appropriate mesh over vents (with max 1/8” openings) is a cost effective, and relatively simple home hardening effort that can provide substantial benefit to a home’s wildfire preparedness. The program provides free mesh to residents (see:
https://agourahillsfsc.org/home-hardening-program/), and has reasonable prices for custom sizes or extra pieces of mesh, if needed.

Additional local resources can also be found at the Los Angeles Regional Fire Safe Council (available:
https://www.wildfirela.org/ready/).

6.2.3 Defensible Space
Defensible space is an area within the perimeter of a parcel where basic wildfire prevention practices and measures are implemented and maintained. These measures include but are not limited to removing brush, flammable vegetation, or combustible growth within at least 100 feet of a building or structure as measured from the eaves, porches, decks and balconies to the property line. Defensible space, coupled with structural hardening (Section 6.2.1 above), is essential to increasing a structure’s likelihood of surviving a wildfire.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Defensible space is generally subdivided into three zones, whereby the highest priorities and most restrictive measures are required for the area closest to the structure. The County of Los Angeles Fire Department defines the three zones as follows, with an optional fourth zone (See Figure 62):
 Ember-Resistant Zone or “Immediate Zone,” or “Zone 0” (0–5 feet). The Ember-Resistant Zone is considered the most important and includes areas immediately surrounding a structure, as well as areas under any attached decks or overhangs.
 Zone A or “Intermediate
Zone,” “Lean, Clean, and
Green Zone,” or “Zone 1”
(0–30 feet). Zone A adds
a defensible zone that
extends through the
Ember Resistant Zone
and to Zone B. The goal
of this area is to reduce
the connectivity between
garden beds, shrubs, and
trees; removing lower
branches of trees and
shrubs; and creating
areas of irrigated and
mowed grass or
hardscape between
isolated vegetation islands,
which are free of dead or drying plant material, so that wildfire does not burn to the house or into the crown of trees. Plants should be properly irrigated and maintained to remove dead/dry material (Valachovic, et al., 2021). This designation also applies to the area within 10 feet of driveways, access roads, or public roads adjacent to the property.
 Zone B or “Extended Zone,” “Reduce Fuel Zone,” or “Zone 2” (30–100 feet). The goal of Zone B is to create a fuel break that interrupts the continuous vegetative fuel path of a wildfire, minimizes flame length, and keep fires on the ground by reducing ladder fuels and crown clustering.  Zone C (100-200 feet). Zone C is required only when deemed necessary by the fire code official.

Table 14 details basic recommendations for each defensible space zone. This table contains some City and County-specific requirements but is not intended to be a complete list. Consult with LACoFD or authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) for more detailed guidance.

The Agoura Hills Fire Safe Council provides Home Wildfire Assessments upon request to residents of Agoura Hills. The page, and the link to the request form can be accessed at https://agourahillsfsc.org/wildfire-assessments/
Figure 62. Defensible Space Zones (Valachovic, et al., 2021) Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Table 14. Defensible Space Mitigation Measures.

Hazard
Mitigation
Zone
Mitigation Measures
Ember
Resistant
Zone
(0 – 5 ft)
+ Use hard surfaces, such as concrete or noncombustible rock mulch around the home.

Consider removing artificial turf near structures and replacing it with noncombustible materials such as gravel, pavers, or low-water, fire-resistant plants. + Clean roof and gutters of dead leaves, debris, and pine needles. + Avoid anything combustible in this area, including woody plants, mulch, woodpiles, combustible trellises, wood fences, and stored items. This is an excellent location for walkways, or hardscaping with pavers, rock mulch, decomposed granite, or pea gravel.

This should include a six-inch noncombustible zone between the ground and the start of the building’s exterior siding.
+ Relocate boats, RVs, vehicles and other combustible items outside this zone.

Zone A
(0 – 30 ft)
+ Store firewood and other combustible materials away from the home, garage, or attached deck. Cover wood piles with a noncombustible cover. + Trim touching or overhanging branches from the roof to a distance of at least 10 feet. + Herbaceous non-woody ground cover should not exceed 3-inches high. + In general, plants should have clearance 2 times their height from other plants and exterior openings.
+ Use non-combustible pots and planting boxes at the ground level. + Remove artificial or synthetic grass.
+ Trees are generally not recommended except for dwarf varieties or mature trees less than 25’ tall and wide at maturity. Trees shall be positioned so their canopies do not extend over the roof of any structure.
+ Move trailers/recreational vehicles, storage sheds and other combustible structures out of the zone and over 30 feet from the home. If unable to move, create defensible space around them.
+ Hedges should be well-maintained, lean clean and green, and no more than 8 ft tall.

Zone B
(30 – 100 ft)
+ Ensure sheds and other structures have defensible space in the zone and over 100 feet from the home. Maintain clearance from vegetation and keeping surrounding areas free of combustible materials.
+ Use non-woody, low-growing herbaceous vegetation. Succulent plants and ground covers are good choices.
+ Create vegetation groups, or “islands” to break up continuous fuels around the home. + Remove “ladder fuels” to create a separation between low-level vegetation and tree branches to keep fire from climbing trees.
+ Remove leaf and needle debris from the yard.
+ Keep grass and wildflowers under 4 inches in height.

Zone C (100-
200 ft)
+ Create and maintain a minimum of 10 feet between the tops of trees. + Remove “ladder fuels” to create a separation between low-level vegetation and tree branches to keep fire from climbing trees.
+ Remove dead trees and shrubs.

More detailed information on defensible space can be found in Public Resources Code 4291, and the California Wildland Urban Interphase Code as amended by the City of Agoura Hills.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

6.2.4 Communal Defensible Space
Mitigating risks within the Home Ignition Zone (HIZ) is important but requires a joint effort if a neighbor’s
structure or residence is closer than the 100-foot distance for which defensible space should be maintained (as
determined by the inspecting agency). Figure 63 depicts a representative example of neighboring homes with
overlapping defensible space zones. Whether these
property owners properly maintain their defensible space can influence the survivability of a neighbor’s property.

Closely spaced homes and smaller parcels (i.e., smaller than 100 feet in all dimensions) can cause a defensible space overlap issue. Risk reduction efforts by all
neighbors are beneficial to multiple properties. This
concept is referred to as communal defensible space and is one of the main drivers for the establishment of
Firewise Communities. For more information on Firewise
Communities, refer to Section 6.9.

In most urban and suburban residential
neighborhoods, many property owners will have
difficulty establishing the required 100’ of defensible space within their individual property lines.

Establishing defensible space regardless of the
parcel size or ownership should be a priority for all
residents of the Planning Area.

Achieving appropriate defensible space may require a
combination of strategies including:

Work with neighbors and other adjacent property
owners to ensure that common defensible space
considerations are implemented between and
adjacent to structures on all properties.

Prioritize home hardening measures on the sides of
the structure with insufficient separation to adjacent
properties (e.g., vent covers, replace combustible
siding, remove combustible non-vegetative features).

Provide structural hardening measures for the entire
home (e.g., upgrading to a Class A roof). Refer to
“Structural Hardening” section above.

Communal Defensible Space: Where adjacent
landowners coordinate to maintain fuel
treatments to protect several homes or
structures. Treatments are designed to consider
how vegetation and topography affect fire
behavior regardless of property boundaries.

When combined with structural hardening, the
development of communal defensible space is
the best practice to reduce damage and loss
from wildfire in the WUI.

Top priority: Numerous properties across
Agoura Hills have overlapping defensible space
zones, with owners that either do not know they
should maintain communal defensible space or
do not have the resources to address communal
defensible space practices. This necessitates
public education, guidance, and resources for
residents to undertake communal defensible
space actions.

Figure 63. Communal Defensible Space or Home
Ignition Zone Overlap (courtesy:
www.firewise.org).

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Prioritize the reduction of receptive fuel beds around
the entire home from ember attack.

In some circumstances, structures may not be able
to achieve 30 feet of separation from other structures
(Figure 64). In these instances, property owners are
encouraged to consider the following strategies:

1. Install solid, noncombustible property line walls or fences to minimize ember transmission and heat
transfer.

2. Install 5-10 feet of hardscaping and/or
noncombustible landscaping around the home.

Note: Where hardscaping is introduced, ensure
proper drainage is provided.

3. Prioritize localized structural hardening measures
on the side of the structure with less than 30 feet
of separation.

4. Provide additional structural hardening such as
installing or upgrading exterior walls, windows,
vents, and under-eaves areas of the home to be
fire-resistance rated.

5. Refer to FEMA’s fact sheets on defensible
space and home hardening for more detail:
https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_rsl_marshall-mat-homeowners-guide-toreducing-wildfire-risk-through-defensible-space_042025.pdf

6.3 CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION
The protection of critical infrastructure (e.g., communication systems, water supplies/infrastructure, electrical power infrastructure) from wildfire hazards, as well as limiting the number of wildfire ignitions caused due to this infrastructure, is an important planning consideration while developing a community wildfire resiliency strategy.

The following guidance and best practices should be considered in the community wildfire resiliency strategy.

Critical infrastructure may span multiple jurisdictions and may have multiple responsible entities (e.g., public utilities, city, county) so coordination with all responsible parties is key.

6.3.1 Water Infrastructure
The Las Virgenes Municipal Water District (LVMWD) is the main district responsible for delivering water to residents and businesses in the City of Agoura Hills. LVMWD purchases imported water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). Critical facilities include the Tapia Water Reclamation Facility which treats 7 million gallons of wastewater daily and processes biosolids removed during the wastewater treatment process at the Rancho Las Virgenes Composting Facility. The treatment and purification of recycled water through the Las Virgenes Triunfo Pure Water Project are also critical to the water infrastructure in the City of Agoura Hills (refer to Section 3.5.2.5).

Wildfire can affect water infrastructure in a number of ways. These impacts to infrastructure may influence operations during a wildfire, water quality, and recovery of communities following a wildfire. It is imperative that Figure 64. Examples of additional structural
hardening and defensible space features where 30
feet of setback to the property line is not feasible
(FEMA).

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

the authorities with the responsibility of maintaining water infrastructure take actions to maintain operations during a wildfire wherever possible, and work towards restoration of services in a timely manner to facilitate overall community recovery efforts. There are several proactive actions that can be taken as part of a community wildfire resiliency strategy to aid these efforts.

The University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR), California Institute for Water Resources and the Luskin Center for Innovation (LCI) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) produced a detailed report (https://innovation.luskin.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Wildfire-andWater-Supply-in-California.pdf) on wildfire & water supply in California. Some key recommendations contained in this report are:

Additional guidance related specifically to water
infrastructure for fire protection is provided by FEMA:
+ As a minimum, 30 feet of brush clearance
should be maintained around water
infrastructure components that are critical
fire protection equipment, such as water
storage. This distance may vary based on
review and discussion with the local fire
department. Refer to NFPA 1 and local
ordinances for detail.
+ Minimum water storage requirements should
be considered to provide protection for
dwellings and other structures where
adequate public/private water supply is not
available. Property owners are encouraged to consult with the local fire department for further guidance.

Top Priorities for Water Infrastructure:
+ Invest in debris management basins.
+ Plan for treatment technologies and techniques to protect water systems under different wildfire impact and contamination scenarios.
+ Proactively invest (e.g., in forest restoration projects) to help avoid accumulation of reservoir cleanup costs.
+ Invest in backup power supply to maintain operation of treatment facilities and pump stations during an emergency.
+ Invest in offsite operations of water systems to reduce risk to water system employees and maintain water operations for emergency use. + Develop specific wildfire mitigation plans that include local or regional partnerships with surrounding water systems or water wholesalers with inter-tying supply connections.

Figure 65. Providing appropriate vegetation clearance
around critical water infrastructure and associated
equipment is key for increasing wildfire resiliency.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

6.3.2 Communications Infrastructure
The preservation of communication systems during a wildfire emergency is vital to the safety of residents and first responders and actions should be taken to protect this important infrastructure in the event of a wildfire.

There are some protective measures that can be taken to protect communication systems such as communication towers and associated equipment:
+ Provide 30 feet of hardscaping or brush clearance around communication towers and associated equipment (See Figure 66 for an example of a lack of sufficient hardscaping and clearance around communication towers).
+ Provide a minimum of 100 feet of clearance around accessory buildings that support the operations of communications systems. + Increase defensible space beyond minimum standards for communications infrastructure located on ridgelines or slopes, where site conditions may warrant expanded clearance to address increased fire intensity and ember exposure.
+ Implement enhanced vegetation management and hardening measures, including removal of ladder fuels, use of noncombustible ground cover, and coordination with service providers to evaluate sitespecific clearance needs (potentially exceeding 100 feet) in high-risk locations.

6.3.3 Electrical Infrastructure
Electrical utilities are not only important to maintain in a wildfire as critical infrastructure and lifeline facilities, but they can also pose a wildfire hazard or be a source of ignition themselves. While wildfire mitigation and protection of investor-owned electrical utility infrastructure is the responsibility of the electrical corporation that owns and/or operates it (e.g., Southern California Edison), it is subject to the requirements of the California Public Utilities Commissions (CPUC) and Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety (OEIS). Additionally, other electrical systems and infrastructure also require protection and wildfire safety measures. The following are general actions that can be taken to protect electrical infrastructure:
+ Where possible, place all electrical distribution equipment in conduit underground. + Regular vegetation maintenance should be planned and implemented to maintain appropriate clearances and should take into consideration species’ growth rates, trim cycle, and line sway (NFPA 1, Chapter 17, Office of Energy Infrastructure WMP Guidelines, CPUC General Orders) + Maintain a combustible free zone around poles and towers of not less than 10 feet in each direction. For distribution lines, vegetation clearances are defined as a function of line voltage and time of trimming (e.g., a 4160V line requires a minimum of 4 feet clearance, so trimming requirements are triggered when vegetation is 4 feet from the line and must be trimmed to 6 feet clearance, to allow for growth in between trimming cycles).

Southern California Edison, the main investor-owned utility providing electricity to the area, is required to maintain a Wildfire Mitigation Plan (WMP). Refer to Southern California Edison website for details (https://www.sce.com/safety/wild-fire-mitigation).

See Chapter 7 for recommended actions to increase the resiliency of electrical infrastructure to wildfires.

Figure 66. Water and
communications infrastructure in
a wildfire prone area.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

6.3.4 Transportation Infrastructure
The physical resiliency of road infrastructure to wildfire exposure and post-fire debris flows is critical to protecting the transportation network throughout the City of Agoura Hills not only for access/egress during a wildfire, but also as a lifeline facility for maintaining local economies and livelihoods. A wildfire exposure and post-fire debris flow assessment of the road
infrastructure across the City should be
undertaken to better understand and mitigate
against any physical threats to the transportation
infrastructure from wildfires.

Roadside fuel treatments are a key mitigation
strategy to help reduce structural damage to the road network, particularly for bridges and overpasses that are of combustible construction or have limited inherent fire resistance (e.g., steel structures), and to maintain the roadways such that they are useable and free of extreme fire conditions during a wildfire. Roadside fuel treatments also reduce the likelihood of ignition along highways.

6.4 NATURAL RESOURCES PROTECTION
As part of any actions associated with the mitigation of potential wildland fire hazard, there is a need to balance the impacts of the mitigation actions against the level of protection they provide a value at risk. Actions taken by private property owner on private lands are subject primarily to the protections found in local ordinance of codes.

Regulatory direction can be found in the Agoura Hills General Plan.

Large scale fire hazard reduction projects undertaken by local, State and Federal agencies often fall under the auspices of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) or the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The complexity of the proposed actions and the potential environmental impacts will determine the level of public engagement and analysis required by the laws. Both CEQA and NEPA have exemptions which allow for a less stringent level of environmental analysis. Under CEQA, a Negative Declaration as approved by the jurisdictional regulatory authority essentially is a determination that the project, as proposed, will not cause any significant environmental harm. For federal projects governed by NEPA regulations, a project may be excluded from analysis if the proposed action falls under one of several defined categories. These projects are considered Categorical Excluded from full environmental analysis.

Appendix D offers several Best Management Practices (BMPs) for use on fire hazard mitigation projects.

Property owners are strongly encouraged to contact the city Planning Division for any site-specific resource protection direction.

6.5 FUELS MITIGATION STRATEGY
Wildfires have been a significant component of the southern California landscape for thousands of years, and no level of vegetation management will eliminate the potential negative impacts of a wildfire on local communities.

Focusing fire mitigation efforts on individual structures and communities where social costs are highest shows the greatest promise to decrease overall fire suppression costs, prevent community losses through increased efficiency of firefighting resources, and reduce impacts on native plant communities which serve as a source of plant and animal diversity (Lombardo, 2012).

Fuel treatment, also referred to as vegetation management, is the act of removing or manipulating vegetation to reduce fire intensity, therefore increasing the probability that values at risk will be unaffected in a wildland fire.

Fuel removal generally occurs by prescribed fire, grazing or the physical cutting and hauling away of vegetative Top Priority: A wildfire exposure and post-fire
debris flow assessment should be undertaken
across the County to better understand and
mitigate any physical threats to the road network.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

matter. Modifying fuels by chipping, mastication or weed whipping can also reduce fire behavior by creating a less flammable fuel arrangement.

Multiple agencies have a role in developing a comprehensive fuel treatment strategy for the Planning Area, including Los Angeles County Fire, National Park Service, Mountains Recreation Conservation Authority, multiple Homeowner Associations, and individual property owners. These entities all have different goals and policies that guide their actions on the ground.

A fuels treatment strategy for the Planning Area will require coordination between all the jurisdictional agencies and private landowners to increase the landscape level effectiveness of the various actions. Through coordinated actions, funding and personnel can be directed to the highest priority locations. These priority treatment’s locations are based on the risk assessment performed as part of the approved City of Agoura Hills Community Wildfire Risk Assessment and are categorized at the Planning Unit level in section 6.5.2.

6.5.1 Proposed Fuel Treatments
Manipulating vegetation to modify fire behavior can be an area of contention in portions of southern California where the wildfire return interval has been shown to be well above historic norms. The value and effectiveness of fuel treatments, especially during times of high Santa Ana winds, is debated by some fire scientists and land managers, however the federal, state, and local jurisdictional fire agencies see a benefit from incorporation fuel treatments along with structure hardening and defensible space as part of a fully integrated fire protection strategy.

According to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group a fuel break is “a strategically located strip or block of land where vegetation, debris, and litter are reduced or modified to alter fire behavior, slowing or controlling fire spread by making it easier for firefighters to build control lines or anchor suppression efforts, often using thinning, mowing, or clearing.” Vegetation management may include the development and maintenance of fuel breaks, but the term covers a broad range of activities and can include any actions that modify the existing vegetation structure to support a defined land management goal. These vegetation management actions can vary from the removal of non-native invasive species to timber harvest.

For this plan, fuels breaks are proposed for maintenance and enhancement where they currently exist on the ground. These are located immediately adjacent to structures and are intended to reduce fire intensity and ember cast near these structures.

Most proposed actions in the CWPP meet the definition of vegetation management treatments and range from removal of non-native trees and shrubs on private property to grazing or the potential use of prescribed fire on larger tracks of land. See Figure 67 and Section 6.5.2 for specifics about prioritization of fuel treatments.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Figure 67: Proposed Fuel Treatment Areas

6.5.2 Fuel Treatment Prioritization
Often prioritizing fuel treatments can be as simple as identifying projects with the fewest obstacles to implementation. Single jurisdiction projects where one or a small number of willing landowners come together with a single goal usually have the fewest barriers to implementation. State, federal and local agencies can be constrained by environmental compliance regulations or agency policies that do not always align with fuel treatments. This is particularly true in southern California, where frequent wildfires have led to the degradation of the native vegetative structure and habitat quality.

Four general areas of benefit have been identified for the proposed fuel treatments found in this plan; increased public safety, enhanced structure defense, protection of critical infrastructure, and natural resource protection.

While these four benefits have been identified as the primary purposes of the proposed actions, most treatments will provide multiple benefits.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

For this CWPP, fuel treatment prioritization is presented as a function of treatment location in association with the outputs developed as part of the comprehensive risk assessment. Three Planning Units have been identified to simplify the prioritization process:
• Areas South of Interstate 101
• Areas north of Interstate 101 and east of Kanan Road
• Areas north of Interstate 101 and west of Kanan Road
Ranking the three Planning Units for priority treatments is based on the percentage of the highest risk categories within the Units. Using this methodology areas south of the 101 have the highest priority for treatment, followed by area north of Interstate 101 and east of Kanan Road and areas north of Interstate 101 and west of Kanan. Treatments within the Planning Units are prioritized again using the primary risk category associated with each spatially defined treatment (Figure 67-70, Table 15).

As an example of this methodology, treatments identified in the proximity of Liberty Canyon will have the highest priority for implementation given that the area was evaluated as being most at risk from wildfire. However, prioritization by risk should not be the only element used by the jurisdictional landowner/land management agencies for determining which projects to move forward, as projects which are “shovel ready” should be undertaken as funding becomes available.

Table 15 displays the proposed treatments and their associated risk category. Projects that do not have a significant spatial extent or apply to the entire Planning Unit were not mapped and therefore are not included in this table. These projects are no less important to community protection than are the mapped treatment areas.

This is particularly true in the area north of Interstate 101 and east of Kanan Road in Chesebro and Palo Comado Canyons. Details of the proposed treatments can be found in Section 7.1 and specific geographic extent, where applicable, can be seen in Figures 68-70.

Table 15. Fuel Treatment Prioritization for Planning Units Proposed & Prioritized Fuel Treatments
Unit Number Location Primary Risk Category
Areas South of Interstate 101
SI-1 Liberty Canyon Road Very High
SI-2 Oak Summit Road High
SI-3 Jim Bowie Road Very High
SI-4 Jim Bowie Road High
SI-5 Defender Drive (north) High
SI-6 Defender Drive (south) Very High
SI-7 Hydepark Drive Low
SI-8 Calle Robleda (east) High
SI-9 Calle Robleda (west) High
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Proposed & Prioritized Fuel Treatments
Unit Number Location Primary Risk Category
SI-10 Vejar Drive High
SI-11 Cornell Road Moderate
Areas North of Interstate 101 and West of Kanan Road
KW-1 Forest Cove Park High
KW-2 Strawberry Hill Road High
KW-3 Strawberry Hill Fuelbreak High
KW-4 Rolling Ridge Drive N/A
KW-5 Eastvale Court High
KW-6 Reyes Adobe (north) Moderate
KW-7 Ridgeway Drive Moderate
KW-8 Imbler Court/Braemer Court High
KW-9 Shady Creek Drive High
KW-10 Lindero Canyon Road/Woodbrook Drive Moderate
Areas North of Interstate 101 and East of Kanan Road
KE-1 Argos Street N/A
KE-2 Medea Creek Trail High
KE-3 Agoura High – Fountain Place N/A
KE-4 Carell Avenue/Eagleton Street N/A
KE-5 Quaint Street/Banfield Drive High
KE-6 Carell Avenue Moderate to High
KE-7 Balkins Drive (private) High
KE-8 Fairfield Road (private) High
KE-9 Fairfield Road (private) N/A
KE-10 Fairfield Road (private) N/A
KE-11 Colony Drive High
KE-12 Colony Drive High
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Figure 68: Proposed Fuel Treatments for South of 101 Planning Unit Figure 69: Proposed Fuel Treatments for West of Kanan Planning Unit Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Figure 70: Proposed Fuel Treatments for East of Kanan Planning Unit

6.6 WILDFIRE DETECTION AND WARNING SYSTEMS
Wildfires in and around Agoura Hills are currently detected and reported using a variety of methods – public reporting, fire service personnel observations, monitoring cameras, and infrared technologies. Unlike interior building fires where fire is often detected using devices such as smoke-, heat- or flame-detectors, most wildland fires are still detected and reported by human observations. + Public Reporting – Public wildfire reports have resulted in immeasurable reductions in impacts to life-safety, property, natural environment resources and services, fire suppression costs, and many other community assets/values.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

+ Infrared Technologies – Once a wildfire has occurred, CAL FIRE uses ground personnel and aircraft with thermal imaging technology to assist in fire operations. Thermal imaging is utilized for detecting hot spots and areas of residual fire on larger fires during mop up, boundary establishment, fire mapping and fire progression.
+ Monitoring Cameras – ALERTWildfire is a program developed and operated through a partnership between the University of Nevada Reno, University of California San Diego, and the University of Oregon. It provides public access to a state-of-the-art camera network that assists first responders such as LACoFD and the public with information about current weather and fire conditions. Live feeds can be accessed at the ALERTCalifornia website: https://alertca.live/.
+ Fire Lookout Towers – The nearest fire lookout tower is the South Mountain Lookout, located to the north of Camarillo. Towers can be found at the NHLR website: http://www.nhlr.org/lookouts/us/CA + Arson Watch – Under direction from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Arson Watch volunteers patrol over 185 square miles of the Santa Monica Mountains during periods of extreme fire weather conditions. More information about the Arson Watch can be found at https://www.arsonwatch.com/.

6.7 PUBLIC NOTIFICATION AND COMMUNICATION
Public notification systems and communication strategies are an evolving process. These systems benefit greatly from the investment of resources into the pre-, during- and post-fire stages, particularly during and after fire incidents to monitor and take stock of both shortcomings and successes in the effectiveness of communications in reaching intended audiences. During an event, having a single source of information is strategic both from the perspective of communication clarity as well as for minimizing resource strain. Where multiple sources of information are necessary, such as due to jurisdictional complexities, a unified message across all sources is crucial. Further, in all communications phases, employing an active and reliable channel for communications and operations is one of the most valuable investments that can be made to improve communications in real-time.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Given the City of Agoura Hills’ vulnerable
populations combined with public communications
infrastructure with vulnerabilities to wildfire, it is
imperative that no audience is left behind. There
should be a reliable method for reaching
everyone, and ideally multiple methods that allow
for a quick and coordinated response in the event
of a time-sensitive event. The more redundancy
that can be built into reaching all audiences, the
more investment that can be made in the
infrastructure to do so, and the more that those resources can be front-loaded in anticipation of an event, the more successful communications will be in achieving its goals in an emergency.

As experiences in recent wildfires have shown, and as indicated in public outreach conducted as part of the CWPP development process, additional technologies, physical infrastructure, detailed analysis and enhancements to practices and procedures of public communication and messaging will need to be further developed and implemented to increase the physical resiliency of communication infrastructure to wildfires, as well as to ensure complete, consistent, timely, and effective emergency messaging. Refer to Chapter 7 for recommended actions.

Currently, the Planning Area has a variety of public notification and communication systems (both at the Countyand local- level) to help inform the public of a wildfire incident such as area notification systems, social media, radio/TV broadcasting, door-to-door communications, etc.). These existing systems and technologies are identified and described in the sections below.

6.7.1 Area Notification Systems
+ City of Agoura Hills Emergency Information Webpage
The City of Agoura Hills has a dedicated webpage for the public to access information about emergency information such as evacuation information, air quality, health advisories, impacts to City services and information call lines.
+ County of Los Angeles Emergency Map
The County of Los Angeles Emergency Map is intended for regional emergencies that pose significant threat to large numbers of people and/or property. The page is activated and updated in the event of an emergency. The public should check local media, fire and/or law enforcement for information about smaller, localized events.

The County of Los Angeles Emergency map can be accessed here: https://lacounty.gov/emergency/. + Alert LA County (Powered by Genasys)
Alert LA County is an opt-in mass notification program
utilized by the County of Los Angeles that allows
individuals to receive emergency alerts by text, email
and/or phone call. Alert LA County has accessibility
features for people with disabilities and others with
access and functional needs.

For local-level notifications, see the following webpage: https://ready.lacounty.gov/emergencynotifications/.

Top Priority: Additional technologies, physical
infrastructure, detailed analysis/design and
enhancements to practices and procedures for public
communication and messaging will need to be further
developed and implemented to increase the physical
resiliency of emergency communication infrastructure
to wildfires, as well as to ensure complete, consistent, timely, and effective emergency messaging.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

+ National Weather Service
Weather Radio Alerts are used to expand alerts in hazard areas, especially in areas with poor cellphone coverage. Weather Radios that use Specific Area Message Encoding (S.A.M.E.) technology can be programmed for use in Los Angeles County and a limited number of pre-programmed radios have been distributed. A video demonstrating how to utilize this system is located at this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uAuU8nMEHk&t=4s.
+ Wireless Emergency Alerts
Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) are used to send out urgent alerts and warning messages targeting certain geographic areas. WEAs look like text messages but are designed to get residents’ attention with a unique sound and vibration repeated twice. Residents can ensure their phone is able to receive a WEA by verifying that the appropriate settings are enabled on their phone (by default, the setting is typically enabled, but specific considerations vary by device).

6.7.2 Social Media
The City of Agoura Hills is actively connected via social media networks including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram. Local agencies use social media to keep the public up to date on events, advisories, and alerts.

Table 16 summarizes some of the primary social media network links for emergency preparedness in the Planning Area.

Table 16. Social Media and Media Programs
Source Weblink
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County Facebook https://www.facebook.com/countyofla/ Los Angeles County Twitter/X https://x.com/CountyofLA?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcam p%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Los Angeles County Instagram https://www.instagram.com/countyofla/?hl=en Los Angeles County Sheriff Facebook https://www.facebook.com/LosAngelesCountySheriffsDepartme nt/
County of Los Angeles Sheriff Twitter https://x.com/LASDHQ?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp% 5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
County of Los Angeles Sheriff
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/lasdhq/
County of Los Angeles Fire Department
County of Los Angeles Fire Department
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/LACoFD/
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Source Weblink
County of Los Angeles Fire Department
Twitter
https://x.com/LACoFDPIO?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcam
p%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
County of Los Angeles Fire Department
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/lacountyfd/?hl=en
City of Agoura Hills
City of Agoura Hills Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CityofAgouraHills/ City of Agoura Hills Twitter https://x.com/CityAgouraHills City of Agoura Hills Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cityofagourahills/?hl=en

6.7.3 Other Public Information Sources
+ Watch Duty
Watch Duty is a non-profit organization made up of volunteers who monitor radio scanners and collaborate to record up-to-date information on wildfires and firefighting efforts. It can be accessed via web browser or mobile app at https://www.watchduty.org/. + County of Los Angeles Incident Response Webpage
The County of Los Angeles activates this webpage to provide emergency information related to rainstorms and recent wildfires. It also contains information on the evacuation status of communities within the County and emergency numbers depending on which type of emergency. This webpage can be accessed at https://lacounty.gov/emergency/
+ Southern California Edison Outage Status Map
Southern California Edison (SCE) maintains a webpage where residents can go to check power outage status: https://www.sce.com/outage-center/check-outage-status

6.8 EVACUATION
Agoura Hills has some neighborhoods with access and egress challenges which can impact emergency response and public evacuation capabilities. These challenges include baseline congestion on major routes into and out of the city; narrow, winding, and/or steep roads; vegetation growth encroaching on roads; communities with only one way in/out; and complicated public and private road networks.

The City of Agoura Hills is currently finalizing the report from its 2025-2026 Evacuation Analysis in support of the General Plan Safety Element. This study includes more detailed information about challenges and opportunities related to evacuation for Agoura Hills.

6.8.1 Before a Wildfire Event
Prior to a wildfire event, a variety of preparatory policies, pre-disaster communication strategies, and wildfire hazard mitigations may help reduce the size and impact of an evacuation. Maintaining road and shoulder vegetation management and clearance programs, particularly for secondary roads and communities with only one access road, can both reduce wildfire impacts and keep evacuation routes open during an event.

Pre-disaster communications can help residents prepare for an evacuation and develop an evacuation plan.

Residents can prepare for an evacuation by developing an individualized evacuation plan which includes a Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

packing list, different route options, and options for where they will go. For additional guidance for individuals and families, information is available from Agoura Hills, including through the AH Alert program, (https://www.agourahillscity.gov/residents/preparing_for_emergencies.php), Ready LA County (https://ready.lacounty.gov/), and from the County of Los Angeles Emergency Page (https://lacounty.gov/emergency/).

6.8.2 During a Wildfire Event
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office is the agency with the authority to order an evacuation during a wildfire (or other emergency) event. This decision is made in consultation with relevant fire agencies and the Incident Commander for the emergency. California law authorizes law enforcement to restrict access to any area where a menace to public health or safety exists due to a calamity such as flood, storm, fire, earthquake, explosion, accident, or other disaster. Refusal to comply is a misdemeanor (Penal Code 409.5).

6.8.2.1 Real-Time Evacuation Information
Agoura Hills shares emergency notifications through AH Alert and Los Angeles County publishes public alerts and notifications via Alert LA County to notify the community of emergency events. Refer to Agoura Hills’ website for more information and to sign up for emergency alerts (https://www.agourahillscity.gov/residents/preparing_for_emergencies.php). LA County issues evacuation warnings and orders based on predefined evacuation zones. The evacuation zones for Agoura Hills are shown in Figure 71.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Figure 71. Evacuation Zones in Agoura Hills.

Because no single method of notification would accomplish complete public notification, additional communications methods which may be utilized by fire, law enforcement, and other emergency response entities may include:
+ AH Alert (powered by CodeRed)
+ Alert LA County notification system (powered by Genasys) + Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) message system
+ Emergency Alert System (EAS) broadcasts to radio and television carriers + Weather Radio Alerts broadcast in partnership with the National Weather Service + Radio and television announcements
+ Watch Duty (mobile app and website)
+ Social media, such as X, Facebook and Instagram
In the event of power outages, additional notification strategies may include:
+ Phone hotline
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

+ Door-to-door notifications
+ Flyers for in-person distribution
+ Press releases to the media
+ Loudspeakers in vehicles
+ Deployment of Information Stations (i.e., large wooden sandwich boards with posted information at preidentified locations, Temporary Refuge Areas, and/or additional locations identified during the event)

6.8.2.2 Potential Evacuation Routes
Access/egress routes in Agoura Hills include US-101 as the key east-west travel route and Kanan Rd. as a major north-south route in the city. Thousand Oaks Blvd. is another major east-west route through the City.

These or other routes may be identified as evacuation routes within Agoura Hills during a specific emergency.

It is important to note that during a wildfire event, fire behavior and road conditions may necessitate changes. It is recommended that everyone in the community become familiar with the preferred evacuation routes, identify potential alternatives should fire behavior and/or road conditions require a change and stay connected with emergency notification systems for instructions.

6.8.2.3 Temporary Refuge Areas/Evacuation Points
Temporary refuge areas or evacuation points may be identified within Agoura Hills by LACoFD or LA County Sheriff’s Department in response to a specific wildfire event. These areas may serve as temporary staging areas and may assist in traffic management based on specifics of the emergency event and the communities impacted or threatened (e.g., temporary refuge areas may be utilized when the evacuation route for a one-way-in-oneway-out community is impacted).

6.8.2.4 Potential Evacuation Issues
Outlined below are some issues that may be encountered during an evacuation and should be considered by emergency operations staff responsible for evacuation planning:
+ Residents and business owners may not have established evacuation plans. + Residents and business owners may delay evacuation or choose not to evacuate with the intent of defending their homes/businesses or sheltering-in-place. Their evacuation may also be slowed due to packing of personal items. These individuals can put their lives, and those of emergency personnel, at risk.
+ Research on behavior during wildfire evacuations indicates that people tend to take multiple vehicles when evacuating.

This introduces additional demands on the road network and should be considered as part of an evacuation management plan. Of CWPP survey respondents who indicated that their household evacuated from recent fires by driving,
approximately 55% took two or more vehicles.
+ Vulnerable populations and/or individuals with limited mobility may be less able to respond to, cope with, or recover from wildfire. Approximately 8% of respondents to the CWPP survey indicated that someone in their household has a disability or impairment that would make it hard to leave during a wildfire.

Research on behavior during
wildfire evacuations indicates that
people tend to take multiple
vehicles when evacuating. This
introduces additional demands on
the road network and can impact
life safety.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

+ Evacuating pets, service animals, and large animals can pose significant challenges since animals may panic, behave unpredictably, and/or refuse to respond to normal handling approaches. In addition to evaluating these potential evacuation issues, an evacuation field drill is recommended to identify any additional physical, behavioral, operational, communications, or management challenges to the safe and efficient execution of an evacuation order.

6.9 PUBLIC EDUCATION AND AWARENESS PROGRAMS

6.9.1 County & Regional Programs
+ MySafe:LA (also known as Los Angeles Regional Fire Safe Council) Fire Safe Councils are grassroots, community-led organizations that mobilize and empower residents to protect their homes, communities, and environments from catastrophic wildfire. Throughout California, FSCs educate homeowners about community wildfire preparedness activities, typically working directly with local fire officials to design and implement projects that increase the wildfire preparedness and response efforts.

Although MySafe:LA primarily serves the greater Los Angeles City region, they host the California Fire Safe Council county coordinator for Los Angeles County and so have a key role in encouraging and coordinating countywide collaboration between wildfire mitigation groups. MySafe:LA, operating with grants from FEMA and CAL FIRE (via the Fire Safe Council Foundation), also helps communities to become NFPA Firewise USA sites or to form Fire Safe Councils.

MySafe:LA sponsors several programs available to residents including:
o Fire Safe Council Virtual Town Halls: Every month, MySafe:LA, as the primary countywide Fire Safe Council hosts a virtual town hall meeting. These meetings are avenues for residents to stay in touch with what’s happening relative to wildfire in Los Angeles. In these meetings, attendees can hear from subject matter experts and share opinions and knowledge to make homes and properties as safe as possible.
o Wildfire Home Assessments: Residents can fill out the form located here:
https://www.wildfirela.org/wildfire-home-assessment/ to request a free wildfire home assessment.

More information can be found at: https://www.wildfirela.org/ + LA County Recovers
Los Angeles County maintains a website that contains information and resources for residents that have been impacted by wildfires. This includes debris removal, rebuilding, damage maps, and more. It also provides information to assist residents with permitting needs and right of entry forms. This website can be accessed at: https://recovery.lacounty.gov/.
+ Animal Services
The City of Agoura Hills receives animal services from the Los Angeles County Animal Care & Control.

More information about disaster preparedness for emergency planning with animals can be accessed at the following below:
▫ Los Angeles County Animal Care & Control: https://animalcare.lacounty.gov/emergencyresponse/ ▫ City of Agoura Hills Pets & Emergency webpage:
https://www.agourahillscity.gov/business_detail_T4_R18.php + American Red Cross
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

The California Los Angeles Region of the American Red Cross seeks to help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to natural and human-caused disasters through the immediate mobilization of people and resources and the provision of community, workplace, and school-based training. In addition to disaster relief, the Region delivers Community-Disaster Education, First Aid/CPR, and other types of life-saving health & safety training to thousands of people across our region to help people prevent, prepare, and respond to emergencies. American Red Cross California Los Angeles Region website is available at https://www.redcross.org/local/california/los-angeles.html + National Park Foundation
The National Park Foundation is the official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service, established by Congress to raise private funds to protect and enhance America’s national parks and connect people with these treasured lands. It supports conservation, stewardship, and resilience initiatives across parks nationwide, helping make park infrastructure and natural resources more sustainable and better protected for current and future generations. While NPF does not run a specific Southern California wildfire program by itself, it invests in resilience and sustainability efforts including funding service corps and partners who assist with invasive species removal, ecological restoration, and fuels-related work that supports broader fire resilience goals. Through these partnerships and grant programs, NPF contributes to activities that improve park health and capacity to withstand climate-driven stresses, such as wildfire, which benefit nearby communities and landscapes like those around the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

6.9.2 Local Programs
+ CERT
Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) is a 36-hour course designed for the average citizen so that they can be of help to their neighborhood or business where they work in times of disaster.

The CERT program was developed in 1985 by the Los Angeles City Fire Department to provide basic training in safety and lifesaving skills to the general public. It has since been adopted by and enhanced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Fire Academy.

The City of Agoura Hills has volunteers that are certified CERT and meet on a regular basis to find new ways to prepare and equip Agoura Hills for disasters in their community. More information and how to get involved can be found on the City of Agoura Hills CERT Volunteers website at:
https://www.agourahillscity.gov/government/departments/city_manager/emergency_preparedne ss/cert_volunteers.php. More information about the CERT Program can be found on the LA County Fire Department website at: https://fire.lacounty.gov/community-emergency-response-team/.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

+ Local Fire Safe Councils
o Agoura Hills Fire Safe Council (AHFSC) – The AHFSC is a recognized Fire Safe Council by the official California Fire Safe Council with a mission to work with federal, state and local agencies to protect life and property from wildfire in the City of Agoura Hills. AHFSC does this by educating homeowners on how to protect their homes and the surrounding defensible space and participation in various fuel mitigation projects to reduce the impact of wildfires in Agoura Hills open spaces. More information about AHFSC and the education and programs they offer to the community can be found on their website at https://agourahillsfsc.org/.  Free Vent Mesh Program – The AHFSC has partnered with the City of Agoura Hills to establish wildfire mitigation programs to harden homes and communities against wildfires including the Free Ember-Resistant Vent Mesh Program. According to the California Building Codes and Requirements (Chapter 7A), homes located in FHSZ designations mandate that they be equipped with non-combustible, corrosion resistant mesh with openings between 1/16 and 1/8 inch. This program offers free mesh to residents in helping to meet these codes and requirements. More information about the program can be found at the AHFSC website here: https://agourahillsfsc.org/homehardening-program/. o Santa Monica Mountains Fire Safe Council
(SMMFSC) – The SMMFSC is a regional Fire Safe
Council that covers a wide range of cities including the City of Agoura Hills. The SMMFSC aims to partner with
residents, partners, and local organizations to promote a collaborative approach to wildfire resilience. They provide many educational and program opportunities to engage the community and local partners and organizations such as their Home Ignition Zone Evaluations, Firewise Support, etc. More information about their programs can be found at: https://www.smmfsc.org/services.
+ Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica
Mountains (RCD SMM) – The RCD SMM mission is to
promote land stewardship and resource conservation
through ecological research, conservation planning and
design, habitat restoration, environmental education and community wildfire resilience. The RCD SMM encompasses the Santa Monica Mountains from Point Mugu to Topanga State Park and includes the Simi Hills, Santa Catalina Island, Pierce College, Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Area and Chatsworth Reservoir. As part of their efforts, the RCD SMM provides wildfire resiliency information and services to homeowners and land managers. This includes Home Ignition Zone Evaluations, Fire Demonstration Structure, wildfire resiliency planning, etc. RCD SMM also participates as a facilitator through the U.S. Green Building Council to implement free wildfire defense trainings for landscape and construction professionals. More information about the RCD SMM wildfire programs and services can be found at: https://rcdsmm.org/wildfire-resilience/. + Firewise USA
The Firewise USA Program encourages local solutions for safety by involving homeowners in taking individual responsibility for preparing their homes for the risk of wildfire. The program provides resources to help homeowners learn how to adapt to living with wildfire while encouraging and empowering neighbors to work together to reduce their wildfire risk and prevent losses. Information on Firewise communities located in Los Angeles County can be found at:
https://www.wildfirela.org/firewise-usa/.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

The Agoura Hills Firesafe Council has been active in organizing and obtaining Firewise Community status for several areas of the City. Most Firewise Communities are organized around Homeowners Associations, but any group of individuals can come together to work towards Firewise Community status. According to the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), benefits from being recognized as a Firewise Community can include:
o Preference is sometimes given to Firewise USA® sites over other candidates when allocations of grant money are made for wildfire safety or fuel mitigation. o The Departments of Insurance in the states of California, Colorado, Texas, Arizona, Oregon, New Mexico, and Utah have approved insurance discounts for communities recognized by the Firewise USA® program. In 2022 the California Department of Insurance (CDI), signed into law a regulation that requires insurers to consider specific mitigation factors in their rating plans.

Table 17 reflects recent observations made by the Agoura Hills Fire Safe Council regarding the current Firewise communities in Agoura Hills.

Table 17. Agoura Hills Firewise Community Summary
Firewise
Community
Structure Area Defensible Space HOA Controlled
Open Space
Principle Concern
Peacock Ridge Most structures are
well maintained
with Class A
roofing, noncombustible siding
with more than 50%
of the homes free
of wooden
attachments.

Freestanding
homes have
developed an
ember resistant
zone, and many
have needs to
address non-native
vegetation within
the 5-30’ zone.

Peacock Ridge
HOA maintains
some open space
and hillsides with
the City managing
other adjacent open
space.

Ingress and egress
can only be made
on Reyes Adobe
Road and Lindero
Lake Drive. The
area is susceptible
to ember cast from
nearby open space.

Old Agoura Most homes are
well constructed
with Class A roofs,
with 50 to 74%
having noncombustible siding,
however more than
50% of structures
have a wooden
attachments.

Very few
residences have
developed an
ember free 0-5’
zone and
approximately 70%
of structures in
need of work to
meet basic
defensible space
requirements.

No HOA controlled
open space.

Defensible space.
5-30’ zone needs
improvement.

Weed abatement
needs on City of
Agoura Hills
property needs
annual attention.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Firewise
Community
Structure Area Defensible Space HOA Controlled
Open Space
Principle Concern
Morrison Ranch The community is
well built with
greater than 75% of
structures having
Class A roofs, noncombustible siding,
and no wooden
attachments.

The area is well
maintained with 50-
74% of the
properties having
adequate
defensible space,
and some
vegetation
management work
completed to 200’.

The HOA maintains
some open space
and hillsides with
the City managing
other adjacent open
space.

Most homes do not
have 1/8” mesh
screening installed
on vents.

Liberty Canyon The community is
well built with
greater than 75% of
structures having
Class A roofs, noncombustible siding.
50 - 74% of
structures have no
wooden
attachments.

Most structures
have developed
adequate
defensible space
out to 100’ where
feasible. A goal to
remove remaining
pines in the next
two years has been
established.

There are multiple
HOAs in the area
which maintain
some portion of
open space and
hillsides.

Multiple
jurisdictions have
responsibility on the
east, south, and
west sides of the
community, making
expanding
vegetation
treatments
complex.

Lake Lindero Most homes have
Class A roofs, with
50-74% having
non-combustible
siding. More than
half the homes
have wooden
fences, decks or
patio covers
attached to the
structure.

Poorly developed
ember resistant
zones are common
with larger shrubs
and trees in need of
maintenance. Only
25-50% of homes
have adequate
defensible space to
30’.

No controlling HOA
as some homes
were built prior to
1970 before shared
amenities triggered
the requirement to
form a HOA.

Defensible space
work to a minimum
of 30’ is a priority
for the community.

Addressing
overgrown
ornamental
vegetation is
necessary.

Hillrise The community is
well built with
greater than 75% of
structures having
Class A roofs, noncombustible siding,
and no wooden
attachments.

Approximately 30%
of the structures
need enhanced
defensible space to
30’, especially on
the south and west
of the community
Hillrise Open Space
Association
maintains the open
space and hillside
vegetation
annually. The
Association
performs some
discing to 200’ of
structures
Increase the
number of homes
with 1/8” vent
mesh. Continue to
work to the goal of
removing pines
within the next two
years
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Firewise
Community
Structure Area Defensible Space HOA Controlled
Open Space
Principle Concern
Fountainwood The community is
well built with
greater than 75% of
structures having
Class A roofs, noncombustible siding,
and no wooden
attachments.

More than ½ the
homes have
created 0-5’ ember
resistant zones and
most have well
managed
defensible space to
30’.

MRCA, Santa
Monica Mountains
Conservancy and
the City have open
space management
jurisdiction adjacent
to the community.

Increase the
number of homes
with 1/8” vent
mesh.

Chateau Creek The community is
well built with
greater than 75% of
structures having
Class A roofs, noncombustible siding,
and no wooden
attachments.

Only 25-50% of
homes have fully
treated vegetation
in the 5-30’
defensible space
zone. City
managed
vegetation at Forest
Cove Park
encroaches on
defensible space
zone in some
areas.

HOA performs
annual weed
abatement on open
space. The HOA
shares a boundary
with Morrison
Ranch HOA.

Work with the City
to manage
vegetation at Forest
Cove Park.

Annandale The community is
well built with
greater than 75% of
structures having
Class A roofs, noncombustible siding,
and more than 75%
having 18” vent
mesh installed.

More than ½ the
homes have
created 0-5’ ember
resistant zones and
most have well
managed
defensible space to
30’.

HOA performs
annual weed
abatement on open
space up to 200’ in
some locations.

Flammable material
on patios should be
minimized, roof
gutters noted to
have substantial
flammable debris in
them.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Figure 72. Firewise Communities in Agoura Hills.

6.10 FISCAL RESOURCES
Fiscal resources, budgetary constraints, and the involvement of federal, state, and local stakeholders may present challenges in implementing some recommendations outlined in this plan. Working together as a collaborative of involved parties in Agoura Hills through a variety of sources (public, private, volunteer, nonprofit, etc.) will be essential. Establishing local priorities for available staffing and funding while still seeking additional funding sources will allow stakeholders to continue enhancing wildfire protection for residents, businesses, visitors, and other interested parties.

Implementation funding may come from a variety of sources. The most common source for large projects is through federal, state, and local grant sources. This list below represents some of the more common grant sources used for wildfire-related projects and activities but is not intended to be all inclusive. + Fire Service Grants and Funding (AFGP)
Through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFGP), career and volunteer fire departments and other eligible organizations can receive funding through three different grants to enhance a fire department’s organization’s ability to protect the health and safety of the public first responders and to increase or maintain the number of trained, "front-line" firefighters available in communities.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

+ Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response Grant (SAFER) The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant (SAFER) was created by FEMA to provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to help them increase or maintain the number of trained “front line" firefighters available in their communities. The goal of SAFER is to enhance the local fire departments' abilities to comply with staffing, response and operational standards established by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 1710 and/or NFPA 1720). + Fire Prevention & Safety Grants (FP&S)
The Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) Grants are part of the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) and support projects that enhance the safety of the public and firefighters from fire and related hazards. The primary goal of this grant program is to reduce injury and prevent death among high-risk populations. In 2005, Congress reauthorized funding for FP&S and expanded the eligible uses of funds to include Firefighter Safety Research and Development.
https://www.fema.gov/grants/preparedness/firefighters/safety-awards + Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Authorized by Section 203 of the Stafford Act, Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) will support states, local communities, tribes, and territories as they undertake hazard mitigation projects, reducing the risks they face from disasters and natural hazards. BRIC is a FEMA pre-disaster hazard mitigation program that replaces the existing Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) program. The BRIC program aims to categorically shift the federal focus away from reactive disaster spending and toward researchsupported, proactive investment in community resilience. FEMA anticipates BRIC funding projects that demonstrate innovative approaches to partnerships, such as shared funding mechanisms, and/or project design. https://www.fema.gov/grants/mitigation/building-resilient-infrastructure-communities Note:
the funding source for BRIC grants is currently unavailable, but this grant program may be reopened in the future.
+ CAL FIRE Grant Program(s)
CAL FIRE offers a number of grant opportunities that can be used to fund various action items and initiatives developed as part of this CWPP. A full description of these grants can be found here:
https://www.fire.ca.gov/grants/
o California Climate Investments (CCI) Forest Health Program o California Climate Investments (CCI) Urban & Community Forestry Grant Program o California Climate Investments (CCI) Fire Prevention
o California Forest Improvement Program (CFIP)
o Volunteer Fire Assistance
+ California Fire Safe Council, USFS State Fire Assistance (SFA) Grant Program Funding is provided through a master grant to California Fire Safe Council (CFSC) by the U.S. Forest Service to administer the Grants Clearinghouse program, with CFSC issuing sub-awards to successful applicants to support fire risk reduction activities by landowners in at‐risk communities to restore and maintain resilient landscapes and create fire adapted communities. Funds should be utilized in the following categories: Hazardous fuels reduction and maintenance projects on non‐federal land; Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP) and other community hazard mitigation and planning; and Prevention and mitigation education and outreach opportunities for landowners and residents in at‐risk communities Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

+ Sustainable Transportation Planning Grants
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) provides two planning grant programs that could be used to support any transit system wildfire evacuation studies and/or evacuation planning. o Sustainable Communities Grants – to encourage local and regional planning that furthers state goals, including, but not limited to, the goals and best practices cited in the Regional Transportation Plan Guidelines adopted by the California Transportation Commission. o Strategic Partnerships Grants – to identify and address statewide, interregional, or regional transportation deficiencies on the State highway system in partnership with Caltrans. A sub-category funds transit-focused planning projects that address multimodal transportation deficiencies. + CAL OES Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP)
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funds plans and projects that reduce the effects of future natural disasters. In California, these funds are administered by the CAL OES HMGP Unit. Eligible sub-applicants include state agencies, local governments, special districts, and some private non-profits. + Community Wildfire Defense Grants (CWDG)
Community Wildfire Defense Grants (CWDG) funds communities and Tribes to plan for and reduce wildfire risk and implement the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. These funds are administered by the USDA and U.S. Forest Service. Eligible sub-applicants include communities that are in an area identified as having high or very high wildfire hazard potential, are low income, or have been impacted by a severe disaster in the last 10 years which increased wildfire risk and/or hazard. These funds can be used to develop and revise CWPPs, or implement projects described in a CWPP that is less than 10 years old.
+ Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy
The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy provides grant funding to non-profit organizations, public agencies, and tribes for projects focused on preserving open space and creating climate-resilient communities.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

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Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

CWPP Recommended Actions Plan
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

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Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

7.0 CWPP Recommended Actions
This section provides recommended actions for the City of Agoura Hills. It is a collection of community-wide and planning unit level recommendations and priorities that can be taken by property owners, agencies, and jurisdictional land management agencies to increase the fire resiliency of local communities.

Due to the scale of the CWPP and associated analysis presented in this report, the recommendations are primarily focused on community-wide activities to help inform the development of large-scale projects that will involve coordination and collaboration across multiple stakeholders to complete. The recommendations are intended to provide state, county, and local stakeholders with a tool to inform and direct future projects to reduce wildfire hazards and risks at various scales. The tool, in combination with Chapter 8, is also intended to provide a method to systematically monitor, track and evaluate progress on individual projects and overall CWPP programmatic goals, while also providing a form of accountability.

The recommendations have been organized into citywide actions and planning unit level actions. The three planning units allow interested parties to focus efforts locally within their neighborhoods. The three units are:
+ Areas South of Interstate 101
+ Areas north of Interstate 101 and east of Kanan
Road
+ Areas north of Interstate 101 and west of Kanan
Road
No single individual, group or agency is responsible for enacting the recommendations or projects identified in
this section. While funding and staffing could be an
issue in achieving on-the-ground results, using a collaborative approach, multiple agencies and interested parties can come together to address fire hazard concerns across the Planning Area more effectively and efficiently.

The mitigations are organized into 10 thematic categories:

A. Codes and Enforcement
B. Fuels Mitigation
C. Property Protection (Defensible Space)
D. Property Protection (Home Hardening)
E. Wildfire Resiliency of Critical Infrastructure
F. Public Notification and Communication
G. Evacuation Planning and Preparedness
H. Public Education and Awareness
I. Community and Regional Partnerships,
Collaboration and Coordination
J. Emergency Response
Note: The actions were developed from results of public polling, stakeholder input, wildfire hazard and risk assessments in the CWPP, existing reports, and documents. The list of actionable items is intended to assist with decision-making, project tracking, accountability, and planning outcomes for the Plan.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

7.1 RECOMMENDED ACTIONS – CITY-WIDE
Table 18. Recommended Actions for the City of Agoura Hills Recommendations for the City of Agoura Hills
Objective Number Action Related
Actions
Agency
Partners
Target
Date
Status
A. Codes and Enforcement
Keep local codes,
standards, and guidance
documents up to date with
the latest developments in
wildfire resiliency research.

CW-1 Review recently published wildfire risk
mitigation recommendation reports,
testing and research (e.g., FEMA, NIST,
IBHS, FSRI), and update local codes,
standards, and guidance, as needed.

Resources to be reviewed include FEMA
Marshall Fire MAT, IBHS Home Mitigations
that Matter, NIST Technical Note 2205 &
2228
CW-2 Develop a public education and outreach
plan to increase awareness and ensure
consistent messaging on maintaining
defensible space in accordance with Los
Angeles County Fire Code Section 325.2.1,
California Public Resources Code 4291,
and local ordinances.

Education should include information on
Zone 0 or the “ember-resistant zone” (0–5
feet from a structure) in accordance with
AB-3074 for both new and existing
conditions, as well as updates on changes
to Fire Hazard Severity Zones, defensible
space inspection requirements, and any
associated costs or billing processes. Clear,
accessible communication should be
prioritized to help residents understand
evolving requirements.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Recommendations for the City of Agoura Hills
Objective Number Action Related
Actions
Agency
Partners
Target
Date
Status
B. Fuels Mitigation
Manage landscape
vegetation to promote the
return of fire resilient species
and lower vegetation
densities.

CW-3 Undertake a study to identify and
provide recommendations for mitigating
common ignition sources across the
City. This will include common sources of
ignition in both the public and private
sectors and developing strategies for
reducing the number and frequency of
ignitions. Recommendations and
collaboration efforts should be tailored for
the appropriate audience (e.g., electrical
utilities, homeowners, private industry,
schools).

CW-4 Coordinate with MRCA, NPS, and
Caltrans on mechanical fuel treatments
adjacent to the city, particularly in Palo
Comado, Chesebro Canyon, Reyes Adobe,
Forest Cove, and the 101 Freeway Corridor.

CW-5 Seek funding to develop a community
chipper program that focuses on
neighborhoods east of Kanan Road and
south of Hwy-101.

CW-6 Work with LACoFD, NPS and MRCA to
identify opportunities to implement
grazing of herbaceous fuels, particularly
in Palo Comodo/Chesebro and Liberty
Canyons. Grazing was a historic land use
practice in the Agoura Hills vicinity.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Recommendations for the City of Agoura Hills
Objective Number Action Related
Actions
Agency
Partners
Target
Date
Status
CW-7 Work with LACoFD and NPS to identify
and maintain strategic fuel breaks that
were developed during the Woolsey Fire.

Consider using the fire suppression repair
map to identify these locations.

CW-8 Work with LACoFD, NPS, MRCA and
State Parks to identify opportunities to
use prescribed fire to treat non-native
invasive species. This provides a resource
benefit while also breaking up fuel continuity
adjacent to the city. Monitor species change
after treatment.

CW-9 Evaluate city-managed open spaces and
parks to ensure that vegetation is
maintained in a state of low fire
flammability. Focus on the elimination of
down woody surface fuels. Priority locations
include Forest Cove Park, Medea Creek
Park, and Old Agoura Park
C. Property Protection
(Defensible Space):

Improve fuel treatment
strategies for defensible
space around structures
CW-10 Seek grant funding to support homeowners
in removing hazardous tree species (e.g.,
cypress, pines, eucalyptus) within their
defensible space zones, and where
appropriate, encourage replacement with
fire-resistant or well-maintained vegetation
consistent with the “right plant, right place”
principle and defensible space guidance.

CW-11 Work with LACoFD to ensure that weed
abatement and defensible space
inspections are conducted and enforced.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Recommendations for the City of Agoura Hills
Objective Number Action Related
Actions
Agency
Partners
Target
Date
Status
CW-12 Leverage and support the work of local
FSCs to evaluate and educate properties
owners on defensible space
requirements. Focus on the development
of the ember-resistant zone at structures.

CW-13 Develop and post signage along primary
travel routes to higher risk
neighborhoods identifying compliance
dates for fire hazard reduction work.

Provide contact information for residents
who wish to request support to better
understand defensible space requirements
and maintenance.

CW-14 Develop a list of city-vetted vendors who
can provide services for property owners
requiring assistance with developing and
maintaining their defensible space, and
consider leveraging existing partner
networks and resources where available.

CW-15 Leverage existing databases (e.g., Agoura
Hills Fire Safe Council database) to create
a new spatial database of HOAs/
Firewise USA neighborhoods that have
responsibility for the maintenance of
communal defensible space/community
buffer zones. Map treated areas.

CW-16 Provide community workshops,
informational videos, demonstration
landscapes and other educational methods
to increase the general public’s
understanding of best practices around
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Recommendations for the City of Agoura Hills
Objective Number Action Related
Actions
Agency
Partners
Target
Date
Status
fire-resistant and drought-resistant plant
species, and best practices for
landscaping and maintenance.

CW-17 Investigate opportunities where HOAs
can expand ongoing defensible space
actions beyond 200’ onto lands managed
by the City or Los Angeles County. Evaluate
using LACoFD hand crews for labor to
control costs.

CW-18 Explore opportunities for a city-wide
blanket permit & associated funding (for
permit and work) to allow private
homeowners to maintain defensible space
via brush clearing on State Parks land.

D. Property Protection (Home
Hardening)
Improve hardening of existing
building stock for increased
fire resilience.

CW-19 Provide ongoing education and outreach
for residents. Information should include
defensible space and home hardening
standards to assist homeowners with
implementing firesafe practices as well as
meeting or exceeding requirements of
State, County and Local codes and
ordinances. A mix of web-based and inperson formats should be utilized in order to reach all critical audiences.

CW-20 Explore funding opportunities to aid
property owners in retrofitting existing
structures to current WUI building
construction standards. Prioritize providing
financial resources, physical assistance,
and other support to vulnerable populations
(e.g., elderly, fixed-income, low-income).

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Recommendations for the City of Agoura Hills
Objective Number Action Related
Actions
Agency
Partners
Target
Date
Status
Develop clear program guidelines, criteria,
and management strategies. There should
be a focus on clarifying to residents what
level of work/upgrades triggers certain
requirements.

CW-21 Consider creating a website that directs
homeowners to various home hardening
resources:
• Home hardening products (e.g.,
CALFIRE WUI products)
• Suppliers and hardware stores
• Design professionals and
contractors
• Shared resource programs, such as
a tool lending library.
• Existing incentives
• Insurance carrier discounts
CW-22 Work with the insurance industry and
California Insurance Commissioner’s office
to recognize risk reduction efforts at
landscape, parcel and neighborhoodscales in insurance coverage, premiums, and deductibles. Coordinate and collaborate
with county, regional, and local
stakeholders, subject matter experts, and
academics to systematically identify and
quantify the risk reduction measures at
various scales to help support insurance
needs.

CW-23 Consider developing (and updating over
time) a parcel- and neighborhood-level
WUI risk assessments.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Recommendations for the City of Agoura Hills
Objective Number Action Related
Actions
Agency
Partners
Target
Date
Status
E. Wildfire Resiliency of
Critical Infrastructure CW-24 Work to develop agreements with agencies, HOAs, and private landowners to establish
and maintain fuel treatments along major
routes and roadways, with a primary focus
on access/egress-constrained communities
and communities with vulnerable
populations.

CW-25 Conduct a study to evaluate the wildfire
resiliency of critical infrastructure and
facilities across the City (e.g., water
infrastructure, communications systems,
and City-owned or government buildings).

Prioritize and implement resiliency
improvements. Coordinate and collaborate
with relevant fire, law enforcement,
government, private sector, and other
subject matter experts to ensure programs,
policies and systems are evaluated,
designed, and maintained for quality, fire
resistance, durability, functionality,
efficiency, and sustainability.

CW-26 Evaluate and enhance inspection,
maintenance, and visibility of fire
hydrants across the City, including
coordination with water providers to ensure
hydrants are accessible, clearly visible, and
free of vegetation or obstructions, and that
damaged hydrants are identified and
repaired in a timely manner.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Recommendations for the City of Agoura Hills
Objective Number Action Related
Actions
Agency
Partners
Target
Date
Status
F. Public Notification and
Communication CW-27 Work with providers to coordinate efforts on analyzing, monitoring, and
maintaining enhancements and
redundancies to current emergency
communication systems such as
generator backups, increased cellular
coverage via traditional cell towers,
repeaters, and other technologies to
improve communications.

CW-28 Work with emergency responders and other
government agencies in and around the City
to conduct a review and alignment of
current public emergency
communication systems and messaging
policies, protocols, and procedures. This
would include evaluation of the range of
target audiences (e.g., residents, visitors,
limited English proficiency, elderly,
secondary homeowners), with the intent of
providing more reliable, timely, informative,
and consistent information during/after a
major wildfire incident. This may also
include the need for training/drills and
evaluation/adoption of newly available
technologies.

CW-29 Seek funding to expand the training, use,
and associated infrastructure of local
radio systems or other distributed
technologies (e.g., NOAA weather
transceivers, HAM/GMRS radios) to
community groups such as CERT members,
Fire Safe Councils, Firewise Communities,
and HOAs, particularly where cellular
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Recommendations for the City of Agoura Hills
Objective Number Action Related
Actions
Agency
Partners
Target
Date
Status
communication is poor or vulnerable to
wildfire.

G. Evacuation Planning and
Preparedness CW-30 Post on the city website and advertise at local events the county-identified
evacuation zones in order to increase
public awareness. Consider posting
evacuation zone identification signage along
primary travel routes
CW-31 Develop a strategy for assessing wildfire
evacuation vulnerability which may
include quantifying evacuation capacities,
surveying residents and stakeholders, and
identifying and prioritizing improvements to
ensure life safety of the public and
emergency responders in the event of a
major wildfire in or around the City.

Incorporate findings from the City’s
2025/2026 evacuation study into future
planning, to ensure that evacuation
capacity and roadway constraints are
adequately addressed. Include
consideration of full buildout conditions and
special evacuation needs (e.g., trailers and
multi-vehicle households). Continued
coordination between wildfire planning and
land use efforts will be critical to avoid
exacerbating evacuation challenges in high
fire hazard areas
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Recommendations for the City of Agoura Hills
Objective Number Action Related
Actions
Agency
Partners
Target
Date
Status
CW-32 Identify specific areas and
neighborhoods where secondary means
of egress are needed to increase
evacuation capacity and access for first
responders in a wildfire. Where possible,
work towards developing and maintaining
secondary egress routes for constrained
neighborhoods. Identify other strategies as
appropriate (e.g., policies to open locked
gates).

CW-33 Develop additional and redundant
communication strategies to reach
vulnerable populations during
emergency events, including community
networks, phone trees, and other targeted
outreach methods.

The City should also consider compiling and
maintaining a list of vulnerable residents
who may need assistance and identify or
assign designated point persons or
coordinators to support communication and
evacuation planning for these populations.

CW-34 Incorporate neighborhood security
education into evacuation planning in
coordination with law enforcement and
clear communication to residents to address
concerns related to theft during evacuation
events.

CW-35 Explore opportunities to provide discounted
generators and/or battery back ups to
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Recommendations for the City of Agoura Hills
Objective Number Action Related
Actions
Agency
Partners
Target
Date
Status
community members for use during PSPS
events.

H. Public Education and
Awareness
Educate the public on how to
mitigate wildfire hazards and
risk and how to appropriately
prepare and respond to
wildfires.

CW-36 Establish improved communications with
Homeowners Associations concerning
wildfire mitigation actions – home
hardening, defensible space, and
maintenance of any common areas within
their jurisdiction.

CW-37 Ensure public education and
communication materials on wildfire
preparedness, planning and response
are generally accessible.

This may include translation into different
languages, common-language descriptions,
ADA compliance, and conversion into
different formats.

CW-38 Adopt, augment and/or develop and
implement training curriculum tailored to
contractors, real estate agents,
insurance representatives, and others to
educate and inform on defensible space
requirements and ignition-resistant
construction. Evaluate and use existing
training programs from regional partners
where appropriate (e.g., Resource
Conservation Districts, neighboring
jurisdictions).

CW-39 Expand existing voluntary home
assessment programs operated by fire
agencies, FSCs, RCDs, and other
community organizations where residents
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Recommendations for the City of Agoura Hills
Objective Number Action Related
Actions
Agency
Partners
Target
Date
Status
can request assistance and education from
trained assessors on detailed, individualized
information on home hardening techniques,
defensible space, and fire safe landscaping.

As part of these assessments, focus on the
development of the ember-resistant zone
around structures.

CW-40 Develop a public facing “one-stop shop”
website for locally specific guidance and
best practices for wildfire safety. This may
include information on structural hardening
and retrofitting, recommended plant lists,
landscape design and maintenance,
defensible space, evacuation preparedness,
and post-fire impacts such as flooding and
soil erosion. Provide links to other materials
that individuals may want to reference (e.g.,
IBHS fire testing, FEMA guidance). Provide
information on pertinent codes and
standards and planning information for the
public.

I. Community and Regional
Partnerships, Collaboration
and Coordination
CW-41 Encourage, promote, and assist
grassroots, community wildfire
mitigation and preparedness
organizations such as Fire Safe Councils,
Firewise Communities, Arson Watch, radio
groups, non-profits, etc.

Support may include marketing, outreach,
recruitment efforts, GIS support, and others.

Help various organizations provide
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Recommendations for the City of Agoura Hills
Objective Number Action Related
Actions
Agency
Partners
Target
Date
Status
consistent communications, tools, and
outreach.

CW-42 Establish and maintain a spatial database
of all wildfire mitigation programs and
initiatives (such as all existing, planned
and completed fuel treatments and areas
where CEQA applies) that CWPP
stakeholders and interested parties can use
as a common repository and tool for
ongoing coordination and collaboration.

Include other entities adjacent to Agoura
Hills that should also be coordinating their
efforts. A data management strategy should
be developed to establish appropriate
protocols, such as public vs private facing
data, access and update permissions, and
frequency of updates.

CW-43 Enhance coordination with adjacent
jurisdictions, agencies, and community
organizations to support cross-boundary
vegetation and fuels management
efforts. This should include collaboration
with neighboring communities and
unincorporated areas (e.g., Oak Park) to
align fuel treatment priorities, share
information, and identify opportunities for
joint implementation and funding. Establish
regular communication and coordination
protocols to support ongoing collaboration
and ensure a consistent approach to
reducing wildfire risk across jurisdictional
boundaries.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Recommendations for the City of Agoura Hills
Objective Number Action Related
Actions
Agency
Partners
Target
Date
Status
CW-44 Improve the cost-efficiency of fuel
reduction and fuel maintenance through
coordination efforts including:
+ Coordinating between neighboring
private landowners so that
economies of scale are achieved for
fuel reduction actions (e.g.,
coordinating timing and type of fuel
reduction on neighboring
properties)
+ Long-term service agreements
+ Programmatic CEQA approaches
+ Investment in pre-planning
J. Emergency Response CW-45 Consider the development and implementation of a parking restriction
ordinance for Red Flag Warning days to
ensure that emergency equipment can
access constrained roadways. Prioritize
high-risk areas, including neighborhoods
with limited access, high evacuation
demand, or proximity to schools and other
sensitive uses. Neighborhoods south of US101 should be evaluated as priority locations.

CW-46 Develop standardized signage that
identifies residences with static water
sources that can be used during
suppression operations should the
pressurized system fail. Provide signage
free to residents willing to install the
identification.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

7.2 RECOMMENDED ACTIONS – PLANNING UNITS
The success of wildfire mitigation efforts within each Planning Unit relies on strong collaboration among all stakeholders. Firewise communities and other local groups in each Planning Unit are encouraged to work together to identify and prioritize projects that enhance wildfire resilience across the city. By aligning efforts and seeking funding collaboratively when appropriate, community groups can maximize the effectiveness of their mitigation strategies.

Note: Geographic location of planning area-specific actions, where applicable, can be found in Section 6.5.2.

Table 19. Recommended Actions for the areas south of US-101 Recommendations – South 101
Objective Number Action Location Jurisdiction Target
Date
Status
A. Fuels Mitigation
Manage landscape
vegetation to promote the
return of fire resilient
species and lower
vegetation densities.

SI-1 From south of Park Vista Road and
Liberty Canyon Road to the State
Park property line – Thin out nonnatives and dead material on the east side of the road to the terminus
of the unmaintained dirt road at the
south end of Patrick Henry Road.

Homeowners to maintain or remove
palms and other non-natives
Liberty Canyon
Road
Private
SI-2 Work with homeowners along Oak
Summit Road to remove or maintain
non-native trees and cypress within
the Home Ignition Zones and along
roadways. Maintain the fuel break in
the lighter fuels up to the concrete
drainage above the homes. The
street has issues with junipers,
oleanders, wood fencing, unclean
roofs, poor defensible space, and
Mexican Feather grass
Oak Summit
Road
Private
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Recommendations – South 101
Objective Number Action Location Jurisdiction Target
Date
Status
SI-3 &
SI-4
Work with residents to improve
defensible space behind the
structures on Jim Bowie and
Provident Roads. Focus on removal
of non-native trees. Look to partner
and build off the existing fuel break
on City of Calabasas. Extend the
fuel break from Provident to Liberty
Canyon Road
Jim Bowie Road Private, City of
Calabasas
SI-5 Work with MRCA to maintain and
extend the fuel break from Agoura
Road to the structures along
Defender Drive
Defender Drive
(north)
MRCA, Private
SI-6 Poor clearance (topography limits
the easy development of defensible
space). Assist homeowners to
create adequate separation from the
wildland fuels along Defender Drive
Defender Drive
(south)
Private
SI-7 Work with MRCA to increase the
width of the fuel break above
Hydepark Drive. At a minimum
remove the non-native pines and
eucalyptus above the roads end
Hydepark Drive MRCA, Private
SI-8 Look for opportunities to work from
Calle Robleda debris basin east to
thin the fuels south of the structures.

Work with homeowners to remove
non-native species within their
defensible space zone.

Calle Robleda
(east)
Private
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Recommendations – South 101
Objective Number Action Location Jurisdiction Target
Date
Status
SI-9 Thin fuels between Robleda Debris
Basin west behind the structures to
the dirt road portion of Renee Drive.

Use Renee Drive as the southern
boundary and work between the
road and the structures. Access
could be made off Canyon Way also
Calle Robleda
(west)
Private
SI-10 Thin fuels between the end of Vejar
Drive at the disc golf course along
what appears to be an old roadbed
to Reene Drive.

Vejar Drive Private
SI-11 Investigate grazing opportunities to
work with MRCA and private
landowners from the trailhead at
Cornell Road east towards Vejas
Drive, using an existing roadbed as
the southern boundary.

Cornell Road
Grazing
MRCA, Private
SI-12 Establish NO PARKING ON RED
FLAG WEATHER DAYS for Canyon
Way and the one-way portion of
Laura LaPlante Roads
Canyon Way
Parking
Restrictions
City
SI-13 Encourage residents to remove, thin
and maintain non-native vegetation
with the potential to propagate fire
spread (pines, cypress, juniper,
eucalyptus. Reverence LACO Fire
Fuel Modification Plant List
Area-wide Private
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Table 20. Recommended Actions for the areas west of Kanan Road Recommendations – Kanan West
Objective Number Action Location Jurisdiction Target
Date
Status
A. Fuels Mitigation
Manage landscape
vegetation to promote the
return of fire resilient
species and lower
vegetation densities.

KW-1 Remove Acacia redolens from the
perimeter of Forest Cove Park.

Chip in place to maintain ground
cover. Although chips are
flammable, they are less so than
the vegetation. Maintain irrigation
infrastructure as part of overall
landscape management.

Forest Cover
Park
City
KW-2 Thin and/or remove pines from the
perimeter of the condominium
complex. Start at tennis court and
work to Forest Park Cove Road.

Remove dead and dying pines and
jackpot of dead Acacia redolens.

Strawberry Hills
Rd
Private
KW-3 Maintain the existing fuel break
around Strawberry Hill. Attempt to
improve the separation on the east
side near Meadow Vista Way. Work
within the oak stand to reduce
surface fuels and dead/down
material. Retain the oak overstory.

Work with residents to
remove/thin/maintain non-native
trees on their property.

Strawberry Hill
Fuel Break
Private
KW-4 Assure that the utility road above
Rolling Ridge Road is maintained to
a level to support type 3 engines.

Access the road from Ridgebrook
Drive at the Las Vírgenes Water
District water tank.

Rolling Ridge
Drive
Las Virgines Water
District. City,
LACO Fire
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Recommendations – Kanan West
Objective Number Action Location Jurisdiction Target
Date
Status
KW-5 Work with homeowners to
remove/thin the density of the pines
at the end of Eastvale Court.

Eastvale Court Private
KW-6 Rehab vegetation in open space off
Reyes Adobe Road, south of the
elementary school. Remove dead
and non-native vegetation and lift
the oak canopy off the surface.

Chip material in place.

Reyes Adobe
(north)
City, Private
KW-7 Remove cape honeysuckle,
rosemary, brush poppy, and bottle
brush ornamental vegetation along
the roadway. Reference guidelines
found in LACO Plant Selection
Guide – Fuel Modification Plant
List.

Ridgeway Drive Private,
City
KW-8 Work with residents/HOA to remove
pines/palms/eucalyptus between
Imbler Court and Braemar Court.

Imbler Court,
Braemar Court
City
KW-9 Maintain the drainage along
Shadycreek Drive (Medea Creek).

Remove dead material and nonnative palms and eucalyptus. Chip material in place.

Shady Creek
Drive
City
KW-10 Work with LACO Fire concerning
the feasibility of developing a
prescribed fire unit/grazing unit
utilizing existing utility roads
Lindero Canyon
Road,
Woodbrook Drive
Rancho Simi
Recreation and Parks
District, City, Las
Virgenes Water
District, LACO Fire
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Recommendations – Kanan West
Objective Number Action Location Jurisdiction Target
Date
Status
between Lindero Canyon Road and
Woodbrook Drive. This would be a
complex project involving 225 acres
and multiple ownerships.

Table 21. Recommended Actions for the areas east of Kanan Road.

Recommendations – Kanan East
Objective Number Action Location Jurisdiction Target
Date
Status
B. Fuels Mitigation
Manage landscape
vegetation to promote the
return of fire resilient
species and lower
vegetation densities.

KE-1 Thin pines behind the high-density
housing at the dead end.

Argos Street Private
KE-2 Remove non-natives and maintain
a 3’ clearance along the walkways
between Chumash Park and
Kanan.

Medea Creek
Trail
City
KE-3 Maintaining the dirt road to a
standard to allow for type 3 engine
utilization from Thousand Oaks
Blvd to Fountain Place.

Agoura High City
KE-4 Work with property owners/HOAs to
maintain and improve the fuelbreak
behind the structures along Carell
Avenue and Eagleton Streets.

Focus on thinning pines and other
non-natives to minimize potential
Carell Ave,
Eagleton Street
Private,
Santa Monica
Mountains
Conservancy
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Recommendations – Kanan East
Objective Number Action Location Jurisdiction Target
Date
Status
ember cast from torching of
ornamental trees.

KE-5 Work with residents to remove, thin,
or maintained non-native trees to
mitigate torching potential and
ember cast.

Quaint Street,
Banfield Drive
Private
KE-6 Work with SMMC to evaluate if
grazing is an option for areas east
of Carell and Eagleton Roads to the
ridgeline. Utilize existing road
surfaces as unit boundaries.

Exclude areas where steep slopes
may lead to erosion issues.

Carell Grazing Private,
Santa Monica
Mountains
Conservancy
KE-7 Work with the property owners to
assure that roadside pepper trees
between Chesebro Road and
Colony Drive are maintained and
limbed so that the branches are off
the ground surface.

Ridgeway Drive Private
KE-8 Cut back vegetation that is
encroaching on the road prism to
allow for access to emergency
responders. Assure 14’ vertical
clearance from the road surface.

Many issues with driveway
clearance and gate widths/entry
radius which could limit access by
type 1 engines.

Fairview Road
(private)
Private
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Recommendations – Kanan East
Objective Number Action Location Jurisdiction Target
Date
Status
KE-9 Road surface needs repair to
facilitate ease of access during
emergency situations.

Fairview Road
(private)
Private
KE-10 Work with the resident to remove
the roadside wood fencing
Fairview Road
(private
Private
KE-11 Driveway to multiple properties
along Colony Drive need to assure
adequate vertical clearance for the
driveway accessing the properties.

Remove/thin or maintain the nonnative pines.

Colony Drive Private
KE-12 Work with the homeowners to
remove undesirable shrub species
including junipers, rosemary,
oleander, plumbago. Reference
LACO Fuel Modification Plant List
Colony Drive Private
KE-13 Clear the many electrical drops to
residences which are interlaced
with vegetation creating a potential
for arcing during times of high
winds. Areas most in need include
Chesebro Road, Colony Drive,
Fairview Drive, Foothill Road.

Area-wide Private, SCE
KE-14 Work with the local equestrian
community to develop a plan to
evacuate the many horses
maintained at the properties on the
Area-wide Private,
City,
American Humane
Society
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Recommendations – Kanan East
Objective Number Action Location Jurisdiction Target
Date
Status
east side of the Planning Unit.

Leverage knowledge from local
Equestrian Centers.

KE-15 Work to develop road associations
that can serve as a funding and
coordination mechanism to address
the condition of private road within
the Planning Unit.

Area-wide Private,
City
KE-16 Provide standardized pool markers
for residents that are willing to
make their pools available as a
static water source during wildfires.

Fairview Road
(private
City,
Fire Dept
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Implementation & Monitoring
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

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Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

8.0 Implementation & Monitoring
A CWPP’s strength depends on its local relevance, the continued, collective action of stakeholders, and its ability to guide the implementation of a diverse set of projects leading to measurable change. The CWPP guides the community on wildfire risk mitigation activities which are based on input from stakeholders, current policy, and science and research. The plan’s utility does not end with its adoption, but continues and evolves through collaborative planning, implementing, monitoring and adapting strategies based on lessons learned. This chapter provides guidance on CWPP implementation and monitoring to accomplish the goals and objectives of the plan. This includes outlining how each aspect of the plan will be executed – responsible parties, timelines and associated funding sources – as well as roles of the designated CWPP management team. In addition, a successful plan establishes monitoring protocols and key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate the effectiveness of the plan in reducing wildfire risk at different levels of activity (e.g., project activity level, overall project level, and CWPP programmatic level).

8.1 OVERVIEW
Implementing the recommended actions in Section 7.0 and establishing a systematic and dynamic framework for monitoring & evaluating CWPP activities is foundational to achieving the overall goals and objectives identified in the CWPP. The implementation and monitoring strategy includes the following components:
 Plan Implementation describes how the CWPP actions will be operationalized, including a discussion on organizational structure of the CWPP management team (i.e., the convener, advisory committee, and committee membership), project prioritization, the project development process, and action plan execution.  Plan Maintenance describes how the CWPP will be maintained and updated, including a discussion on annual and semi-annual meetings.
 Monitoring and Evaluating describes how the CWPP actions will be monitored for progress, the metrics used and means to verify successful and timely execution of actions (i.e., projects, programs and policies), the indicators and means to verify CWPP actions are achieving measurable results, and how these metrics are documented and communicated for accountability.
 Review & Update describes the methods by which the CWPP will be updated on a 5 to 10-year basis.

Plan Implementation
Organizational
Structure
Prioject
Prioritization &
Development
Action Plan
Execution
Plan Maintenance
Progress Review
Schedule
Monitoring & Evalution
Progress
monitoring
KPIs for
"success"
Accountability,
Messaging &
Communication
Review & Update
CWPP Update
Assessment
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

These guiding principles frame the approach for implementation and monitoring of the CWPP:

Guiding Principles Concepts
Collaborative + Support and encourage all participants to work together to advance wildfire resiliency
+ Review feedback from a representative and balanced set of stakeholders (i.e., government agencies, private sector, non-profits, academia) + Recognize that time is needed to build trust and understanding + Be flexible, adaptable and responsive to changing needs as people and organizations respond to change
Participatory + Stakeholders must be provided with a variety of ongoing engagement opportunities
+ An environment which facilitates the participation of different and diverse actors should be created
+ Remove barriers to participation
Learning & Feedback
Mechanisms
+ Help all involved to listen to each other, explore new ideas, and apply information in ways that generate new solutions, methods, or opportunities + Regularly evaluate new data and technology as well as changes in the risk landscape for their impact on CWPP goals, objectives, and actions + Education, awareness and behavioral changes are culturally, socially and temporally dependent
+ Lessons learned should provide feedback into future processes and work Resiliency & Patience + Recognize non-linearity and complexity, including tracking and capturing negative impacts, resistance, and unexpected outcomes
+ Acknowledge that transformative change processes take time and often include backlash
Diversity + Equitably incorporate diverse people, voices, ideas, and information to lay the groundwork for quality outcomes.
+ Foster the implementation of a diverse set of projects to achieve both social and technical needs for wildfire resiliency
+ Use quantitative and qualitative approaches for measuring success + Assess the value of projects through a variety of lenses (social, technical, administrative, environmental, life-safety, property protection)

8.2 PLAN IMPLEMENTATION
This section describes considerations for operationalizing the CWPP including organizational structure, project prioritization and development process, and action plan execution.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

8.2.1 Organizational Structure

8.2.1.1 Convener – City of Agoura Hills
The City of Agoura Hills will serve as the Convener overseeing the CWPP’s implementation and maintenance, as well as being the chair of the Advisory Committee described below. The Convener’s key roles are:
+ Coordinate Advisory Committee meeting dates, times, locations, agendas, and member notification. + Document decisions and outcomes of Advisory Committee meetings. + Serve as a communication conduit between the Committee and other key stakeholders (e.g., general public, land resource managers, utilities, Caltrans, other federal/state/local agencies, businesses).
+ Serve as supervisor of the project prioritization process.

8.2.1.2 Advisory Committee
The Agency Working Group for the CWPP will become the Advisory Committee and will oversee the implementation, management and maintenance of the Plan. Refer to Section 2.2.2 for a list of Agency Working Group members. Other key stakeholders can be added, either as permanent or ad hoc members. Additional roles and responsibilities of the Committee include:
+ Establishing a schedule for periodic review and updating of the CWPP. + Developing and coordinating ad hoc and/or standing committees as needed. + Designing or supporting the design of projects based on the recommended actions identified in Section 7.0
+ Identifying funding sources and supporting the coordination and preparation of grant applications + Recommending and prioritizing funding of wildfire risk reduction projects. + Monitoring and tracking the progress of existing, planned and proposed projects + Documenting and disseminating successes and lessons learned + Maintaining a CWPP project implementation dashboard and/or other forms of public-facing communications
+ Evaluating and updating the CWPP in accordance with the prescribed maintenance schedule.

8.2.2 Project Development and Prioritization Process
In accordance with the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA), the Advisory Committee will establish community hazard reduction priorities to determine the order of project implementation. However, as this CWPP recognizes a broad range of actions that go beyond the minimum of fuel reduction initiatives required by the HFRA, the Committee will establish an evaluation and prioritization system. This system will ensure that a balanced set of community-based wildfire resiliency projects at different scales are evaluated and ranked for implementation and scheduling. Below are the ten (10) different thematic areas identified in Section 7:

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

A. Codes and Standards
B. Fuels Mitigation
C. Property Protection (Defensible Space)
D. Property Protection (Structural Hardening)
E. Wildfire Resiliency of Critical Infrastructure
F. Public Notification and Communication
G. Evacuation Planning & Preparedness
H. Public Education & Awareness
I. Community and Regional Partnerships, Collaboration and Coordination J. Emergency Response
To prioritize various actions, the Committee will identify a set of evaluation criteria based on primary and secondary considerations. The evaluation criteria should be shared with the public once determined. In general, life safety, followed by property protection, are considered primary criteria for fire safety and wildfire risk mitigation programs. Secondary considerations may include environmental protection, economic benefits, costs, duration, feasibility, technical quality, and others. Table 22 provides descriptions of potential primary and secondary criteria the Committee may consider as part of their evaluation process.

Table 22. Description of potential project prioritization criteria.

Criteria Description Sample Primary Criteria

1. Life Safety
The primary goal of wildfire risk mitigation is to protect life safety of the public and first responders. As people continue to live in the WUI, life safety from wildfire threats is the foremost priority. Life safety consideration include not only loss of life and/or injury as a direct result of wildfire incidents, but also safety of residents during wildfire evacuations, loss of power, and other related impacts.

2. Property Protection
Buildings and critical infrastructure are often vulnerable to wildfire, particularly in the WUI. Mitigating the ignition and spread of wildfire is critical to limiting the loss of and damage to structures and critical facilities. Property loss and damage can devastate communities by displacing residents, disrupting business continuity and impairing local economies, and resulting in significant costs to re-build.

Sample Secondary
Criteria 3. Environmental
Protection
One primary means of protecting the environment is mitigating the risk of wildfires that are accidentally initiated by human sources (e.g., electrical utility faults, dragging trailer chains). Environmental protection may also include evaluating wildfire mitigation projects to ensure that project activities are in balance with other environmental objectives, minimizing negative impacts to the environment and ecological systems and protecting critical environmental services.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Criteria Description

4. Cost
Cost considerations may include total project implementation costs, cost burdens or pass-through costs to taxpayers, costs to local agencies to operate and maintain a project or program long-term, and costs associated with availability of personnel, equipment, and other resources. Cost considerations should also consider return on investment (ROI) estimates.

5. Technical Feasibility
Recommended actions may be evaluated for their practicality given available data and technologies, as well as the ability to verify the quality of technical systems or products.

6. Scientific /
Engineering / Data
Driven
Recommended actions may be evaluated for their basis in science, engineering or data-driven merit, which may be substantiated based on recognized consensus standards and/or industry-recognized peer-review processes.

7. Timeline
Recommended actions may be evaluated based on the time necessary to analyze, design, construct, implement, maintain and/or operate. Other considerations may include an anticipated return on investments and when outcomes can be expected to produce measurable results.

8. Scale
Recommended actions may be evaluated for the scale of application (e.g. citywide, local neighborhood) and who the primary beneficiaries of the project would be.

Because of the wide variety of relevant criteria to be synthesized for each action or project, the Committee should develop a simple priority ranking system to assist in the decision-making process. There should be a balance of projects prioritized to satisfy a range of secondary objectives, target audiences or beneficiaries and scales of application. The projects that are presented to the Committee may come from a variety of sources and focus on different aspects of wildfire risk and so may not be readily comparable to one another. Therefore, the project prioritization process needs to be flexible.

8.2.3 Operationalizing the Action Plan
Once the recommended actions are prioritized, the Committee will establish a project execution matrix building on the table provided in Section 7.0. The Action Plan table in Section 7.0 is designed to have a simple, highlevel monitoring system built into it so it can serve as a starting point for operationalization. Individual actions are assigned a responsible individual, target completion date and status update.

The Action Plan table should be reviewed and updated annually. As new practices and projects are identified they can be added to this matrix.

8.3 PLAN MAINTENANCE
For the CWPP to be used to reduce wildfire hazards and risks it must reflect current wildfire risk, human development patterns, impacts of climate change, and needs of the community. Plan maintenance is critical so that it remains up to date and as useful as possible.

The Committee will be responsible for maintaining and updating the CWPP through a series of meetings. A sample outline of plan maintenance meetings is provided in Table 23.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Table 23. Plan Maintenance Meeting Schedule
Semi-Annual Meeting Annual Meeting Five-Year Review
Review current Action Plan Update risk assessment data and findings (if needed) Review Plan update questions
Identify new issues and needs Discussion of methods of
continued public engagement Update Action Plan as necessary Prioritize/reprioritize potential
projects
Document and distribute
successes and lessons learned
Update risk assessment data and
findings

8.3.1 Semi-Annual Meeting
The Committee will meet on a semi-annual basis to:
+ Review existing Action Plan to determine status of recommendations and projects + Review and prioritize ongoing funding of wildfire risk reduction projects + Identify new issues that have emerged since the previous review meeting + Develop or support the development of specific projects based on the recommended actions + Prioritize potential wildfire mitigation projects
+ Identifying funding sources and supporting the coordination and preparation of grant applications + Identify and coordinate any ad hoc and/or standing committees + Monitor and track the progress of existing, planned and proposed projects + Document and disseminate successes and lessons learned

8.3.2 Annual Meeting
The Committee shall meet annually to review any necessary updates to the risk assessment data and findings, get updates on local CWPP planning efforts, discuss methods of continued public engagement, and document successes and lessons learned based on actions that were accomplished during the past year.

The Committee shall coordinate on the development and maintenance of a city-wide Wildfire Preparedness and Resilience Digital Dashboard to ensure that maps, data, mitigation projects and status of projects in the Plan are current and updated as appropriate. Following each annual meeting, a meeting summary should be published for public review.

8.3.3 5-Year Review
The Committee shall conduct a complete review of the CWPP at a minimum of 5-year intervals to ensure its continued relevance. Significant changes in policy, budget, or environmental conditions should trigger more frequent reviews.

The review process allows participating parties to update accomplishments, consider new projects and evaluate the effectiveness of past actions across the Planning Area. See more detail in Section 8.5.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

8.4 MONITORING & EVALUATION (M&E)
Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) is a systematic process used in project- and program-management to track performance, assess progress, and ensure that objectives are met efficiently and effectively. It involves collecting, analyzing, and evaluating data to improve decision-making, accountability, and project or programmatic outcomes.

8.4.1 Overview
Effective wildfire risk mitigation programs require the ability to measure the level of success. This is done by identifying and measuring key performance indicators (KPIs) that measure outcomes at various CWPP programmatic scales – i.e., at the overall CWPP level, objective/thematic level, individual project level and project activity level. See Figure 73 for a graphical representation of the different levels, along with the associated objective at the different levels. For each level of objective, there will be at least as many KPIs as there are activities or tasks, results, purposes and goals at the respective level.

Figure 73. Schematic representation of the different CWPP programmatic levels with sample goals and objectives identified at each level
There are several approaches to developing KPIs. Ideally, the indicators will include a mixture of measures that each serve one of the following purposes:

Goal 1: To enhance life safety and preparedness for
responders and the public
Category F Goal: Strengthen the public notification and communication systems and messaging for wildfire
incidents
Action CW-24: Strengthen resiliency and
redundancy of current emergency
communication systems.

Result 1: Ensure backup generators on
100% of communications towers.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

(1) Monitoring and Tracking Progress – Indicators that
verify the completion status of the program,
project, task or activity
(2) Measuring Effectiveness – Indicators that provide
a measure or proxy for desired outcome or result
Some sample framing questions for M&E are provided in
the callout box. For example, indicators can measure the quantity and/or quality of what a project intends to achieve, and in what specific period the improvements are intended to take place (i.e., employing the SMART concept –
specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound – for goal setting 11). To be able to determine if
improvements have taken place, it is necessary to have
baseline data for comparison. Note: Often it is challenging to develop KPIs that directly correlate the effectiveness of an individual project in achieving overall CWPP
programmatic goals, due to the complexity and influence of numerous external factors.

Figure 74. SMART concept for informing the development of indicators at various programmatic scales of the CWPP action plan.

Note: As KPIs are specific to individual projects and overall programs, the following sections provide general guidance to help inform the development of KPIs for both aspects of M&E, and what they might look like at various project and programmatic levels through sample templates and examples.

8.4.2 Monitoring & Tracking Progress
Indicators for monitoring and tracking the progress of the overall CWPP program as well as progress at the individual project level should follow common project management practices. These are measurable values used to assess progress, efficiency, and impact during project execution. They help in tracking whether a project is on course and meeting its objectives. Indicators can be categorized into different types and forms of measurement such as the following:
11 Doran, G.T. There’s a SMART way to write management’s goals and objectives. Management Review 70, 35- 36 (1981).

Framing Questions for M&E
₊ What is the measure of improvement
(indicators) for each action item?
₊ Who is the target group for the
improvement?
₊ Where is the improvement intended to
take place?
₊ What is the intended change in terms of
quality and/or quantity?
₊ When is the improvement intended to
take place?
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

+ Process indicators
Budget utilization (%) – Tracks the percentage of the budget spent versus the total budget.

Project or Task completion rate (%) – Percentage of projects or tasks completed versus planned.

Timeliness of Project or Task completion (%) – Measures how many projects or activities are completed on time.

Stakeholder engagement levels (# of meetings, feedback received) – Tracks collaboration and participation of stakeholders.
+ Output indicators
Number of deliverables completed (#) – Tracks tangible outputs (e.g., acres treated, reports, trainings, software developed).

Training sessions conducted (#) – Tracks capacity-building initiatives.

8.4.2.1 CWPP Programmatic Level
Through the operationalization of the action plan process described above, the Advisory Committee shall develop an overall CWPP programmatic timeline for all projects, programs and policies that will be undertaken in the next 5 years. This will serve as the primary monitoring and tracking tool for CWPP progress and completion of recommended actions. Indicators for progress updates and/or project completion will vary depending on the nature of the project but can be based on the deliverables identified in the scope of work for each project (e.g., monthly progress reports, interim and final reports).

Sample progress monitoring metrics provided in this section can be tailored to reflect CWPP programmatic level progress. The Advisory Committee should consider coordinating with GIS partners to include the programmatic level progress indicators on a CWPP data dashboard for accountability and reporting out to the general public.

8.4.2.2 Project Level
At the project level, indicators for monitoring project processes should be derived to reflect deliverables which are part of the scope of work and project schedule.

8.4.3 Measuring Effectiveness
Measuring the effectiveness of the overall CWPP and associated projects in achieving impact requires a structured approach using KPIs, data collection, stakeholder feedback, cost-effectiveness analysis, and sustainability assessments. One major challenge of measuring impact is that changes may not be observable for years or decades after project implementation and/or that impacts may be intangible, such as human behavioral changes or broad-scale changes in public awareness.

To determine whether a CWPP program or individual project has successfully achieved its intent, it is crucial to use a combination of qualitative and quantitative assessment methods and indicators. The specific indicators will depend on the goals & objectives identified at each objective level. Refer to Figure 73. In addition, each indicator should include some means of verification.

Below are some sample indicators and suggested means of verification:
+ Outcome Indicators – These indicators measure the short- to medium-term effects of project implementation.

Improvement in resident skills or knowledge about wildfire preparedness & resiliency (%) – Measured through assessments or surveys.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Satisfaction rate of implemented programs (%) – Assessed through surveys and feedback from beneficiaries.

Adoption rate of new processes, technologies, codes, standards, and/or policies (%) – Tracks how many users embrace project interventions.
+ Impact Indicators – These indicators measure the long-term changes brought about by the project.

Reduction in high hazard or high risk areas (%) – Measures reduction in high fire severity or high risk areas (by acres and by % change)
Increase in number of hardened homes with compliant defensible space (#) – Quantify the number of homes with compliant home hardening and defensible space features.

Reduction in number of human-caused ignitions (#) – Track the annual ignition rates for various forms of ignitions by human and natural sources.

Policy changes influenced (#) – Tracks whether the project led to changes in wildfire codes, standards, local ordinances or other policies.

CWPP Database Traffic (#) – Track the number of visitors engaging with the City of Agoura Hills website, CWPP data dashboard and other online wildfire resiliency resources in the region.

Number of Firewise Communities and/or Fire Safe Councils (#) – Track the number of new communities or councils formed, the formation of other wildfire resiliency community groups, and/or an increase in the number of participants in existing groups.

8.4.3.1 Sample M & E Templates
Monitoring, evaluation and learning are key aspects at all levels of the CWPP program to effect change and lead to sustainable wildfire resiliency. The Advisory Committee should integrate these concepts into every grant proposal, project RFP and/or project scope of work. At the project level, M&E indicators should be explicit activities that the project team develops to measure project progress as well as medium to long-term measures of project impact effectiveness. The Committee can adopt these medium-to-long term impact indicators for M&E of the overall CWPP program.

The following matrix provides an example of M&E indicators to verify that a project meets its intent by leading to changes in wildfire risk reduction or resiliency. This matrix is intended to serve as a roadmap for continued success after completion of the project activities, and how the impact of the project can be evaluated against CWPP programmatic level goals and objectives.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

CWPP Program Objective(s) Indicators Means of Verification Overall
Goal
Goal 1: To enhance life
safety and preparedness for
first responders and the
public
• Increased number of
hardened homes with
compliant defensible space
(#)
• Reduced high hazard or
high risk areas (%)
• Reduced wildfire impacts on
life, property, environment
and critical infrastructure
• Reduced number of
catastrophic wildfires
• Reduced number of humancaused wildfire ignitions
• Adoption of CWPP
• Implementation of x% of
CWPP Action Plan
projects by Year 1; x% by
Year 2; x% by Year 5.
• Annual statistics and
trends on the # of humancaused wildfire ignitions, #
of catastrophic wildfires, #
of casualties, # of
loss/damaged structures,
# loss/damaged critical
infrastructure
• Reduce high hazard areas
by x% and # acres by
Year 5
• Reduce high risk areas by
x% and # acres by Year 5
• Achieve x# hardened
homes with compliant dspace by Year 2; x#, by
Year 5
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

CWPP Program Objective(s) Indicators Means of Verification Project
Objective
/
Thematic
Category
Category F – Public
Notification and
Communication: Strengthen
the public notification and
communication systems and
messaging for wildfire
incidents
• Expansion of cell tower grid,
associated equipment,
power supplies and other
technologies
• Expansion of user base of
the local radio system and
other forms of distributed
communication technologies
(e.g., NOAA weather
transceivers, HAM/GMRS
radios)
• Alignment of public
emergency communication
and messaging operations
and plans. (e.g., expansion
of use of Genasys and
Nixle)
• Agency coordination on
training/drills and
evaluation/adoption of newly
available communication
technologies.
• Final reports from related
Action Plan
recommendations
• Strategy for achieving cell
coverage redundancy
across communities
• Public polling indicates
increased resiliency and
quality of cell coverage,
emergency
communications and
messaging during normal
and emergency situations.
• Public polling indicates
increased familiarity with
Genasys and use of
Watch Duty.
• Training schedule and
statistics of trained staff by
agency
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

CWPP Program Objective(s) Indicators Means of Verification Project
Purpose
Action CW-34: Strengthen
resiliency and redundancy of
current emergency
communication systems.
• Identification of “dead
zones” within Planning Area
• Evaluation of cell tower and
repeater vulnerabilities to
wildfire exposure or loss of
power during a wildfire
incident
• Design of new cell tower and
repeater locations in spatial
optimized locations for
coverage and costs
• Installation of x# of cell
towers and x# of repeaters
to achieve 90% redundant
coverage.
• Build relationships and
collaborate with providers to
maintain generators and
power backups.
• “Dead zone” mapping and
improvement plan with
prioritizations
• Vegetation management
plan for cell towers.

Maintenance schedule
and completed task orders
• Purchase orders and
invoices for installations
• Memorandum of
understanding for
providers of generators
and power backups.

Specific
Project
Results • Specified by Project Team • Deliverables specified in scope of work / contract

8.4.3.2 Special Topic – M & E for Fuel Treatments
Monitoring of fuel treatments is the only way to know if activities on the ground are resulting in a more fire resilient landscape and increased safety for people and property. Committing to a monitoring plan can lead to a more effective program by providing an understanding of how implemented actions affect wildland fire and protect values at risk. In general, federal and state agencies have their own requirements for monitoring fuel treatment effectiveness and changes to the existing environment because of implemented actions. The recommendations for monitoring presented below can be used by individuals and groups that do not have specific internal monitoring requirements.

Monitoring information should be used to:
+ Review the efficacy and cost effectiveness of a treatment. + Identify if modifications to treatment prescriptions are required. + Collect information regarding species response to treatments. + Document outcomes on what happens when a wildfire moves through a treatment.

The Colorado Forest Restoration Institute has developed simplified guidelines for plot monitoring which can be applied to any treatment unit, but which are most appropriate when applied to treatments which have some Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

spatial extent, https://cfri.colostate.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2018/10/2018-Simple-Plot-Protocol.pdf. A method to augment plot monitoring involves the establishment of photo points to evaluate changes to the landscape over time. A guide to photo point monitoring can be found at https://pacificeducationinstitute.org/wpcontent/uploads/2020/08/1.-Photo-Point-Monitoring.pdf.

8.5 REVIEW & UPDATE
The wildfire environment of the Planning Area is dynamic and constantly evolving. To keep the CWPP relevant and accurate, a complete Plan update should be set at five to ten year intervals. This interval is also consistent with the requirements of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 applicable to local hazard mitigation plans. During the Plan updates, certain questions should be asked to determine what actions are necessary to update the Plan. Table 23 provides a sample list of questions that can be used by the Committee to update the CWPP.

Table 24. Five-Year Plan Review Questions
CWPP Review Questions
Background Data – Section 1
Has the wildfire protection framework at the local, state, or federal level changed? Have responsibilities of partner agencies changed?
Has recent fire occurrence been accurately reflected in the Plan? If not, are these occurrences significant? Risk Assessment Data – Section 2
Has the wildfire risk across the Planning Area changed? If so, has the risk changed significantly? Have new tools emerged to better evaluate the wildfire hazard and/or risk? Have communities in or near the Planning Area developed plans and implemented activities that might change the overall risk for the Planning Area?
Outreach Data – Section 3
Are there new stakeholders that should be brought to the table? Action Plan Data – Section 4
Do the goals, objectives, and actions of the CWPP adequately address current or expected conditions? Do the goals, objectives, and actions of the CWPP still accurately reflect the values and needs of the community?
Have actions been effectively implemented?
Are there new funding sources available to address the wildfire hazards, risks and vulnerabilities? Are there actions that should be added or removed from the Action Plan matrix? Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Plan Implementation Data – Section 5
Are the structures and methods established for implementing the Plan still relevant and effective? Have there been any lessons learned from wildfires in other parts of the state that are applicable to the Planning Area?
Has implementation occurred as anticipated?
What obstacles and challenges have arisen that have prevented or delayed implementation? (e.g., legal, financial, institutional)
What opportunities have arisen that could accelerate implementation? Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

9.0 References
Abatzoglou, J.T. and Williams, A.P., 2016. Impact of anthropogenic climate change on wildfire across western US forests. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(42), pp.11770-11775.

Goss, M., Swain, D.L., Abatzoglou, J.T., Sarhadi, A., Kolden, C.A., Williams, A.P. and Diffenbaugh, N.S., 2020.

Climate change is increasing the likelihood of extreme autumn wildfire conditions across California. Environmental Research Letters, 15(9), p.094016.

Hedayati, Faraz, Quarles, Stephen L., Hawks, Steven., 2023. Wildland Fire Embers and Flames: Home Mitigations that Matter. Insurance of Business Home Safety.

National Wildfire Coordinating Group Operations and Workforce Development Committee. Incident Response Pocket Guide. PMS 461. 2014.

Ojerio, R.S., 2008. Equity in Wildfire Risk Management: Does Socioeconomic Status Predict Involvement in Federal Programs to Mitigate Wildfire Risk? (Doctoral dissertation, Department of Planning, Public Policy & Management, University of Oregon).

Rolinski, T., Capps, S.B., Fovell, R.G., Cao, Y., D’Agostino, B.J. and Vanderburg, S., 2016. The Santa Ana wildfire threat index: Methodology and operational implementation. Weather and Forecasting, 31(6), pp.1881-1897.

Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013- 0009.6
Williams, A.P., Gentine, P., Moritz, M.A., Roberts, D.A. and Abatzoglou, J.T., 2018. Effect of reduced summer cloud shading on evaporative demand and wildfire in coastal southern California. Geophysical Research Letters, 45(11), pp.5653-5662.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills

Appendices Table of Contents
APPENDIX A – GLOSSARY......................................................................................................................... A-1 APPENDIX B – FIREFIGHTING CAPACITY & FIRE BEHAVIOR ............................................................... B-1 APPENDIX C – FUEL TREATMENT GUIDELINES & TECHNIQUES......................................................... C-1 C.1 Primary travel routes fuel treatment prescriptive guidelines .................................................. C-1 C.2 Vegetation Treatment Prescriptive Guidelines ....................................................................... C-2 C.3 Implementation Guidelines for Vegetation Treatment Levels ................................................ C-3 C.4 Recommended Best Management Practices ......................................................................... C-4 C.5 Fuel Treatment Implementation Timing.................................................................................. C-5 APPENDIX D – COMMUNITY OUTREACH RESULTS............................................................................... D-1 D.1 Analytical Approach................................................................................................................ D-1 D.1.1 Cross Tabulation Analysis................................................................................................... D-1 D.1.2 Statistical Testing (Chi-Square, Cramer’s V, FDR Adjustment).......................................... D-1 D.1.3 Open-ended Thematic Coding ............................................................................................ D-2 D.2 Residency Duration (Q1) and Wildfire Preparedness ............................................................ D-2 D-2
D.3 Neighborhood-Level (Q2) Differences in Risk Perception and Preparedness....................... D-3 D.4 Open-Ended Response Analysis (Q36-39)............................................................................ D-5 D.4.1 Q36 Major Wildfire Concerns .............................................................................................. D-5 D.4.2 Q36 Roadway Mentions in Major Concerns ....................................................................... D-5 D.4.3 Q37. Actions Taken in Response to Wildfire Concerns ...................................................... D-6 D.4.4 Q38. Suggested Public Education & Program Improvements ............................................ D-7 D.4.5 Q39. Final Comments: System-Level Vulnerability Concerns ............................................ D-7 D.4.5.1 Evacuation & Traffic Gridlock (Primary Concern)......................................................... D-8 D.4.5.2 High-Density Housing Opposition................................................................................. D-8 D.4.5.3 Power Outage & Utility Accountability .......................................................................... D-8 D.4.5.4 Stronger Home Hardening Enforcement ...................................................................... D-8 D.4.5.5 Insurance Crisis ............................................................................................................ D-8 D.4.5.6 Communication and Coordination Failures .................................................................. D-9 APPENDIX E – PUBLIC WORKSHOPS....................................................................................................... E-1 APPENDIX F – AWG PROJECT PRIORITIZATION .................................................................................... F-2 Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills Page A-1 | May 2026 | Final .

Appendix A – Glossary
The following provides terms found in or relating to this plan (see more at http://www.nwcg.gov/glossary):
+ 1-Hour Timelag Fuels (a.k.a., one-hour fuels): Fuels consisting of dead herbaceous plants and roundwood less than about ¼ inch (6.4 mm) in diameter. Also included is the uppermost layer of needles or leaves on the forest floor.
+ 10-Hour Timelag Fuels (a.k.a. ten-hour fuels): Dead fuels consisting of roundwood ¼ to l inch (0.6 to 2.5 cm) in diameter and, very roughly, the layer of litter extending from immediately below the surface to ¾ inch (1.9 cm) below the surface.
+ 100-Hour Timelag Fuels (a.k.a., hundred-hour fuels): Dead fuels consisting of roundwood in the size range of 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.6 cm) in diameter and very roughly the layer of litter extending from approximately ¾ of an inch (1.9 cm) to 4 inches (10 cm) below the surface. + 1,000-Hour Timelag Fuels (a.k.a., thousand-hour fuels): Dead fuels consisting of roundwood 3 to 8 inches in diameter and the layer of the forest floor more than 4 inches below the surface. + Active Crown Fire: A fire in which a solid flame develops in the crowns of trees, but the surface and crown phases advance as a linked unit dependent on each other. + Aspect: Direction a slope faces.
+ Canopy Spacing: The distance from the edge of one tree canopy to another. Crown spacing varies from open (with 10 feet or more of space between tree canopies) to closed (where trees may be growing in very close proximity with little space between them).
+ Crown Fire: A fire that advances from top to top of trees or shrubs independently of a surface fire. Crown fires may be “running” or “dependent” to classify the degree of independence from the surface fire. + Dead Fuels: Fuels with no living tissue in which moisture content is governed almost entirely by atmospheric moisture (relative humidity and precipitation), dry-bulb temperature, and solar radiation. + Direct Attack: A method of fire suppression where actions are taken directly along the fire’s edge. In a direct attack, burning fuel is treated directly, by wetting, smothering, or chemically quenching the fire or by physically separating burning from unburned fuel.
+ Fire Apparatus Access Roads - The means for emergency apparatus to access a facility or structure for emergency purposes. Roadways must extend to within 150 feet of all portions of the exterior of the first floor of any structure and must meet specified criteria for width, pavement characteristics, roadway gradient, turning radius, etc. Fire apparatus access roads are also referred to as fire lanes. + Fire Behavior: The manner in which a fire reacts to the influences of fuel, weather, and topography. + Fire Frequency: Temporal fire occurrence described as a number of fires occurring within a defined area within a given time period.
+ Fire Intensity: A general term relating to the heat energy released by a fire. + Fire Lane Identification - Signs or curb markings that allow fire apparatus access roads to be readily recognized so that they will remain unobstructed and available for emergency use at all times. + Fire Potential: The likelihood of a wildland fire event measured in terms of anticipated occurrence of fire(s) and management’s capability to respond. Fire potential is influenced by a sum of factors that includes fuel conditions (fuel dryness and/or other inputs), ignition triggers, significant weather triggers, and resource capability.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills Page A-2 | May 2026 | Final .
+ Fire Regime: The characterization of fire’s role in a particular ecosystem, usually characteristic of particular vegetation and climatic regime, and typically a combination of fire return interval and fire intensity (i.e., high frequency, low intensity/low frequency, high intensity). + Fire Return Interval: The length of time between fires on a particular area of land + Fire Weather: Weather conditions that influence fire ignition, behavior, and suppression. + Flame Length: The distance from the base to the tip of the flaming front. Flame length is directly correlated with fire intensity.
+ Flaming Front: The zone of a moving fire where combustion is primarily flaming. Behind this flaming zone combustion is primarily glowing. Light fuels typically have a shallow flaming front, whereas heavy fuels have a deeper front.
+ Fuel: Any combustible material, which includes but is not limited to living or dead vegetation, human-built structures, and chemicals that will ignite and burn.
+ Fuelbed: An array of fuels usually constructed with specific loading, depth, and particle size to meet experimental requirements; also, commonly used to describe the fuel composition. + Fuel Loading: The amount of fuel present expressed quantitatively in terms of weight of fuel per unit area. + Fuel Model: Mathematical descriptions of fuel properties (e.g., fuel load and fuel depth) that are used as inputs to calculations of fire danger indices and fire behavior potential. + Fuel Moisture Content: The quantity of moisture in fuels expressed as a percentage of the weight when thoroughly dried at 212 degrees Fahrenheit.
+ Fuel Type: An identifiable association of fuel elements of a distinctive plant species, form, size, arrangement, or other characteristics that will cause a predictable rate of fire spread or difficulty of control under specified weather conditions.
+ Gates and Barriers - Devices that restrict pedestrian and vehicle ingress and egress to and from a facility. + Gate and Barrier Locks - Devices that are installed on gates and barriers to secure a property or facility. + Goals: A goal is a broad statement of what you wish to accomplish, an indication of program intentions. + Ground Fire: Fire that consumes the organic material beneath the surface litter ground, such as a peat fire. + Hose Pull - The effective distance (150 feet is standard) that firefighters can drag a hose from fire apparatus to attack a fire. Hose pull is measured along a simulated path of travel accounting for obstructions and not “as the crow flies.”
+ Intensity: The level of heat radiated from the active flaming front of a fire, measured in British thermal units (BTUs) per foot.
+ Ladder Fuels: Fuels that provide vertical continuity between strata, thereby allowing fire to carry from surface fuels into the crowns of trees or shrubs with relative ease. Ladder fuels help initiate and ensure the continuation of crowning.
+ Local Responsibility Area (LRA) – Land where a city/county has primary financial responsibility for the prevention and suppression of wildland fires. LRA land is generally located within city boundaries. + Live Fuels: Living plants, such as trees, grasses, and shrubs, in which the seasonal moisture content cycle is controlled largely by internal physiological mechanisms, rather than by external weather influences.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills Page A-3 | May 2026 | Final .
+ Mid-flame Windspeed: The speed of the wind measured at the midpoint of the flames, considered to be most representative of the speed of the wind that is affecting fire behavior. + Objectives: They contribute to the fulfillment of specified goals and are measurable, defined, and specific. + Passive Crown Fire: Also called torching or candling. A fire in the crowns of trees in which single trees or groups of trees torch, ignited by the passing front of the fire. + Safety Zone: A preplanned area of sufficient size and suitable location in the wildland expected to prevent injury to fire personnel without using fire shelters.
+ Red Flag Warning: Term used by fire weather forecasters to alert forecast users to an ongoing or imminent critical fire weather pattern.
+ Riparian: Situated or taking place along or near the bank of a watercourse. + Spotting: Refers to the behavior of a fire producing sparks or embers that are carried by the wind and start new fires beyond the zone of direct ignition by the main fire. + State Responsibility Area (SRA) – Land where the State of California (i.e. CAL FIRE) has primary financial responsibility for the prevention and suppression of wildland fires. All SRA land is located within County unincorporated areas; SRA does not include lands within city boundaries or in federal ownership + Strategy: The general plan or direction selected to accomplish incident objectives. + Surface Fire: Fire that burns loose debris on the surface, which includes dead branches, leaves, and low vegetation.
+ Surface Fuels: Fuels lying on or near the surface of the ground, consisting of leaf and needle litter, dead branch material, downed logs, bark, tree cones, and low stature living plants. + Topography: Referred to as “terrain.” The term also refers to parameters of the “lay of the land” that influence fire behavior and spread. Key elements are slope (in percent), aspect (the direction a slope faces), elevation, and specific terrain features such as canyons, saddles, “chimneys,” and chutes. + Understory: Term for the area of a forest which grows at the lowest height level below the forest canopy.

Plants in the understory consist of a mixture of seedlings and saplings of canopy trees together with understory shrubs and herbs.
+ Values at Risk: People, property, ecological elements, and other human and other intrinsic values within the City. Values at Risk are identified by stakeholders as important to the way of life in the City and are particularly susceptible to damage from undesirable fire outcomes. + Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ) – A designated area in which the type and condition of vegetation, topography, fire history, and other relevant factors increase the possibility of uncontrollable wildland fire. Structures within a VHFHSZ require special construction features to protect against wildfire hazards; please consult with the local building department and refer to CBC Chapter 7A for specific requirements
+ Wildland Fire Environment: The surrounding conditions, influences, and modifying forces of fuels, topography, and weather that determine wildfire behavior. + Wildfire Risk Area – Land that is covered with vegetation, which is so situated or is of such an inaccessible location that a fire originating upon it would present an abnormally difficult job of suppression or would result in great or unusual damage through fire, or such areas designated by the fire code official. For purposes of this document, Wildfire Risk Area includes Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (see above), WildlandUrban Interfaces (WUI), and similarly hazardous areas Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills Page B-1 | May 2026 | Final .

Appendix B – Firefighting Capacity & Fire Behavior
Evaluating the effectiveness of firefighting resources against wildfire is a complex matter. On the same wildland fire there are locations where firefighters can be successful in defending structures or securing portions of the fire’s perimeter, while at the same moment firefighters elsewhere on the fire are being over matched by the intensity and rate of spread of the fire. Elements such as the alignment of the fire spread (head or flacking fire versus backing fire) can significantly change the fireline intensity faced by firefighters. Other elements which can influence firefighter success include access, topography, the ability to secure a safe operational space, and the availability of aerial resources (including based on wind conditions) to support ground operations.

A common standard used to evaluate the potential of firefighting resources to succeed on the fire ground are fire suppression interpretations based on flame length found in the Wildland Fire Incident Management Field Guide (NWCG, 2014). Generally, these interpretations evaluate what type of firefighting resources would be required to successfully suppress the head of a wildland fire based on the observed fire length (Appendix Table B-1).

Since flame lengths can be directly related to potential firefighting success, these breakpoints are used for classifying modeled fire behavior throughout the CWPP.

Appendix Table B-1. Fire Behavior Characteristics and Suppression Capabilities Flame
Lengths
(feet)
Fireline Intensity
(BTU*/foot/Second)
Interpretation
0-4 0-100 Fires can be generally attacked at the head or flanks by persons using hand tools. Handlines should hold the fire.
4-8 100-500 Fires are too intense for direct attack at the head of the fire by persons with hand tools. Handlines cannot be relied upon to hold the fire. Equipment such as dozers, engines and retardant aircraft can be effective.
8-11 500-1,000 Fires may present serious control problems – torching out, crowning and spotting. Control efforts at the head of the fire will probably be ineffective.
11+ 1,000+ Crowning, spotting and major fire runs are common. Control efforts at the head of the fire are ineffective.

Caution: This is not a guide to personnel safety; fires can be dangerous at any level of intensity; Wilson (1977) has shown that most fatalities occur on small fires or isolated sections of large fires. *British Thermal Unit, a measure of energy
The classifications in Appendix Table B-1 provide insights into resource capabilities but can be misinterpreted if applied out of context. For example, 8-foot flame lengths can be successfully suppressed by engine crews using hose lines if they are able to approach the fire from a direction where convective and radiant heat are focused away from the firefighters. The same 8-foot flame length will likely overwhelm firefighters positioned in a manner where they are receiving large portions of the heat flux from the fire. This can be the case where firefighters are performing structure defense or attempting a frontal assault on the advancing fire front. It has been found that convective energy transferred by wind gusts, fire whirls, or air turbulence can significantly increase the total heat Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills Page B-2 | May 2026 | Final .
transfer to the firefighter and increase the required safety zone size necessary to engage the fire (Butler, Cohen, 1998).

The most likely scenario for the next major wildland fire event in Agoura Hills involves wildfire approaching populated areas from the north under Santa Ana wind conditions. There is the possibility of fire transitioning from a wildland fire into a WUI fire and/or urban conflagration. This type of scenario can rapidly outpace resources, and can force first responders to shift their focus from fire containment to structure protection and protection of life safety/evacuation. An advancing Santa Ana wind-driven fire would likely push large amounts of heat and embers ahead of the actual flaming front, creating multiple spot fires in unpredictable locations. This impacts the ability of firefighters to establish a distinct containment line, and makes the establishment of a safe operational space very difficult. Protocol requires that firefighters have a safe operational space, and to move to safety if they do not. Additionally, first responders should have quick access to a "safety zone" if needed, and that safety zone should allow them to work without resorting to exceptional tactics like the deployment of personal "fire shelters." Research indicates that the radius of a safety zone should be at least four times the flame height, assuming operations in zero wind. When factoring in radiant and convective heat, very large safety zones are required for firefighters to engage a fire. The defensible space standards found in California PRC 4291 are designed not only to improve the potential for an individual structure to survive a wildfire, but also to improve the likelihood that firefighters will have a baseline safe operational space from which to work.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills Page C-1 | May 2026 | Final .

Appendix C – Fuel Treatment Guidelines & Techniques
This appendix provides fuel treatment prescriptions and guidelines to assist agencies and property-owners in implementing fuel treatments. This prescriptive guidance incorporates fire behavior assessment factors and best management practices (BMP) for achievable wildfire hazard mitigation actions. Understanding and working within BMP standards will help minimize impacts to surrounding natural resources.

C.1 PRIMARY TRAVEL ROUTES FUEL TREATMENT PRESCRIPTIVE GUIDELINES The following table describes the intensity levels for primary travel routes fuel treatments:

Appendix Table C-1. Primary Travel Routes Fuel Treatment Prescriptive Guidelines Location → Primary Zone (A)
(up to 50’ from centerline)
(distance may be constrained by
terrain & accessibility)
Secondary Zone (B)
(50’ – 100’ from centerline)
(distance may be constrained by
terrain & accessibility)
Fuel Type ↓
Grass/ Forbs Reduce fuel depth to 1 inch. Treatment not needed.

Surface dead/down
material
Remove all large (>3-inches
diameter) dead/down material.

Remove up to 75% of >3”
diameter dead/down material.

Chaparral/Shrub Remove all chaparral vegetation
within this zone. Retain the root
crown to promote soil stability.

Remove up to 75% of chaparral
vegetation. Widely spaced small
pockets or clumps of shrubs are
permitted. Clumps of chaparral
remaining should be healthy, early
seral stage plants. Chipped or
masticated material may be
“blown” back onto the slope where
feasible to enhance soil coverage.

Trees Overstory*
(without chaparral/shrub
understory)
Limb up all trees to 6-ft. or ½ of live
crown height, whichever is less.

Remove branches extending over
roadways to a minimum height of 15-
feet. Thin smaller trees leaving larger
trees (6-inch DBH) with crown
spacing up to 10 ft.

Same treatment as Zone A with
the exception of overstory
spacing. Overstory canopy should
be denser than Zone A to provide
shading of the surface to limit
potential development of grass or
shrub understory vegetation.

Trees Overstory*
(with chaparral/shrub
understory)
Thinning specifications, same as
Trees Overstory (without
understory), but remove all
understory chaparral/shrubs below
trees in this zone.

Remove all chaparral from the
understory of the tree canopy.

Where crown cover allows, ensure
shading of the surface to limit
potential development of grass or
shrub understory vegetation.
*Any treatments involving oaks must comply with the Agoura Hills Oak Tree Protection regulations.

Note: as of May 2026 Zone Zero requirement have not been finalized by CAL FIRE.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills Page C-2 | May 2026 | Final .

C.2 VEGETATION TREATMENT PRESCRIPTIVE GUIDELINES
The following table describes prescriptive guidelines for vegetation management in the Home Ignition Zone (HIZ).

Appendix Table C-2. Vegetation Treatment Prescriptive Guidelines Location → Primary Defense
Zone (A)
(5’ – 30’ of a structure)
Fuel Reduction
Zone (B)
(30’ – 100’ of a structure)
Fuel Reduction
Zone (C)
(100’ and beyond a
structure)
Fuel Type ↓ Based on California Public Resources Code 4291 Based on Firefighter Safety
Grass/ Forbs
Reduce fuel depth to 1”
or less.

Reduce grass height to
4” or less. Longer grass
in discontinuous open
areas is acceptable.

Treatment may not be
needed.

Surface Dead/Down
Material
Remove all dead/down
materials.

Reduce dead/down
flammable material to <
3” depth; and 3
tons/acre. Noncontiguous isolated dead
material acceptable.

Reduce heavier pockets
of dead/down flammable
material to < 5” depth;
< 5-7 tons/acre. Noncontiguous, dead
material acceptable.

Chaparral/ Shrub
Remove all but
individual specimen
chaparral plants.

Individual
ornamental/native
shrubs should be spaced
at a minimum 2x shrub
height.

Remove up to 75
percent of chaparral
vegetation. Allow for
discontinuous small
groupings of
chaparral/shrubs. Any
retained chaparral
should be healthy with
dead material pruned
from the plant.

Less intensive brush
removal with up to 30
foot for spacing of
pockets and clumps of
chaparral and shrubs.

Retained vegetation
should be healthy and at
the young-growth stage
with dead material
pruned from the plants
Trees Overstory*
(without
chaparral/shrub
understory)
Thin smaller trees
leaving larger trees
(>than 6-inches DBH) at
10–20-foot crown
spacing (based on slope,
tree size, and type);
limb/prune lower
branches 6-feet above
grade level, or lower 1/3
of tree height on smaller
trees.

Thin smaller trees
leaving larger trees (>
than 6-inches DBH) at
approximately 10-foot
crown spacing (based on
slope, tree size, and
type); limb/prune lower
branches 6-feet up, or
lower 1/3 of tree height
on smaller trees and
removing all dead
Limb and prune lower
branches of larger trees
up to 6-feet and
removing all dead
branch wood where
feasible.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills Page C-3 | May 2026 | Final .
branch wood where
feasible
Trees Overstory*
(with chaparral/shrub
understory)
Thinning specifications
are the same as Trees
Overstory without
Chaparral/shrub
understory in Zone A.

Understory: remove
chaparral; maintain
ornamental shrubs in a
healthy condition.

Thinning specifications
are the same as Trees
Overstory without
Chaparral/shrub
understory (Zone B).

Understory: occasional
less dense chaparral/
shrub and small tree
clumps may be retained.

Thinning specifications
are the same as Trees
Overstory without
chaparral/shrub
understory in Zone C.

Understory:
specifications are the
same as
Chaparral/Shrub Zone C
*Any vegetation treatments involving oaks must comply with the City of Agoura Hills Oak Tree Protection regulations.

C.3 IMPLEMENTATION GUIDELINES FOR VEGETATION TREATMENT LEVELS The following guidelines apply to the implementation of fuel treatments:
+ CEQA may be required prior to implementation of all site-specific projects. + Shrubs will vary in size randomly scattered across the project area. Chipped material should not exceed 4- inches in depth.
+ No piles will be retained on site.
+ Boundaries between treatment levels will maintain free-form shapes and feathered edges that replicate natural patterns; avoid straight lines by scalloping and feathering along edges of vegetation. The feathering of edges includes undulating edges horizontally and diverse heights of the brush retained on site. + Precautions will be taken to prevent scarring of trees or retained shrubs by equipment.

Invasive Species/Noxious Weeds:
+ To limit the spread and establishment of invasive plant species/noxious weeds into project areas, all off-road equipment used during project implementation will be washed free of invasive exotic weeds and seeds before entering project areas. If any equipment works in an area where weeds occur, it will be washed to remove weed propagules prior to entering other work locations. + All equipment staging areas will be located away from known areas with noxious weed occurrences and outside of riparian habitat area.

Cultural Resources:
+ Any known cultural resources within the proposed treatment area will be protected. If any sensitive cultural resources are found, work will stop and a qualified Archaeologist will be notified.

Soil and Watershed:
+ Minimize damage to surface soil structure to reduce potential for erosion and sediment transport to drainages.
+ No mechanical equipment use on slopes greater than 30 percent with following exception: Mastication can occur on slopes greater than 30 percent where the equipment is operating on slopes less than 30 percent and accessing steeper slopes with a boom arm.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills Page C-4 | May 2026 | Final .
+ Chipped or masticated material should be retained on site where feasible to enhance soil coverage.

Tree Removal/Tree Maintenance
+ Any vegetation treatment that involves oak trees will be subject to the policies and provisions of the City of Agoura Hills Municipal Code, Division 7, 9657 - Oak Tree Preservation Program. + Non-native pines, eucalyptus, acacia, cypress should be prioritized for removal. + Any pruning of protected tree species will follow the ordinances of the jurisdictional agency. + The transportation of any firewood generated during the removal of non-native tree species should be limited to prevent spread of potential insects or diseases.

C.4 RECOMMENDED BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
+ Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas (ESHA) will be marked on the project area maps and physically identified on the project site. Protection measures defined in a project specific implementation plan will be followed in ESHA.
+ Known landslide and unstable areas should be avoided for safety reasons and because vegetation treatment activities may result in increased potential for mass wasting and erosion. + Heavy equipment will not work on slopes greater than 30 percent. Movement of any heavy equipment across slopes should be minimized. Heavy equipment will not be used in riparian areas. + No servicing or refueling of equipment will occur on site. Operators must remove residues, waste oil, engine coolants, and other harmful materials from all worksites. Spill containment will be established prior to any on-site servicing or refueling.
+ When treating herbaceous/grass fuels; mowing or weed whipping is the preferred over discing to limit soil disturbance.
+ To protect streams and stream courses, the following shall be implemented:
+ Activities within the riparian zone of any blue line stream channel shall be subject to a setbacks defined in a project specific implementation plan
+ Location and method of stream course crossing should be identified and marked on the project site prior to fuel reduction activities to protect the stream course. + Project generated vegetation debris shall be removed from the stream course. + Water bars or other erosion control structures will be located as necessary to limit run-off and sediment movement into stream courses.
+ Work will not occur during the migratory bird nesting season unless an assessment is conducted to determine active nesting or breeding behavior. Assessments shall be conducted within ten days prior to the start of work.
+ No known threatened, endangered, sensitive (TES) or rare plants or animals, including migratory birds, will be disturbed, or harmed. Measures to avoid disturbance to TES may be required if known species are present or suitable habitat is found on-site in areas accessible to TES. Avoidance and/or mitigation measures may include:

Buffer zones around nests and dens,
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills Page C-5 | May 2026 | Final .

Limitations to types of equipment and/or times used,
Limited operating periods,
TES monitoring prior to or during activities,
Additional snag and down log retention.
+ Any requirements provided from ESHA consultation with local, state, or federal agencies.

C.5 FUEL TREATMENT IMPLEMENTATION TIMING
The treatment of hazardous fuels as proposed in this CWPP are not of the type or magnitude that could have a negative effect on species response from the various plant communities associated with the Planning Area.

Typically, the use of prescribed fire, mastication or crushing to eliminate standing chaparral requires the consideration of how individual species will recover following a treatment. Species response to prescribed fire often is related to the seasonality of the treatment. Lower intensity spring-time prescribed fires when used to eliminate chaparral vegetation has been found to favor the recovery of sprouting chaparral species over those that require a recovery response from seeds stored in the soil. Over time, the continued use of low intensity fire can shift the species composition of a chaparral stand (Beyers, Wakeman, 1997).

Herbaceous vegetation/Grass – Herbaceous fuels are most effectively treated following curing of the individual plants. When cured, these grass-like fuels have dispersed their seeds helping to assure their continued presences as part of the landscape. Treating herbaceous fuels after they have cured also minimizes regrowth following treatment. When looking to eliminate non-native herbaceous fuels, treating this vegetation before it has set seed will help to reduce the abundance of a species on the landscape over a period of years. Herbicides can also be effective in killing targeted non-native species before they sow their seed. However, the use of herbicides on public lands can be controversial and require an impact analysis following California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) or National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) protocols.

Oaks – The most widely recommended time to prune oak species is during July or August, when the trees are not normally growing, and when the dry weather is less likely to support pathogens that may attack the wounds.

As much as possible, avoid pruning large limbs as this exposes the tree to possible infection that can take many years to recover https://calscape.org/Quercus-agrifolia-(Coast-Live-Oak), accessed December 8, 2025.

Article XI: Zoning, Part 2: Special Regulations, Division 7: Oak Tree Preservation Guidelines, Appendix A provides details of the City’s oak tree protection and permitting process. Property owners are advised to contact the Planning Division prior to undertaking any oak tree maintenance or removal to understand site specific regulations. The following is a sample of existing oak tree ordinances:

No person, partnership, firm, corporation, government agency, or other legal entity shall cut, prune, remove, relocate, endanger or damage any tree protected by this section on any public or private land located within the incorporated areas of the City of Agoura Hills except in accordance with the conditions of a valid oak tree permit issued by the department of planning and community development or the planning commission pursuant to the provisions of section 9657 through 9657.5.

Except as otherwise provided in section 9657.4, no person shall cut, prune, remove, endanger orencroach into t he protected zone or relocate any oak tree on any public or private property within the city unless a valid oak tree permit has been issued.

Chaparral – Treatments of chaparral species traditionally focus on thinning or removal of stands of this vegetation. The removal of chapparal with hand tools is not time sensitive regarding species response, as most chaparral species will sprout from an underground root complex. To eliminate chaparral species from a Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills Page C-6 | May 2026 | Final .
treatment zone, the use of herbicides to kill regrowth or grubbing out the roots is required. Both treatments required attention over time to fully eliminate chaparral from the desired area In general, properties in Agoura Hills must meet requirements for defensible space specified in the State of California Public Resources Code Section 4291. These defensible space standards are enforced by the Los Angeles County Fire Department through an annual inspection program which requires homeowners to meet defensible space standards by June 1 of the calendar year. In addition to defensible space inspections, the County of Los Angeles Agricultural Commissioner is responsible for enforcing the County’s weed abatement program. This program is focused on undeveloped properties which meet one of the criteria found at, https://acwm.lacounty.gov/all-about-weed-abatement/.

Larger parcel owners should contact the City’s Planning Division concerning removal of chaparral of other native vegetation under their control. City specific design criteria, permitting or resource protection standards may apply for areas beyond 200-feet of a structure.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills Page D-1 | May 2026 | Final .

Appendix D – Community Outreach Results
As part of the CWRA process, a community survey was administered from February 20, 2025 to May 12, 2025.

The survey was intended to gather feedback from the public to better tailor community-based activities, educational programs, services, policies, and other projects to be locally relevant, inclusive, and sustainable while mitigating wildland fire risks. The public survey received 371 online responses and 10 in-person responses. Refer to Appendix C of the CWRA for an overview of survey results. The analysis below builds upon the summary analysis in the CWRA project to examine relationships between key survey questions to allow for a more nuanced understanding of the public’s experiences, concerns, and priorities which can allow for more targeted actions and activities. Given the number of respondents to the survey and information about some responses, the survey results are not indicative of the entirety of Agoura Hills and do not represent a statistically significant sample of the population. However, valuable information about individual’s experience can be gleaned from the survey responses.

D.1 ANALYTICAL APPROACH
D.1.1 Cross Tabulation Analysis
Cross-tabulation analysis was conducted to examine relationships between key survey variables. Primary stratification variables included:
+ Q1: Length of residency in Agoura Hills
+ Q2: Neighborhood of residence
These variables were paired with preparedness, mitigation behavior, insurance impacts, risk perception, and barriers to action responses (e.g., Q9, Q14, Q16, Q17, Q18, Q19, Q35).

For each pairing, percentage distributions were calculated within each subgroup to allow direct comparison across residency duration and neighborhoods. Results are reported using row- or column-based percentages as appropriate to ensure interpretability.

D.1.2 Statistical Testing (Chi-Square, Cramer’s V, FDR Adjustment) To assess whether observed differences between groups were statistically significant, chi-square tests of independence were performed for each cross-tabulation. Effect sizes were calculated using Cramer’s V to evaluate the strength of association, independent of sample size. Because multiple comparisons were conducted, False Discovery Rate (FDR) adjustment was applied to p-values to control for Type I error inflation.

Adjusted p-values were used when determining statistical significance.

Interpretation of findings considered:
+ Statistical significance (FDR adjusted p-values)
+ Magnitude of association (Cramer’s V)
Cramer’s V values between 0.10–0.30 indicate small-to-moderate associations, while values above 0.30 indicate moderate-to-strong relationships.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills Page D-2 | May 2026 | Final .

D.1.3 Open-ended Thematic Coding
Open-ended responses (Q36–Q39) were reviewed using a structured thematic approach. Blank and nonsubstantive responses were removed prior to analysis.

For Q36 and Q37, recurring two-word phrases were identified to detect common concern and action patterns.

These phrases were grouped into broader themes (e.g., home hardening, evacuation access, insurance, training) through bigram analysis. Each response was coded for the presence of these themes, and theme frequencies were calculated. Differences between residents who reported feeling prepared and those who did not were assessed using percentage-point comparisons.

For Q38 and Q39, responses were reviewed manually and grouped into policy-relevant categories (e.g., evacuation infrastructure, housing density, power outages, insurance, communication, enforcement). Frequently referenced terms—such as specific roadway names—were counted to quantify recurring infrastructure concerns.

Findings are presented using theme frequency summaries and selected illustrative examples to highlight dominant resident narratives and policy-relevant patterns.

D.2 RESIDENCY DURATION (Q1) AND WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS
Appendix Table D-1 shows that reported preparedness levels vary modestly across residency-duration groups.

However, these differences were not statistically significant based on Chi-Square testing. In other words, longerterm residents do not report significantly higher preparedness than newer residents.

Appendix Table D-1. Do you feel prepared for wildfire today? (by Residency Duration – Q1) Residency Duration Total n Yes (%) No (%)
0–3 years 30 46.7% 53.3%
4–10 years 51 66.7% 33.3%
11–20 years 50 48.0% 52.0%
21+ years 161 57.1% 42.9%
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills Page D-3 | May 2026 | Final .

Figure D-1. Residency Duration and FDR-Significant Preparedness Associations (Q1 Pairings) Percentage of respondents within each residency-duration group selecting each response option for survey items showing statistically significant associations after FDR adjustment. Effect sizes are reported using Cramer’s V.

Figure D-1 presents the distribution of selected preparedness- and mitigation-related responses across residency-duration groups (Q1), limited to associations that remained statistically significant after False Discovery Rate (FDR) adjustment. Reported percentages reflect the proportion of respondents within each residency group who selected the corresponding response option. Cramer’s V values are shown to indicate the strength of association. Several clear tenure-based patterns emerge. + Longer-term residents (21+ years) report substantially higher rates of window upgrades (54.0%) and roof hardening upgrades (35.5%) compared to newer residents (0–3 years: 20.9% and 20.9%, respectively). + Similarly, maintenance of defensible space and vegetation management activities increase consistently with residency duration, with 21+ year residents reporting the highest engagement levels. + Insurance-related impacts also vary by tenure.
+ Residents living in Agoura Hills for 11–20 years report the highest rate of insurance premium increases (71.0%), followed closely by those residing 21+ years (68.0%), suggesting that longer-term homeowners may be disproportionately affected by insurance market shifts. + In contrast, newer residents report higher rates of ownership-related constraints and certain barriers to upgrades, though these effects are smaller in magnitude.

Overall, the results indicate a structured preparedness gradient by residency duration: longer-term residents report greater engagement in structural mitigation actions and defensible space practices, as well as higher exposure to insurance impacts. Effect sizes (Cramer’s V ranging approximately from 0.17 to 0.26) suggest moderate associations between tenure and key preparedness behaviors.

D.3 NEIGHBORHOOD-LEVEL (Q2) DIFFERENCES IN RISK PERCEPTION AND

PREPAREDNESS
Appendix Table D-2. Do you feel prepared for a wildfire today? (by Neighborhood – Q2) Neighborhood Total n Yes (%) No (%)
Other (please specify) 83 55.4% 44.6%
Morrison Ranch Estates 47 76.6% 23.4%
Old Agoura 35 37.1% 62.9%
Lake Lindero 33 45.5% 54.5%
Fountainwood 29 58.6% 41.4%
Hillrise 25 60.0% 40.0%
Liberty Canyon 19 68.4% 31.6%
Annandale I/II 7 42.9% 57.1%
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills Page D-4 | May 2026 | Final .

Peacock Ridge 6 33.3% 66.7%
Avalon 5 60.0% 40.0%
Town and Country 2 0.0% 100.0%
Indian Hills 1 100.0% 0.0%
Appendix Table Appendix Table D-2 shows variation in self-reported wildfire preparedness (Q35) across neighborhoods, with Morrison Ranch Estates and Liberty Canyon reporting relatively higher preparedness levels, while Old Agoura, Peacock Ridge, and Town and Country report lower levels. Note: Neighborhoods with small sample sizes (n<10) should be interpreted cautiously as percentage values may not be stable.

Figure D-2. Neighborhood-Level Differences in FDR-Significant Preparedness Associations (Q2 Pairings) Percentage of respondents within each neighborhood selecting response options that showed statistically significant associations after False Discovery Rate (FDR) adjustment. Effect sizes are reported using Cramer’s V.

Figure D-1 presents neighborhood-level differences for survey items that remained statistically significant after FDR adjustment. Percentages represent the share of respondents within each neighborhood selecting the corresponding response option. Cramer’s V values indicate moderate-to-strong associations across several variables. Substantial geographic variation is observed in preparedness behaviors, perceived barriers, and insurance impacts.
+ Preparedness (Q35). Reported preparedness levels vary considerably across neighborhoods. Indian Hills (100.0%), Morrison Ranch Estates (76.6%), Liberty Canyon (68.4%), and Avalon (60.0%) report relatively high levels of residents feeling prepared for a wildfire. In contrast, Annandale I/II (42.9%), Old Agoura (37.1%), Peacock Ridge (33.3%), and Town and Country (0.0%) report lower levels of preparedness.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills Page D-5 | May 2026 | Final .
+ Insurance Impacts (Q14 – Premium Increases). Insurance premium increases are widely reported but unevenly distributed. Town and Country (100.0%), Hillrise (75.0%), Peacock Ridge (75.0%), Morrison Ranch Estates (71.0%), and Old Agoura (62.8%) show particularly high reported impacts. These findings may indicate concentrated insurance pressure in specific neighborhoods or may indicate individuals who felt the impacts of insurance in these communities were more likely to respond to the survey. + Structural Mitigation (Q16 – Window Upgrades). Window hardening upgrades show strong variation across neighborhoods, with Fountainwood (69.4%), Hillrise (59.4%), Lake Lindero (51.2%), and Town and Country (50.0%) reporting higher engagement. Other neighborhoods report limited uptake. + Barriers and Housing Context (Q18, Q19). Ownership constraints and single-access community status also differ sharply by neighborhood. Avalon (83.3%) and Liberty Canyon (85.7%) show particularly high rates of respondents living in single-access communities, which may influence evacuation planning and perceived vulnerability. However, some residents who indicate they are in single-access communities are in communities with more than one egress route, suggesting a need for targeted education and evacuation planning.

Overall, the results demonstrate meaningful geographic variation in wildfire preparedness, mitigation behaviors, and insurance exposure. Effect sizes (Cramer’s V approximately 0.25–0.49) indicate moderate-to-strong associations between neighborhood of residence and key preparedness variables. These patterns suggest that wildfire outreach, mitigation incentives, and risk communication strategies may need to be tailored at the neighborhood level rather than implemented uniformly across the city.

D.4 OPEN-ENDED RESPONSE ANALYSIS (Q36-39)
D.4.1 Q36 Major Wildfire Concerns
Bigram analysis was conducted on 248 non-empty responses to Q36. Extracted bigrams captured 51.2% of responses (127 responses), indicating strong thematic concentration around recurring phrases. The coverage rate indicates that over half of open-ended responses clustered around recurring thematic phrases, suggesting structured and repeated concern patterns rather than isolated comments.

The most frequently occurring bigrams were:
+ Home hardening (45)
+ Vegetation maintenance (20)
+ Evacuation planning (20)
+ Evacuation routes (14)
+ Home insurance (7)
These results indicate that structural mitigation, vegetation management, evacuation logistics, and insurance pressures dominate resident concern narratives.

D.4.2 Q36 Roadway Mentions in Major Concerns
When residents referenced specific geographic concerns, the following roads were most frequently mentioned:

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills Page D-6 | May 2026 | Final .

Appendix Table D-3. Most Frequently Mentioned Roadways in Open-Ended Concern Responses (Q36) Road Mentions
Agoura Rd 14
Kanan Rd 13
101 Freeway 12
Thousand Oaks Blvd 2
Driver Ave 2
Liberty Canyon 2
Medea Creek 2
The concentration of mentions on Agoura Road, Kanan Road, and the 101 Freeway indicates strong concern regarding evacuation traffic flow and corridor-level bottlenecks. This reinforces the centrality of evacuation infrastructure in perceived wildfire vulnerability.

D.4.3 Q37. Actions Taken in Response to Wildfire Concerns Bigram analysis was conducted on 205 non-empty responses to Q37. Extracted bigrams captured 56.1% of responses (115 responses), reflecting consistent patterns in mitigation behavior.

Most frequent action-oriented bigrams include:
+ Home hardening (58)
+ Firewise community (15)
+ Evacuation bag / packing evacuation bag (multiple variants; total 33) + Fire safe council (10)
+ Insurance agent / contact insurance (17 combined references) These findings indicate that residents most commonly respond through structural upgrades, evacuation readiness, and insurance-related actions.

Across Q36 and Q37, three consistent patterns emerge:

1. Structural mitigation (home hardening) is the most dominant theme, both as a concern and as an action.

2. Evacuation infrastructure and traffic corridors are highly salient, particularly specific roadway bottlenecks.

3. Differences between prepared and not-prepared residents suggest that perceived preparedness may hinge more on completed structural upgrades and formal training than on evacuation awareness alone.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills Page D-7 | May 2026 | Final .

D.4.4 Q38. Suggested Public Education & Program Improvements A total of 116 substantive responses were retained for analysis in Q38 after removing blank and non-substantive entries. Open-ended responses to Q38 indicate that residents’ recommendations for improving wildfire preparedness education were highly programmatic in nature. Residents overwhelmingly framed public education in terms of actionable programs rather than general awareness campaigns.

1. Expanded Home Hardening Guidance
• Home hardening / fire hardening / hardening guidance (21) • Defensible space / vegetation removal guidance (11)
• Inspections (home inspection / fire dept inspection / door-to-door inspection) (9) • Grants / financial assistance / incentives (8)
• Ember-resistant vents / vent screening (5)

2. Expansion of CERT and Training Programs
• Training / classes / seminars (fire/emergency specific) (14) • Evacuation education / evacuation planning instruction (10) • CERT (6)

3. Firewise and HOA-Based Community Organization
• HOA involvement / HOA partnership (8)
• Community coordination / Neighborhood-level organization (7) • Firewise (4)
D.4.5 Q39. Final Comments: System-Level Vulnerability Concerns After removing non-substantive entries, 69 responses were retained for qualitative analysis, forming the basis for the thematic findings presented in this section. Open-ended final comments (Q39) reveal resident vulnerability concerns regarding:
+ Evacuation capacity constraints
+ High-density development near limited roadway infrastructure (particularly Kanan Road) + Power outage management and public utility accountability + Homeowners insurance availability and affordability
+ Perceived communication breakdowns during recent wildfire events + Calls for stronger enforcement of property hardening standards The dominant narrative in Q39 centers not on individual preparedness, but on systemic vulnerabilities:
constrained evacuation infrastructure, housing growth in high fire severity zones, prolonged power shutoffs, and perceived lack of coordinated leadership.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills Page D-8 | May 2026 | Final .

D.4.5.1 Evacuation & Traffic Gridlock (Primary Concern) + Kanan Rd / Kanan Road / Kanan (10)
+ Lindero Canyon (Rd) (4)
+ Reyes Adobe (Rd) (3)
+ 101 / 101 Freeway / 101 fwy (4)
+ Gridlock (1)
+ Bottleneck / bottle neck (1)
+ Single-lane roads (1)
+ Traffic nightmare / nightmare during evacuation (1)
D.4.5.2 High-Density Housing Opposition
+ STOP high density (3)
+ Life-threatening (1)
+ Formula for disaster (1)
+ Fight state mandate (1)
+ State-mandated housing (2)
D.4.5.3 Power Outage & Utility Accountability
+ Three-week power outages (1)
+ Cell towers down (2)
+ Planned power shutoffs (1)
+ Hold Edison accountable (2)
+ Bury power lines (2)
D.4.5.4 Stronger Home Hardening Enforcement
+ Enforce municipal code (2)
+ Cite non-compliant homeowners (2)
+ Mandatory hardening (2)
+ Remove tropical plants / palms (3)
+ Require ember-resistant vents (2)
D.4.5.5 Insurance Crisis
+ Quadrupled insurance (1)
+ Insurance gouging (1)
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills Page D-9 | May 2026 | Final .
+ FAIR Plan not sufficient (2)
+ Need discounts for Firewise (1)
D.4.5.6 Communication and Coordination Failures
+ Miscommunicated evacuation orders (2)
+ No internet / no cell service (4)
+ Broken alert systems (2)
+ Unclear leadership / coordination failure (3)
+ Decentralized information (1)
Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills Page E-1 | May 2026 | Final .

Appendix E – Public Workshops
The following is a sample agenda provided as part of the public workshops held at the Agoura Hills Event Center.

Copies of the full presentations are available through the City of Agoura Hills.

Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills Page F-2 | May 2026 | Final .

Appendix F – AWG Project Prioritization
The Agoura Hills Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) lists and describes a total of 46 City-wide recommendations (see Chapter 7). To facilitate implementation of the CWPP, a goal of the development process was to identify a set of the priority actions of key stakeholders, practitioners, and experts working on wildfire mitigation and resiliency in Agoura Hills. To this end, the Agency Working Group (AWG), which has guided and provided input on the development of the CWPP, were asked to identify priority actions that met one of two criteria:
+ Actions that would help address the biggest needs or biggest risks related to wildfire resiliency + Actions that were most practical, most feasible, or easiest to accomplish (including those that may not require outside funding and/or extensive compliance requirements) Based on the AWG’s voting and discussion, ten (10) actions are outlined below which were identified as priorities by multiple individuals/groups. These have been grouped into several overarching themes and a summary of the discussion around each theme is included below. There were additional actions that received a single vote, but they have been left off this list to provide a succinct priority list.

The priority recommended actions identified by the AWG will be shared with the City Council’s CWPP Ad Hoc Committee, which provides direction and guidance on the CWPP development process for the City of Agoura Hills, and ultimately with the full City Council. Although this list of priority recommended actions is not binding, and all actions listed in the CWPP are considered important to improving wildfire resilience, this will serve as a starting point for project implementation and for seeking additional project funding.

Note: The members of the AWG also indicated which of the Planning Unit specific recommendations they considered priority actions. The Planning Unit actions identified as priorities by the AWG aligned with the priority levels provided in the CWPP. Given this alignment, Planning Unit recommendations are not detailed further in this summary.

COMMUNICATION METHODS & INFRASTRUCTURE
A key priority theme was improving communication with the public during emergency events. This includes exploring alternate and redundant communication strategies as well as improvements to infrastructure to improve reliability and cell service. It was noted that improving cell service during Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events would help reduce anxiety and fear around PSPS situations. Specific CWPP recommendations are:
+ CW-25: Conduct a study to evaluate the wildfire resiliency of critical infrastructure and facilities across the City (e.g., water infrastructure, communications systems). Prioritize and implement resiliency improvements.

Coordinate and collaborate with relevant fire, law enforcement, government, private sector, and other subject matter experts to ensure programs, policies and systems are evaluated, designed, and maintained for quality, fire resistance, durability, functionality, efficiency, and sustainability. + CW-32: Develop additional/redundant communications strategies to reach vulnerable populations during an emergency event. This may include community networks/phone trees and other targeted methods of communication.

PUBLIC EDUCATION & COMMUNITY GROUP SUPPORT
Much of the currently ongoing public education projects in Agoura Hills are coordinated by community groups, including the Agoura Hills Fire Safe Council and Santa Monica Mountains Fire Safe Council. This theme centers Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills Page F-3 | May 2026 | Final .
around both bolstering and expanding public education and supporting those groups who are already doing much of this outreach. Regarding the selection criteria noted above, the AWG discussed that short-term, more immediately implemented projects might focus on defensible space, since there are more systems and funding mechanisms in place for defensible space. Structural hardening is critical to wildfire resilience, but since there are fewer systems in place and funding can be more difficult to secure, developing new projects around structural hardening may be a longer-term goal with more strategizing needed. Specific CWPP recommendations are:
+ CW-2: Develop a public education outreach plan to increase awareness on, and ensure consistency of messaging about, maintaining defensible space in accordance with Los Angeles County Fire Code Section 325.2.1, California Public Resources Code 4291, and local ordinances. Education should include information on Zone 0 or “ember-resistant zone” (0-5 feet from a structure) in accordance with AB-3074 for both new and existing conditions. This includes providing updates on upcoming and/or new code changes + CW-12: Leverage and support the work of local FSCs to inspect and educate properties owners on defensible space requirements. Focus on the development of the ember-resistant zone at structures. + CW-19: Provide ongoing education and outreach for residents. Information should include defensible space and home hardening standards to assist homeowners with implementing firesafe practices as well as meeting or exceeding requirements of State, County and Local codes and ordinances. A mix of web-based and in-person formats should be utilized in order to reach all critical audiences.

FUEL TREATMENTS/VEGETATION MANAGEMENT
The consensus around this theme was a desire to support different fuel treatment methods (e.g., mechanical, grazing, prescribed fire) with the need to prescribe methods to projects as appropriate for the location, scale, and other specifics of the treatment. It is understood that the Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) provided some input on specific fuel treatments as part of the CWPP development process but that specific prescription of methods is beyond the scope of the CWPP development process. To that end, specific CWPP recommendations are:
+ CW-6: Work with LACoFD, NPS and MRCA to identify opportunities to implement grazing of herbaceous fuels, particularly in Palo Comodo/Chesebro and Liberty Canyons. Grazing was a historic land use practice in the Agoura Hills vicinity.
+ CW-8: Work with LACoFD, NPS, MRCA and State Parks to identify opportunities to use prescribed fire to treat non-native invasive species. This provides a resource benefit while also breaking up fuel continuity adjacent to the city. Monitor species change after treatment.

OTHER PRIORITY PROJECTS
Other priority projects which do not fall under one of the themes above but which were identified by the AWG were:
+ CW-1: Review recently published wildfire risk mitigation recommendation reports, testing and research (e.g., FEMA, NIST, IBHS, FSRI), and update local codes, standards, and guidance, as needed. Resources to be reviewed include FEMA Marshall Fire MAT, IBHS Home Mitigations that Matter, NIST Technical Note 2205 & 2228
+ CW-22: Work with the insurance industry and California Insurance Commissioner’s office to recognize risk reduction efforts at landscape, parcel and neighborhood-scales in insurance coverage, premiums, and deductibles. Coordinate and collaborate with county, regional, and local stakeholders, subject matter Community Wildfire Protection Plan City of Agoura Hills Page F-4 | May 2026 | Final .
experts, and academics to systematically identify and quantify the risk reduction measures at various scales to help support insurance needs.
+ CW-41: Improve the cost-efficiency of fuel reduction and fuel maintenance through coordination efforts including:

Coordinating between neighboring private landowners so that economies of scale are achieved for fuel reduction actions (e.g., coordinating timing and type of fuel reduction on neighboring properties) Long-term service agreements
Programmatic CEQA approaches
Investment in pre-planning

REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL
DATE: MAY 27, 2026
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: NATHAN HAMBURGER, CITY MANAGER
BY: RAMIRO ADEVA, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER
SUBJECT:

UPDATE ON SOLID WASTE FRANCHISE AGREEMENT DISCUSSIONS WITH WASTE MANAGEMENT (WM)
On January 1, 2017, the City entered into an Integrated Exclusive Residential Waste Management Services Franchise Agreement with GI Industries, now operating as WM, for residential and multi-family solid waste, recycling, and organics collection services within the City. The current agreement expires on June 30, 2027.

On August 13, 2025, the City Council discussed options regarding the future of the City’s solid waste services program, including either negotiating a successor agreement with WM or pursuing a competitive RFP process. At that time, staff noted that pursuing negotiations first would still leave sufficient time to transition to an RFP process if discussions were ultimately unsuccessful.

Consistent with the City Council’s direction, staff subsequently initiated discussions with WM regarding potential terms and concepts for a future agreement.

This report summarizes only the general categories and discussion topics currently being evaluated by the parties, which have generally included:

Continuation and enhancement of existing residential solid waste, recycling, and organics collection services; Preservation and evaluation of current customer service standards and operational performance expectations;
Potential updates to “Most Favored City” comparison provisions; Evaluation of long-term rate structure frameworks and future adjustment methodologies; Consideration of phased implementation approaches related to future operational or market adjustments; Discussion regarding contract term length and potential renewal structures; Expansion of community benefit programs and outreach initiatives; Senior-focused outreach and discount program discussions; SB 1383 compliance support, organics collection requirements, and container color standardization planning and cart replacement;
Illegal dumping response coordination and environmental compliance measures; Public education, sustainability reporting, and community engagement programs; Potential commercial solid waste service structures and operational efficiencies; and Long-term service continuity, route efficiency, and transition considerations.

Staff notes that discussions with WM have identified commercial exclusivity as a critical component of any potential successor agreement. WM has indicated that its willingness to commit to residential pricing considerations and other negotiated terms associated with a future agreement would be contingent upon inclusion of an exclusive commercial solid waste component as part of the overall franchise framework. As a result, discussions have included evaluating what an exclusive commercial model could look like, potential impacts to the City’s business community, and what protections, oversight measures, and service expectations would be necessary should the City Council wish to further consider such an option.

Additionally, State law requires a five-year notification period before a local jurisdiction may transition to an exclusive commercial solid waste franchise model. Should the City Council determine it wishes to grant an exclusive commercial franchise structure, other existing permitted commercial haulers currently servicing businesses within the City would be formally notified of the City’s decision to grant commercial exclusive services to WM. Following the required notification period of five-years, commercial haulers other than the selected exclusive provider would no longer be permitted to provide commercial solid waste services within the City.

These conversations remain ongoing, and additional time is needed to continue evaluating options, refining key elements, and working toward a framework that could ultimately be presented to the City Council for consideration in a final proposal.

While discussions to date have been constructive and collaborative, and continue to move in a positive direction, staff believe additional time is needed to further refine key details and determine whether a mutually agreeable framework can be achieved that is ultimately in the community's best long-term interest. In order to avoid creating a compressed timeline as the current agreement expiration approaches, staff is including an option that would authorize staff to begin the approximately six-month process of preparing a Request for Proposals (RFP), while concurrently continuing discussions with WM. This approach preserves flexibility for the City, maintains momentum on the collaborative discussions and progress made to date, and allows additional time to evaluate whether further refinement of terms could result in a successor franchise agreement that provides the greatest long-term value and service benefits to the community. Should discussions ultimately not result in an agreement that the City Council determines is in the City’s best interest, the City would remain positioned to move forward with a competitive procurement process without jeopardizing timing or service continuity.

FISCAL IMPACT
There is no immediate fiscal impact associated with this update and discussion item at this time.

Any future fiscal impacts associated with a negotiated successor agreement or a potential RFP process would be presented to the City Council for future consideration and direction at the appropriate time.

RECOMMENDATION
Staff respectfully recommends the City Council:

1. Direct Staff to Prepare a Successor Franchise Agreement with WM, or

2. Direct Staff to Initiate a Request for Proposals (RFP) Process, or

3. Direct Staff to Prepare an RFP While Concurrently Continuing Discussions with WM.

REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL
DATE: MAY 27, 2026
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: NATHAN HAMBURGER, CITY MANAGER
BY: RAMIRO ADEVA, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER
SUBJECT:

DISCUSSION TO CONSIDER OPTIONS REGARDING THE ABOP (ANTI-FREEZE, BATTERIES, OIL,

PAINT) SOLID WASTE PROGRAM
The City currently contracts with WM to provide Used Oil and Household Hazardous Waste Collection Events for Agoura Hills residents. The program is also more commonly referred to as ABOP, which stands for "Anti-freeze, Batteries, Oil, Paint." The existing agreement is scheduled to expire on June 30, 2026. The ABOP service currently provides residents with opportunities to safely dispose of household hazardous waste materials, including used motor oil, oil filters, batteries, antifreeze, latex paint, and other approved household hazardous materials. Collection events occur three times annually, typically in July, November, and March.

The following tables provide a breakdown of the current annual cost of the ABOP program, along with the funding sources that support the program.

Service Component Amount
Cost per Event $3,200
Events per Year 3
Annual ABOP Program Cost $9,600
Program Funding is currently structured as follows:

Funding Source Amount
CalRecycle Used Oil Grant $5,000 *
Solid Waste Fund $4,600
Total Annual Funding to support the ABOP Program $9,600 * The CalRecycle grant amount is fixed at $5,000 annually, requiring the City's Solid Waste Fund to absorb any remaining program costs.

As the current agreement approaches expiration, staff has evaluated anticipated future program costs. WM recently notified the City that collection event pricing is expected to increase from the current $3,200 per event to $4,500 per event in Fiscal Year 2026–2027.

If the City continues operating three collection events annually under the updated pricing structure, projected program costs would be:

Service Component FY 2025-2026 (Current) FY 2026-2027 (Projected) Cost per Event $3,200 $4,500
Events per Year 3 3
Annual Program Cost $9,600 $13,500
CalRecycle Grant Funding $5,000 $5,000
Solid Waste Fund Contribution $4,600 $8,500
The projected increase represents approximately an 85% increase in the City's Solid Waste Fund contribution, growing from $4,600 annually to $8,500 annually. While the CalRecycle grant continues to provide valuable financial assistance, the grant amount has not increased proportionally with service costs. Staff anticipates that collection event expenses may continue increasing over time, which could place additional pressure on Solid Waste Fund resources.

As a result, the City Council may wish to consider whether continuing the current service model remains financially sustainable, or whether to evaluate future program modifications, including potential adjustments to event frequency or discontinuing the program altogether.

One important consideration for Council is the existing At-Your-Door (AYD) service already available to Agoura Hills residents through the City’s current franchise agreement with WM. The AYD program provides residents with a convenient residential collection option for household hazardous waste and electronic waste materials and offers many of the same disposal services currently provided through the City’s ABOP program. However, unlike the Citysponsored collection events, the AYD service is already included as part of the existing WM franchise agreement and provides the added benefit of year-round accessibility through scheduled residential pickups.

To provide additional context for Council’s consideration, the following table summarizes and compares the key features of both programs.

Program At-Your-Door (AYD) service
Agoura Hills Used Oil & Hazardous
Waste Collection Events (ABOP)
How it works
Residents schedule a pickup, and
WM collects eligible materials
directly from the home.

Residents drive materials to a
designated event location during
scheduled collection days.

Frequency
Available monthly year-round by
appointment.

Held three times per year in Agoura
Hills; generally the 1st Saturday in
March, July, and November
Operator
Provided through WM’s residential
franchise agreement as an added
residential service.

Historically operated as a regional
collection event program, serving
Agoura Hills, Hidden Hills,
Calabasas, and Malibu. Note:

Westlake Village stops participating
years ago.

Accepted materials
Broader household hazardous
waste and e-waste collection,
including cleaners, paints, batteries,
electronics, sharps, motor oil, etc.
(some limits apply).

More limited collection focused
primarily on used motor oil, oil
filters, antifreeze, latex paint, and
car batteries. Certain items like
pesticides, cleaning products,
batteries, pharmaceuticals, and oilbased paint are not accepted.

Convenience Door-to-door pickup. Drop-off event requiring residents to transport materials.

At this time, staff is seeking policy direction from the City Council regarding whether to continue, or not continue, with the ABOP program in its current format. Should the Council desire to continue with the program and accept the cost increase, staff will proceed to account for the additional solid waste funds needed to cover the costs of the ABOP program in FY 2026-2027. If the Council decides to discontinue the ABOP program, staff will prepare a notification to the community, and encourage the use of the AYD program, which is still included in the current franchise agreement contract with WM.

FISCAL IMPACT
If the City elects to continue the existing ABOP program with three collection events annually, the estimated Fiscal Year 2026–2027 cost would increase from the current annual amount of $9,600 to approximately $13,500.

The CalRecycle Used Oil Grant would continue providing $5,000 annually, leaving an estimated $8,500 to be funded through the Solid Waste Fund in Fiscal Year 2026-2027.

RECOMMENDATION
Staff respectfully recommends the City Council discuss and provide direction on whether to continue or discontinue the City's ABOP program beyond the expiration of the current agreement through June 30, 2026.