Attach 1 - 2026_Laguna_Beach_CWPP_v2 — Laguna Beach City Council, June 9, 2026

4/11/2026 | Rev. 01

CITY OF LAGUNA BEACH

PREPARED FOR
City of Laguna Beach
505 Forest Avenue
Laguna Beach, CA
Report #: 1RSM25002
Date: 4/20/2026
1000 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 250
Los Angeles, CA 90017
[email protected]
+1 626-872-4440
Attachment 1
5 Executive Summary
4/11/2026 | Rev. 00
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6 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan 4/11/2026 | Rev. 00
Executive Summary
This Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) provides a science and engineering-based assessment of the wildfire threat in the wildland urban interface (WUI) of the City of Laguna Beach, located in Orange County, California. This CWPP was developed through a collaborative process that spanned several years involving city officials, Orange County Fire Authority, surrounding fire agencies, county officials, county-, state-, and federal-land management agencies, HOAs and other community members. It meets the CWPP requirements set forth in the federal Healthy Forests Restoration Act which include:
+ Identifying and prioritizing areas for fuel reduction activities + Stakeholder collaboration
+ Addressing structural ignitability
Wildfire remains one of the greatest risks to human life, property, natural environment, and the local economy throughout the wildland–urban interface that makes up the community of Laguna Beach. With a population of 23,032 according to the 2020 U.S. Census, Laguna Beach is home to a small but densely settled coastal community. In March 2025, the California Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) issued updated Local Responsibility Area (LRA) Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ) maps for the city. These new maps - officially adopted by the city on June 24, 2025 - classify lands within Laguna Beach as Moderate, High, or Very High fire hazard zones.

Most of Laguna Beach’s hillsides, canyons, and many coastal-terrace neighborhoods have long been recognized as especially fire-prone. According to the city’s hazard assessments and planning documents, a large portion of the city - in some mappings nearly 85% of all residential properties - falls within areas designated as “Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.”
The combination of steep terrain, proximity of developed areas to natural wildlands, and the presence of dense coastal vegetation makes Laguna Beach particularly vulnerable. Although past fires may have reduced some local fuel loads, ongoing vegetation regrowth - combined with climate-driven trends toward longer, hotter, drier fire 7 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan Page ii | 5/3/2026 | Rev. 01
seasons - continues to create conditions conducive to future wildfires. These hazards pose a serious threat to both long-term safety and community resilience.

A hazard, risk and vulnerability assessment was performed using high resolution topography, fuels, weather and values at risk data. The assessment was focused on identifying areas of concern throughout the Planning Area and prioritizing areas where wildfire threat and hazard potentials create the greatest risk to the community.

The City of Laguna Beach, in collaboration with Local, State and Federal partners, will work to reduce wildland fire hazards and associated risks through the use of strategies that include (see Section 6.0):
+ Pre-fire planning.
+ Public education and outreach to promote and implement fire adapted community practices. + Vegetation management and fuel reduction at the community level, including the enforcement of defensible space standards on private lands.
+ Reducing structure ignitability by promoting and enforcing building codes, ordinances, and statutes.

This document provides a framework that can be used to identify, prioritize, implement, and monitor hazard and risk reduction activities throughout the Planning Area. It is intended to be a living document that will be updated periodically by the City in collaboration with public and private stakeholders in the Planning Area and adjacent fire agencies.

This document is also intended to support the California Fire Plan and Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA)’s 2023 Unit Strategic Fire Plan. While this CWPP covers the entire Planning Area, this plan supports and encourages focused wildfire protection actions at the community and neighborhood scales.

Revision Record Summary
Version Date Description of Updates
1 4/2026 Draft CWPP prepared by Jensen Hughes
8 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan Page iii | 5/3/2026 | Rev. 01
Signatures
The 2026 City of Laguna Beach Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) was developed in accordance with the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA). The plan was developed collaboratively by City of Laguna Beach stakeholders including Orange County Fire Authority, city officials, federal-, state-, local-, and private-landowners, residents, community groups and neighboring fire agencies. The plan includes a list of hazardous fuel reduction strategies and measures that community members can take to reduce structural ignitability, as well as recommendations on additional studies, policy changes, educational programs and other initiatives that can be undertaken to provide a more holistic wildfire mitigation strategy in all stages of wildfire disaster risk management (i.e., prevention/mitigation, preparedness, response and recover). The undersigned have reviewed the CWPP and accept this document as the final draft representing 2026.

City of Laguna Beach, City Manager Dave Kiff Date
__________________________________________________________________ __________________ City of Laguna Beach Fire Chief Niko King Date
__________________________________________________________________ __________________ Orange County Fire Authority Date
__________________________________________________________________ __________________ 9 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan Page iv | 5/3/2026 | Rev. 01 Copyright ©2026 Jensen Hughes, Inc.

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Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.......................................................................................................................................... I REVISION RECORD SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................... II SIGNATURES ........................................................................................................................................................ III TABLE OF CONTENTS .........................................................................................................................................IV LIST OF ACRONYMS...........................................................................................................................................VII

1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 1

1.1 Purpose of Plan....................................................................................................................................... 1

1.2 Goals & Objectives.................................................................................................................................. 1

1.3 Development Team ................................................................................................................................. 3

1.4 Policy & Regulatory Framework .............................................................................................................. 5

1.4.1 Federal ................................................................................................................................................ 5

1.4.2 State .................................................................................................................................................... 5

1.4.3 County ................................................................................................................................................. 6

1.4.4 Local .................................................................................................................................................... 6

1.5 Funding for CWPP Development ............................................................................................................ 7

2.0 CWPP PROCESS ........................................................................................................................................... 9

2.1 Collaborative Approach ........................................................................................................................... 9

2.1.1 City of Laguna Beach Collaborative Approach ................................................................................... 9

2.1.2 Convene Community Stakeholders / Interested Parties ................................................................... 10

2.1.3 Agency and Community Organization Stakeholder Coordination..................................................... 10

2.1.4 Synthesis of Recent Community Feedback ...................................................................................... 10

3.0 COMMUNITY OVERVIEW............................................................................................................................ 12

3.1 Fire Hazard Severity Zones................................................................................................................... 12

3.2 Fire Threat, Fire Hazard, & Fire Severity .............................................................................................. 13 Relative Fire Threat.......................................................................................................................................... 14 Relative Fire Hazard ........................................................................................................................................ 14 Relative Fire Severity ....................................................................................................................................... 16

3.3 Values at Risk........................................................................................................................................ 17

3.3.1 Human Life and Health...................................................................................................................... 18

3.3.2 Critical Facilities and Infrastructure ................................................................................................... 18

3.3.3 Private Residential Property & Commercial Businesses................................................................... 19

3.3.4 Environmental and Natural Resources.............................................................................................. 20

3.3.5 Cultural and Historical Resources ..................................................................................................... 21

3.3.6 Scenic Views and Visual Quality ....................................................................................................... 21

3.3.7 Recreation ......................................................................................................................................... 21

3.3.8 Local Economy .................................................................................................................................. 22

3.4 Fire Protection Responsibility................................................................................................................ 22

3.4.1 Additional Fire Protection / Collaborative Agreements...................................................................... 24 10 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan Page v | 5/3/2026 | Rev. 01 Copyright ©2026 Jensen Hughes, Inc.

4.0 DEFINING THE WILDFIRE CHALLENGE.................................................................................................... 26

4.1 Fire Ecology of the Laguna Coast......................................................................................................... 26

4.1.1 Vegetation and Fire Adaptation......................................................................................................... 26

4.1.2 Fire Regime and Human Influence.................................................................................................... 28

4.2 Fire History ............................................................................................................................................ 28

4.3 Vegetation And Fuels ............................................................................................................................ 30

4.3.1 Fuel Characteristics........................................................................................................................... 31

4.4 Climate and Climate Change ................................................................................................................ 33

4.4.1 Nighttime Humidity and Fire Behavior............................................................................................... 33

4.4.2 Santa Ana Winds............................................................................................................................... 33

4.4.3 The Marine Layer .............................................................................................................................. 34

4.4.4 Forecasting Future Climate Conditions ............................................................................................. 34

4.4.5 Vegetation Management Strategies in this Context .......................................................................... 34

4.5 Topography ........................................................................................................................................... 35

5.0 WILDFIRE HAZARD AND RISK ASSESSMENTS ....................................................................................... 36

5.1 Overview................................................................................................................................................ 36

5.1.1 Core Input Data ................................................................................................................................. 36

5.1.2 Wildland Fuel Models ........................................................................................................................ 36

5.2 Wildfire Hazard Assessment ................................................................................................................. 37

5.3 Risk Assessment................................................................................................................................... 37

5.4 Wildfire Structure Defensibility .............................................................................................................. 37

5.5 Ember Exposure Zones......................................................................................................................... 38

5.6 Structure Vulnerability ........................................................................................................................... 39

5.7 Community Input on Hazards and Risks............................................................................................... 39

6.0 COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN ....................................................................................................................... 40

6.1 Community Preparedness and Programs ............................................................................................. 40

6.1.1 City/Community Programs ................................................................................................................ 40

6.1.2 County/Regional Programs ............................................................................................................... 41

6.2 Area Notification Systems ..................................................................................................................... 42

6.3 Social Media and Media Programs ....................................................................................................... 42

6.3.1 Social Media ...................................................................................................................................... 42

6.3.2 Local Radio like Ready LA ................................................................................................................ 43

6.3.3 Local/Public Access TV..................................................................................................................... 43

6.4 Protecting Values .................................................................................................................................. 44

6.4.1 Public Safety...................................................................................................................................... 44

6.4.2 Firefighter Safety ............................................................................................................................... 44

6.4.3 Reducing Structure Ignitability........................................................................................................... 45

6.5 Fuels Mitigation Strategy....................................................................................................................... 46

6.5.1 Existing Fuel Treatment Activities ..................................................................................................... 46

6.5.2 Defensible Space .............................................................................................................................. 49

6.5.3 Proposed Fuel Treatments................................................................................................................ 49 11 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan Page vi | 5/3/2026 | Rev. 01 Copyright ©2026 Jensen Hughes, Inc.

6.5.4 Fuel Treatment Prioritization ............................................................................................................. 52

6.6 Evacuation............................................................................................................................................. 52

6.6.1 During a Wildfire Event...................................................................................................................... 52

6.6.2 Main Evacuation Routes ................................................................................................................... 52

6.6.3 Safe Refuge Areas ............................................................................................................................ 53

6.6.4 Potential Evacuation Issues .............................................................................................................. 53

6.7 Fire Suppression Resource Capability .................................................................................................. 54

6.7.1 Suppression Capabilities................................................................................................................... 54

6.8 Fiscal Resources and Constraints......................................................................................................... 54

6.8.1 Potential Grant Funding Sources ...................................................................................................... 54

7.0 MONITORING ............................................................................................................................................... 56

7.1 CWPP Monitoring.................................................................................................................................. 56

7.2 Fuel Treatment Monitoring and Maintenance ....................................................................................... 56

8.0 MITIGATION STRATEGY AND IMPLEMENTATION PRIORITIES.............................................................. 57

8.1 Action Plan ............................................................................................................................................ 57

8.2 Public Education and Situational Awareness........................................................................................ 59

8.3 Evacuation and Life Safety Improvements............................................................................................ 60

8.4 Post-Incident Coordination and Recovery............................................................................................. 60

8.4.1 Emergency Operations Center Activation ......................................................................................... 60

8.4.2 Damage Assessment ........................................................................................................................ 60

8.4.3 Debris and Hazardous Material Removal and Tracking.................................................................... 60

8.4.4 Community Recovery Planning ......................................................................................................... 60

8.4.5 Donation and Volunteer Management .............................................................................................. 61 12 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan Page vii | 5/3/2026 | Rev. 01 Copyright ©2026 Jensen Hughes, Inc.

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List of Acronyms
AB Assembly Bill
AHJ Authority Having Jurisdiction
AI Artificial Intelligence
BMP Best Management Practices
CALFIRE California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection CAR Communities at Risk
CEQA California Environmental Quality Act
CERT Community Emergency Response Team
COM City of Laguna Beach
CWPP Community Wildfire Protection Plan
DTSC Department of Toxic Substances Control
EAS Emergency Alert System
EDPC Emergency Disaster Preparedness Committee
EMZ Evacuation Management Zone
EOC Emergency Operations Center
EOP Emergency Operations Plan
ESHA Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Areas
FHSZ Fire Hazard Severity Zone
FMAG Fire Management Assistance Grant
FMZ Fuel Modification Zone
GIS Geographic Information System
HFRA Healthy Forest Restoration Act
HMGP Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
HIZ Home Ignition Zone
IAFC International Association of Fire Chiefs
LACoFD Los Angeles County Fire Department
LANDFIRE Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Project 13 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan Page viii | 5/3/2026 | Rev. 01 Copyright ©2026 Jensen Hughes, Inc.

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LBCWD Laguna Beach County Water District
LBFD Laguna Beach Fire Department
LBPD Laguna Beach Police Department
LHMP Local Hazard Mitigation Plan
LRA Local Responsibility Area
MTT Minimum Travel Time
NFP National Fire Plan
NFPA National Fire Protection Association
NIMS National Incident Management System
NWCG National Wildfire Coordinating Group
OES Office of Emergency Services (State or local)
OCFA Orange County Fire Authority
OWS Outdoor Warning System
PCH Pacific Coast Highway
PSPS Public Safety Power Shutoff
RAWS Remoted Automated Weather Station
SCE Southern California Edison
SCWD South Coast Water District
SDG&E San Diego Gas & Electric
SOC Standard of Cover (Community Risk Assessment/Standard of Cover) SRA State Responsibility Area
USFA U.S. Fire Administration
USFS U.S. Forest Service
VHFHSZ Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone
WEA Wireless Emergency Alerts
WFDSS Wildland Fire Decision Support System
WIMS Weather Information Management Systems
WUI Wildland Urban Interface
14 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan

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1.0 Introduction

1.1 PURPOSE OF PLAN
The City of Laguna Beach’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan has one overriding goal: reduce the risk of wildfire‑related injury, death, and displacement for everyone who lives in, works in, or visits the city. That goal extends to structures, critical facilities, infrastructure, and vital community assets, and spans the stewardship of open spaces, natural habitats, water quality, and the coastal landscape that defines the community. Taken together, these measures are aimed at a Laguna Beach that can withstand a major wildfire, sustain its emergency response through one, and recover from one on its own terms.

The Plan directs this work across the full range of agencies and organizations with a stake in the outcome. Within city government, it addresses the City Council, City departments, and core operational units - the Laguna Beach Fire Department (LBFD), Laguna Beach Police Department (LBPD), Marine Safety, and Public Works. It also addresses local water districts, utilities, and community organizations: the Greater Laguna Coast Fire Safe Council, Emergency Disaster Preparedness Committee (EDPC), Laguna Beach Firewise Communities,
neighborhood associations, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), schools, houses of worship, nonprofits, and business associations. At the regional level, it establishes a basis for collaboration with Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA), State and OC Parks, and neighboring jurisdictions.

1.2 GOALS & OBJECTIVES
This Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) builds directly on the General Plan’s 2025 Safety Element, the 2019 and 2025 Wildfire Mitigation and Fire Safety Reports, the 2023 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, the LBFD Strategic Plan, and federal FEMA guidance. The goals and objectives below translate those documents into prioritized action, covering the range from immediate life safety and structure protection to long-term climate resilience and fiscal accountability, and are intended to guide decision-making on land use, regional collaboration, and capital investment.

Fundamental to any CWPP is
the engagement and collective
action of all community
Stakeholders in protecting the
things that are of value,
addressing the specific
challenges of the local context
and developing
comprehensive risk
management strategies that
work for the whole community.
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Table 1. Goals & Objectives of the Laguna Beach 2026 CWPP Goals Objectives
Minimize Wildfire
Threat to Life Safety
+ Use wildfire hazard, risk, and evacuation analyses to prioritize measures that protect residents, visitors, and emergency responders.
+ Continuously improve evacuation planning, alert and warning systems, and public education, with a focus on at‑risk populations and carless households. + Integrate wildfire evacuation considerations into land use and transportation decisions.
+ Assess wildfire hazards and risks within the Planning Area and utilize these results to set priorities to reduce threat to life safety. + Review the existing public alert protocols and evacuation procedures for wildfires and make recommendations for enhancement as necessary. + Develop guidelines that address vulnerable populations in consideration of special needs for preparedness, response, pre-planning evacuation and recovery.

Reduce Risk to
Community Values and
Assets
+ Identify and map values at risk, including homes, businesses, infrastructure, cultural and historic resources, critical facilities, and environmental assets. + Use hazard and risk assessments to prioritize community‑scale mitigation, including fuel modification, home hardening outreach, and protection of infrastructure.
+ Coordinate mitigation across public and private lands to maximize community‑wide benefit.
+ Catalogue and assess existing vegetation treatment plans, development standards and fire codes.
+ Develop fuel treatment methods and strategies for property owners and agencies that provide guidance for adequate defensible space for structures and transportation routes in all types of wildland fuels.

Develop a Community
Wildfire Protection Plan
(CWPP) for
Risk & Hazard
Mitigation Priorities
+ Create a CWPP that meets the requirements of the 2003 Healthy Forest Restoration Act (HFRA) and FEMA’s Local Hazard Mitigation Planning guidance
+ Facilitate collaboration between stakeholders, land managers, residents, the City of Laguna Beach, OC and state parks, and OCFA to address potential wildfire hazards and risks.
+ Identify opportunities to further build community and regional partnerships within the Planning Area.
+ Inform the public of the CWPP findings and mitigations. + Identify opportunities to support vulnerable groups.
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Goals Objectives
Build Community and
Regional Collaboration
+ Maintain and enhance collaboration between the City, LBFD, LBPD, water districts, gas and electric utilities, EDPC, the Fire Safe Council, CERT, neighborhood groups, OCFA, CALFIRE, Orange County agencies, and adjacent jurisdictions.
+ Employ the IAFC CWPP Assistance Program to ensure the CWPP reflects current best practices.
+ Continue the City’s ongoing effort to engage underrepresented and vulnerable populations in planning and implementation.
+ Improve collective action in reducing wildfire risk through enhancements to community engagement, participation, and education programs.

Improve Climate
Resilience
Enhance the resiliency
of the City to future
climate change impacts
+ Consider projected climate trends - longer fire seasons, more extreme heat, and changing fuel moisture - in fuels management, home hardening, and evacuation planning.
+ Identify strategies that simultaneously reduce wildfire risk and support ecological health and biodiversity in the surrounding open space.

Improve Efficiency and
Public Trust in CWPP
Action Item
Implementation
+ Establish monitoring and reporting mechanisms for CWPP actions and outcomes.
+ Identify and pursue local, state, and federal funding streams (e.g., CALFIRE grants, FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, state climate resilience programs) to support priority projects. + Integrate CWPP priorities into the City’s capital improvement program, development review, and budgeting processes.

1.3 DEVELOPMENT TEAM
This Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) was developed through the City’s participation in the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Community Wildfire Protection Plan Assistance Program. The IAFC framework structures a multi-year workplan that brings together decision-makers and institutional partners, assembles base mapping and data, identifies and analyzes at-risk areas, and prioritizes hazards. The process concludes with a tabletop exercise to test assumptions and coordination protocols.

This CWPP draws on a series of recent major planning efforts rather than conducting parallel analysis.

Accordingly, the development team includes the leaders, agency representatives, institutional partners, and subject-matter experts who contributed to those prior processes. Their data, operational expertise, and policy input carry forward here.
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Local Project Leadership (City of Laguna Beach):
+ City Council (policy direction;
Wildfire Mitigation and Fire Safety
Subcommittee)
+ City Manager and Assistant City
Managers
+ Laguna Beach Fire Department
(Fire Chief, Fire Marshal,
Emergency Operations Coordinator,
Fire Prevention staff)
+ Laguna Beach Police Department
(Police Chief, Command staff)
+ Laguna Beach Marine Safety
Department
+ Public Works and Engineering
(maintenance, stormwater,
transportation, capital projects)
+ Community Development (Planning, Building, Code Enforcement) + Transit and Community Services (senior and mobility support) Partner Agencies and Organizations:
+ Laguna Beach County Water District (LBCWD)
+ South Coast Water District (SCWD)
+ Greater Laguna Coast Fire Safe Council
+ City of Laguna Beach’s Emergency Disaster Preparedness Committee + City of Laguna Beach’s Fire Risk Mitigation Subcommittee + Laguna Canyon Foundation
+ Laguna Beach Unified School District
+ Mission Hospital Laguna Beach
+ Orange County Operational Area (including OC Sheriff’s Department, OCFA, OC Emergency Management, OC Emergency Medical Services, OCTA)
+ California State Parks and OC Parks (adjacent open space management) + Utility providers (Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, telecommunications carriers) IAFC CWPP Assistance Program Team: Project Manager, subject matter experts, program staff, as identified in the Laguna Beach CWPP Project Plan.

Figure 1. IAFC-led CWPP Tabletop Exercise
Figure 2. IAFC-led CWPP Tabletop Exercise
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1.4 POLICY & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Wildfire mitigation in Laguna Beach operates within a layered federal, state, county, and local policy. The governing instruments are summarized below.

1.4.1 Federal
Statutory Authority
+ Healthy Forests Restoration Act (2003): Establishes the statutory framework and guidance for Community Wildfire Protection Plans.
+ Disaster Mitigation Act (2000): Provides the legal basis for FEMA mitigation planning and funding.

Strategic Guidance & Standards
+ National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy (2014): The national strategic framework focusing on resilient landscapes, fire-adapted communities, and safe, effective wildfire response. + National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy Addendum/Update (2023) Update to federal wildfire strategy, refining goals around resilient landscapes, fire-adapted communities, and effective suppression response.
+ Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission Final Report “On Fire” (2023):

Congressionally mandated commission report with recommendations relevant to community wildfire mitigation, planning alignment, and cross-jurisdiction implementation considerations. + NFPA Standards: National Fire Protection Association standards, including NFPA 1141, 1142, and 1144 (infrastructure and WUI protection).
+ FEMA Hazard Mitigation Program Version 2.1 (2025): Guidance on resilience planning and the integration of CWPPs with Local Hazard Mitigation Plans.

1.4.2 State
Statutory & Regulatory Framework
+ California Government Code (2025): Mandates requirements for General Plan Safety Elements (e.g., § 65302.5) and defines Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (§ 51175-51189). + Public Resources Code (PRC) (2025): Essential statutes governing forestry and fire protection, specifically PRC 4291 (defensible space requirements), PRC 4290 (minimum fire safety standards) PRC 4123 & 4137 (Prescribed Fire and Cultural Burning).
+ California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (2024): The regulatory framework governing the environmental review of vegetation management and fuel break projects. + Recent Legislation: Major wildfire resilience bills including SB 901 (wildfire prevention/recovery), AB 2911 (emergency notifications/surveying), AB 38 (home hardening disclosure and mitigation) and SB 1260 (prescribed burns).

Strategic Planning
+ Strategic Fire Plan for California (2023): The state's roadmap for wildfire protection, administered by the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection and CALFIRE.
+ CALFIRE Community Wildfire Protection Plan Grant Program (current program guidance) 19 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan

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+ California Climate Adaptation Strategy (2024): Establishes statewide direction for climate-driven hazard adaptation, including wildfire risk reduction, resilient communities and nature-based solutions + California State Hazard Mitigation Plan (2023): The state-level plan that guides hazard mitigation priorities.

Building & Fire Standards
+ California Building Standards Code (Title 24) (2024): Current editions of the California Fire Code and Building Code, specifically Chapter 7A (Materials and Construction Methods for Exterior Wildfire Exposure).
+ California Fire Code (2024): Updated operational and enforcement standards affecting vegetation management, access, water supply and fire protection features in WUI areas.

Recent Legislation
+ Wildfire resilience bills including SB 901 (wildfire prevention/recovery), AB 2911 (emergency notifications/surveying), AB 38 (home hardening disclosure and mitigation) and SB 1260 (prescribed burns).

1.4.3 County
Emergency Management
+ Unified County of Orange & Operational Area Emergency Operations Plan (2024): The master plan coordinating emergency response across all county jurisdictions including wildfire response in the coastal wildland-urban interface (WUI)
+ Orange County Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (2026): The FEMA-approved multi-jurisdictional hazard abatement plan that identifies regional risks and eligibility for federal mitigation grant funding.

Fire & Strategic Planning
+ CALFIRE / Orange County Unit Fire Plan (2025): The operational strategic plan guiding wildfire prevention, suppression, fuels mitigation, public education strategy and resource allocation. + County of Orange Area Safety Task Force (COAST) Strategy: A regional collaborative framework involving OCFA, State Parks, and coastal cities to address wildfire threats in the coastal WUI Land Use & Parks
+ Orange County General Plan Safety Element: The county-level policy document mandated to address wildfire risks in unincorporated areas and regional hazard zones adjacent to incorporated cities. + OC Parks Strategic Plan (2018) & Resource Management Plans (2025): Guiding documents for the management of the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park.

1.4.4 Local
City General Plan & Coastal Policy
+ General Plan Safety Element (2026): The primary local policy document for hazard reduction, specifically Goal S 2 and its associated wildfire mitigation policies. + Local Coastal Program (LCP): The certified Land Use Plan and Implementation Plan that governs development in the Coastal Zone.
+ City of Laguna Beach Municipal Code: Current building and fire codes, including Title 25 (Zoning) and local amendments to state fire standards.
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Emergency Management & Hazard Mitigation
+ Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (2018): The FEMA-approved plan identifying local hazards and mitigation strategies.
+ Emergency Operations Plan (EOP): The foundational document outlining the City’s response to extraordinary emergency situations.
+ Evacuation Planning: The City’s comprehensive Mass Evacuation Plan and the supporting Evacuation Time Analysis (2020/Current).

Fire Department Standards & Strategic Planning
+ LBFD Strategic Plan: The roadmap for department growth, service delivery, and capital improvements. + Community Risk Assessment / Standard of Cover (CRA/SOC): The technical analysis determining adequate staffing and response times based on risk.
+ Wildfire Mitigation Reports: The seminal 2019 Wildfire Mitigation and Fire Safety Report and the subsequent 2025 Update, which serve as the basis for many CWPP action items.

Infrastructure & Regional Coordination
+ Utility Wildfire Mitigation Plans: The Southern California Edison (SCE) Wildfire Mitigation Plan (updated annually) and Urban Water Management Plans from local water districts. + Inter-Agency Agreements: Established MOUs for shared emergency management and alternate EOCs (e.g., agreements between Laguna Beach, Irvine, Newport Beach, and UC Irvine).

1.5 FUNDING FOR CWPP DEVELOPMENT
Funding for the preparation of this CWPP update was made available through a Wildland Fire Program grant provided by the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC). The grant period started in February 2025. Grant management and reporting is being conducted by City of Laguna Beach. 21 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan

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2.0 CWPP Process

2.1 COLLABORATIVE APPROACH
The development of the Laguna Beach Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) represents a continuation of the City’s longstanding commitment to wildfire preparedness and emergency management. Over the past several years, Laguna Beach has invested in a series of coordinated planning initiatives, including the 2025 General Plan Safety Element Update, the Laguna Beach Fire Department Strategic Plan, the 2019 and 2025 Wildfire Mitigation and Fire Safety Reports, and the 2023 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan. Each incorporated stakeholder engagement, interagency coordination, and technical risk analysis.

Rather than initiating a standalone process, the City intentionally aligned this CWPP with those completed efforts to ensure continuity, avoid duplication, and transition from strategic assessment to prioritized implementation. By integrating them with the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) CWPP Assistance Program framework, the City has produced a plan in keeping with established policy frameworks for community risk reduction.

Laguna Beach’s CWPP consolidates technical analysis and stakeholder-informed priorities into a single, implementation-focused roadmap, grounded in both quantitative modeling and the qualitative findings from recent community planning efforts. It also formalizes coordination across the City’s agency and community partners for monitoring, reassessment, and adaptive management as conditions and community priorities evolve.

2.1.1 City of Laguna Beach Collaborative Approach
The 1993 Laguna Fire left a lasting
mark on how the community
approaches wildfire risk, and the
institutional memory of that event
continues to shape preparedness
efforts three decades later. The
Emergency Disaster Preparedness
Committee (EDPC), which works
closely with the LBFD on policy and
operational issues, contributed
directly to plan development. The
Greater Laguna Coast Fire Safe
Council played a pivotal role by
sharing insights from their Red Flag
Program and hillside monitoring
efforts.

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program regularly drills and maintains Fire Watch deployments during red flag periods. Residents have demonstrated their sustained commitment to neighborhoodlevel preparedness as well: the Terrace at Canyon Hills Homeowners Association became the first Firewise-USArecognized community within the City on September 12, 2025. Three additional communities have since followed, most recently Top of the World on February 9, 2026. The Emerald Bay Community Association in unincorporated Orange County is also Firewise-recognized and participates in shared evacuation and preparedness coordination with the City.

Feedback gathered during stakeholder engagement sessions for the LBFD Strategic Plan and recent town halls co-hosted by LBFD and LBPD also informed this CWPP, with representatives from local agencies, schools, nonFigure 3. 1993 Laguna Fire Figure 4. 1993 Laguna Fire
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profits, and neighborhood groups identifying shared priorities and service gaps. This CWPP incorporates and extends that work by organizing plan-specific discussions with core partners and establishing a structure for future public workshops focused on implementation.

2.1.2 Convene Community Stakeholders / Interested Parties The City engaged stakeholders reflecting
the community’s diversity of geography,
interests, and needs, consistent with
FEMA’s Creating a Community Wildfire
Protection Plan guidance. To ensure that
the plan addresses the specific
vulnerabilities of the Wildland-Urban
Interface (WUI), the City sought input
from residents in high‑risk neighborhoods
during Town Hall events, including
canyon and ridge communities, impaired
access areas, and oceanfront zones.

Critical institutional and economic
partners also shaped the plan’s priorities,
including the Laguna Beach Unified
School District, Providence Mission
Hospital, local health and human service organizations, and the Laguna Canyon Foundation, each bringing operational perspectives on evacuation, continuity, and community resilience. Their involvement ensured that the plan accounts for the practical constraints facing organizations responsible for vulnerable populations and essential services during a wildfire event.

2.1.3 Agency and Community Organization Stakeholder Coordination Wildfire risk crosses jurisdictional lines, and the CWPP relies on a network of interagency relationships. Mutual and automatic aid agreements with the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) and regional fire agencies form the operational foundation of the plan, supplemented by coordination through the Orange County Operational Area for training and exercises. On a strategic level, the City maintains agreements with Irvine, Newport Beach, and UC Irvine that allow for the sharing of emergency management personnel and the use of alternate EOC and evacuation shelter facilities when needed.

Land management coordination is equally critical. Working with State Parks and OC Parks, the City manages vegetation and fuel modification along its boundaries. Infrastructure resilience rests on established relationships with the Laguna Beach County Water District (LBCWD), South Coast Water District (SCWD), San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), and Southern California Edison, covering system reliability, grid hardening, and Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) preparedness. The City also coordinates with the Emerald Bay Service District and Community Association on shared evacuation corridors, despite their location outside formal City limits.

2.1.4 Synthesis of Recent Community Feedback
This CWPP synthesizes extensive public feedback gathered through recent parallel planning efforts in lieu of conducting a new standalone survey. The plan’s priorities are informed by stakeholder feedback from the LBFD Strategic Plan process, public comments received during the 2025 General Plan Safety Element update, community feedback from the 2019 and 2025 Wildfire Mitigation and Fire Safety processes and town hall discussion on home hardening, Firewise neighborhoods, and evacuation systems.

Figure 5. 1993 Laguna Fire
Figure 6. 1993 Laguna Fire
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3.0 Community Overview
The City of Laguna Beach is a distinctive coastal community in southern Orange County, California, situated along roughly seven miles of the Pacific coastline. Covering approximately 8.84 square miles, the City extends inland from the shore into a landscape defined by prominent ridgelines, steep hillsides, and narrow drainages such as Laguna Canyon. This rugged topography forms a wildland-urban interface unlike most communities in the region:
the built environment is immediately surrounded by over 16,000 acres of preserved open space forming part of the Laguna Greenbelt system, a 20,000 to 22,000 acre expanse of connected natural habitat that frames the community on three sides.

The canyon drainages that shape the community's topographic identity - Laguna Canyon, Bluebird Canyon, Emerald Canyon, and others - act as wind corridors and fire pathways, channeling offshore winds directly toward the built environment. The open space that buffers the community from suburban sprawl is also the fuel source for fires that can reach residential neighborhoods within minutes under adverse conditions. Limited highway access, long recognized as a feature that preserved the City's character, is the same constraint that compresses the evacuation network to a handful of routes easily congested during a fast-moving event.

The values concentrated within this geography are substantial. The City's 23,032 permanent residents are joined by millions of annual visitors, most arriving by car through the same canyon corridors that define the evacuation network. During peak summer and festival periods, people unfamiliar with local geography and alerting systems occupy areas with limited egress in significant numbers. The City's arts heritage, historic structures, coastal ecology, and tourism economy - each addressed in Section 3.3 - are concentrated in terrain where fire behavior can outpace the response capacity of both residents and emergency services.

Land use within the City consists predominantly of residential neighborhoods interwoven with commercial districts along the Pacific Coast Highway and the downtown arts corridor, supported by schools, civic facilities, and visitorserving amenities. The Planning Area for this CWPP encompasses the entire City as well as immediately adjacent open space and infrastructure where vegetation, topography, or access characteristics create direct wildfire threat pathways into the community.

3.1 FIRE HAZARD SEVERITY ZONES
Laguna Beach is mapped as a Local Responsibility Area (LRA), meaning the City has primary financial and operational responsibility for fire protection. Wildfire hazard classifications within the City are established through the State Fire Marshal’s Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ) process. On March 24, 2025, CALFIRE released updated LRA FHSZ maps for Laguna Beach, which serve as the regulatory baseline for defensible space requirements, building standards, and land use decisions.

The 2025 maps represent a marked shift from the 2011 mapping, reflecting updated climate data, fire history, and improved fire behavior modeling. The vast majority of the City is now designated Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ), the highest risk classification available. Areas designated as Moderate or High (generally lower‑risk coastal terraces and limited inland pockets) remain vulnerable to ember storms and structure‑to‑structure fire spread during extreme weather events. The City maintains public access to these maps so that residents can verify their property’s hazard designation. 26 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan

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3.2 FIRE THREAT, FIRE HAZARD, & FIRE SEVERITY
Three related analytical concepts inform this plan’s risk assessment: Fire Threat, Fire Hazard, and Fire Severity.

The following maps illustrate all three.

Figure 7. CALFIRE FHSZ Map for Laguna Beach
Figure 8. CALFIRE FHSZ Map for Laguna Beach
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Relative Fire Threat
Relative fire threat describes the likelihood that a given area will experience fire ignition and rapid spread under current fuel and weather conditions. CALFIRE's Fire and Resource Assessment Program produces threat analyses that classify burnable land across a continuous gradient from low to high, based on factors including fuel type and continuity, terrain, historical ignition patterns, and prevailing wind conditions. A high fire threat designation reflects where fire is most likely to start and spread quickly. This is a probability statement about where and how readily fire will develop, not a prediction of how damaging an event will be. In the Planning Area, the highest threat values are concentrated in the central ridge and canyon corridor, where dense chaparral, steep terrain, and wind channeling converge.

Figure 9. Relative Fire Threat
Figure 10. Relative Fire Threat
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Relative Fire Hazard
Relative fire hazard describes the expected fire behavior potential of a given area based on its physical landscape characteristics - fuel loading, slope, fire weather, crown fire potential, and ember production capacity. Unlike fire threat, which reflects the probability of ignition and spread, fire hazard characterizes the intensity and behavior of fire when it does occur under a defined set of conditions. It is assessed without regard to mitigation measures, describing the underlying physical character of the landscape rather than conditions that result from any particular management intervention. The fire hazard map for the Planning Area shows that very high hazard conditions extend across most of the burnable open space, with the highest values concentrated along the central ridgeline and the primary canyon drainages.

Figure 11. Relative Fire Hazard
Figure 12. Relative Fire Hazard
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Relative Fire Severity
Relative fire severity describes the expected ecological and structural impact of fire across the landscape - specifically the degree of vegetation consumption, soil heating, and energy release associated with a fire event under modeled conditions. Where fire threat captures the probability of fire occurrence and fire hazard captures expected fire behavior intensity, fire severity captures the consequence of that behavior on the land itself. High fire severity is associated with complete crown consumption, long-range ember production, and the radiant heat and flame contact conditions most responsible for structure ignition. The fire severity map for the Planning Area shows that the vast majority of burnable land falls in the high to very high range, indicating that when fire does occur here, it will do so with an intensity that leaves little margin for suppression intervention or structural survival without prior hardening.

Figure 13. Relative Fire Severity
Figure 14. Relative Fire Severity
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Communities at Risk
To help protect people and property from potential catastrophic wildfire, the National Fire Plan (NFP) and subsequent state regulations identify communities in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) that are at high risk of damage or loss. In California, CALFIRE maintains this registry based on factors including high fuel hazard, the probability of ignition, and the proximity of intermingled wildland fuels with urban environments.

Consistent with these parameters, Laguna Beach is formally designated by CALFIRE as a "Community at Risk." This designation reflects the City's adjacency to extensive wildlands and its history of significant fire events. The WUI in Laguna Beach is extensive and complex; most neighborhoods are classified as either "WUI Intermix," where homes are physically intermingled with natural vegetation, or "WUI Interface," where dense development directly borders wildland fuels with little to no buffer. This risk is exacerbated by the City's topography, particularly canyons such as Laguna Canyon and Bluebird Canyon. These geologic features create "chimney" and "tunnel" effects that can rapidly channel fire and superheated gases into residential areas under strong wind conditions. The open space system surrounding the City - while providing critical ecological and recreational benefits - serves as a continuous fuel bed capable of carrying fire along ridges and across jurisdictional boundaries directly into the built environment.

3.3 VALUES AT RISK
Laguna Beach’s public beaches, Greenbelt trails, summer art festivals, the Laguna Art Museum, and its commercial districts define both its character and its economy, and each is concentrated in terrain where wildfire can move faster than evacuation allows.

Community values at risk are defined in terms of life safety, buildings, and critical infrastructure, as well as human health, natural resources, and community character. Although not all values can be protected directly through active suppression, strategies can be employed to reduce the overall threat. Based on stakeholder input and public testimony, the community prioritizes the following values:
+ Human Life and Health
+ Private Property
+ Critical Facilities and Infrastructure
+ Environment and Natural Resources
+ Cultural and Historical Resources
+ Local Economy
The wildland-urban
interface (WUI): The
line, area, or zone where
structures and other
human development
meet or intermingle with
undeveloped wildland or
vegetative fuels.

NWCG, 2018
The wildland-urban
interface (WUI): The
line, area, or zone where
structures and other
human development
meet or intermingle with
undeveloped wildland or
vegetative fuels.

NWCG, 2018
31 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan

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3.3.1 Human Life and Health
The City’s top priority is human life safety. The
protection of residents, visitors, and first responders drives the mitigation strategies outlined in this Plan.

Laguna Beach has a resident population of just over
23,000, with a median age of approximately 51 and
a larger share of residents over age 65 than the
Orange County average. This demographic profile
presents specific life safety challenges, particularly
regarding evacuation and mobility.

Local data indicates that approximately 1,833
households include at least one person with a
disability, and roughly 405 households do not have
access to a personal vehicle. Both groups face
compounded risk: evacuation may require additional
time or specialized assistance, and wildfire smoke
poses acute respiratory and cardiovascular threats
to those least able to relocate quickly.

The resident population is only part of the life safety picture. Laguna Beach draws an estimated six to
seven million visitors annually, and during peak
summer periods and major festivals the number of
people in high-risk areas can multiply several times
over. Most arrive by car, unfamiliar with local canyon
geography, emergency alert terminology, and
evacuation routes. Effective life safety planning has
to account for long-term residents and the much
larger transient population that moves through the
city each year.

3.3.2 Critical Facilities and Infrastructure
Emergency Response and Healthcare
The City’s ability to respond to a wildfire event depends on the operational integrity of its emergency facilities, including the four Laguna Beach Fire Department
stations, the Police Department headquarters, the
Emergency Operations Center (EOC), and Marine
Safety/Lifeguard headquarters. Mission Hospital Laguna
Beach and its associated clinics serve as the primary
healthcare resource for the region, and protecting this facility is essential for treating injuries and maintaining public health during an emergency.

Water Infrastructure
Reliable water delivery for domestic use and fire
suppression is managed by the Laguna Beach County
Figure 17. Overhead utility lines in canyons &
hillside areas may be potential ignition sources.

Figure 18. Overhead utility lines in canyons &
hillside areas may be potential ignition sources.

Figure 15. Smoke Column Laguna Beach
Photo credit: Fire Engineer Chris Ornelas LBFD
Figure 16. Smoke Column Laguna Beach
Photo credit: Fire Engineer Chris Ornelas LBFD
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Water District (LBCWD) and South Coast Water District (SCWD). Critical assets include reservoirs such as the Ridge and 2B reservoirs, pump stations, treatment facilities, and distribution mains. Strategic interties link separate water systems, and heli-hydrants are present to support aerial operations.

Electric and Telecommunications
Overhead utility lines traversing canyon and hillside areas are potential ignition sources if compromised by wind or vegetation contact, and their failure can sever communications between first responders and the public when those communications are most critical.

Transportation
Moving people to safety ahead of a wildfire is a significant challenge in a city shaped by narrow canyon roads and limited egress. Pacific Coast Highway (SR‑1) and Laguna Canyon Road (SR‑133) are the principal arterial evacuation routes, supported by the SR‑73 interchange
areas. Canyon and hillside neighborhood roads are
often narrow and winding, making the viability of these major corridors critical to public safety. Keeping roadside rights-of-way clear of encroaching vegetation ensures
access for evacuating residents, as well as incoming
emergency resources.

Schools and Congregate Facilities
Schools, childcare centers, and community centers
serve double duty in a wildfire emergency: they are highvalue assets requiring protection and potential sites for temporary shelter, care, and logistical staging in the
immediate aftermath of an event. Hardening these
structures against ember intrusion adds a direct layer of protection for the vulnerable populations they serve.

3.3.3 Private Residential Property & Commercial Businesses The residential landscape of Laguna Beach is
characterized by a diverse array of housing types, ranging from historic hillside homes and canyon cottages to
expansive oceanfront residences and multi-unit structures.

A significant challenge facing the City is that a large proportion of this housing stock was developed prior to the adoption of modern Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)
building codes, specifically those enacted after 2008.

Many homes lack critical ignition-resistant features such as Class A roofing, ember-resistant vents, and multi-paned tempered glazing, making them particularly vulnerable to ember showers and radiant heat during a wildfire event.

This vulnerability is exacerbated by the density and layout of many established neighborhoods. In these areas, homes are often built with tight setbacks on narrow, winding streets and steep slopes. This proximity creates a heightened risk of structure-to-structure fire spread, where a fire can propagate from one building to the next independent of Figure 19. Large commercial facilities
can serve as temporary shelters
Figure 20. Large commercial facilities
can serve as temporary shelters
Figure 21. In communities like Laguna Terrace, steep,
fuel-dense terrain severely restricts evacuation flow.

Figure 22. In communities like Laguna Terrace, steep,
fuel-dense terrain severely restricts evacuation flow.
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the vegetative fuel bed. Once a fire establishes itself within these dense residential clusters, suppression becomes significantly more difficult, highlighting the need for neighborhood-scale hardening efforts.

The business districts along Pacific
Coast Highway and within the downtown
and arts corridors are vital to the local
economy and community identity. As
with the residential sector, many of these
commercial assets are housed in older
buildings with unique architectural
features that predate current fire safety
standards. Protecting these districts
requires tailored mitigation strategies
that balance the preservation of
community character with the urgent
need to reduce flammability and improve
resilience.

3.3.4 Environmental and Natural Resources
The open space surrounding Laguna Beach supports a layered system of biological resources with local, regional, and statewide significance. Seven terrestrial vegetation communities define the landscape: chaparral, coastal sage scrub, oak woodland and forest, riparian scrub woodland and forest, coastal dune scrub, freshwater marsh, and coastal brackish marsh. These communities support a diverse fauna of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and invertebrates, including large mammals such as mountain lion, bobcat, coyote, and deer, as well as numerous federally and state-listed rare, threatened, and endangered species documented in Section 3.2.7.2 of the General Plan.

Environmentally sensitive habitat areas
(ESHA) within the Planning Area carry
specific regulatory protections under the
Coastal Implementation Plan, which requires
buffers sufficient to ensure continued habitat
function. Additional protection applies
through the City's native tree ordinance,
covering native oak, California walnut,
western sycamore, alder, and toyon. These
designations directly affect the range of fire
mitigation actions available in and adjacent to
natural areas; residents and stakeholders
should contact the City before undertaking
vegetation management within designated
ESHAs.

The Conservation Element is
a required element of the
General Plan, established to
address “...the conservation,
development, and utilization
of natural resources...”
California Government Code,
Section 65302(d).

Figure 25. Vegetated Space within the Planning Area
Figure 26. Vegetated Space within the Planning Area
Figure 23. Above the Community Recreation Center, Temple Hills's steep, fuel-adjacent terrain compounds evacuation complexity.

Figure 24. Above the Community Recreation Center, Temple Hills's steep, fuel-adjacent terrain compounds evacuation complexity.
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3.3.5 Cultural and Historical Resources
Laguna Beach is internationally recognized for its deep-rooted arts heritage, historic architecture, and distinct cultural landscape. The City operates not only as a residential community but as a steward of irreplaceable cultural assets, including historic homes and districts, significant art facilities and installations, and community landmarks that have shaped the region's character. These resources are acutely vulnerable to wildfire; a catastrophic event could result in the permanent loss of the physical structures that house this history, as well as the view corridors that inspired decades of artistic expression.

Preserving these resources is critical for maintaining community character and sustaining the heritage tourism sector. Mitigation measures proposed in this Plan extend beyond physical hardening to include documentation, emergency preparedness for cultural institutions, and specialized post‑fire recovery support. Protecting these assets is a planning priority in its own right, not simply a byproduct of fire risk reduction.

3.3.6 Scenic Views and Visual Quality
The convergence of steep hillsides, canyons, and the Pacific Ocean produces a visual landscape that is central to Laguna Beach’s character and economic vitality. However, this scenic quality is vulnerable to two distinct threats: the devastating visual scar of a high‑severity wildfire, which can alter the landscape for decades, and the potential visual impact of poorly designed fuel modification projects.

Recognizing that aesthetics are a primary community value, the CWPP emphasizes vegetation management approaches
that are sensitive to visual impacts. The strategies outlined in this Plan seek to achieve defensible space and fuel reduction objectives without compromising the visual integrity of the hillsides. This approach is consistent with the City’s General Plan policies on scenic conservation and reflects the
community’s view that safety and visual integrity are not opposing objectives.

3.3.7 Recreation
The extensive network of trails and parklands
within and surrounding Laguna Beach serves as
a major recreational draw for residents and
millions of annual visitors. These open spaces
are a central part of what makes Laguna Beach
distinctive, and they also present real wildfire
management challenges. An ignition in these
areas poses an immediate life-safety threat to
hikers and mountain bikers who may be deep in
the backcountry with limited egress options.

Wildfire damage to recreational infrastructure
can also result in extended park closures, and
post-fire erosion can render trails unsafe for
years afterward.

Figure 29. Hikers Near Laguna Beach
Photo credit: OC Parks
Figure 30. Hikers Near Laguna Beach
Photo credit: OC Parks
Figure 27. Totuava, Table Rock, and West Street Beaches are dense blufftop developments with single-point access.

Figure 28. Totuava, Table Rock, and West Street Beaches are dense blufftop developments with single-point access. 35 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan

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To address these risks, the CWPP integrates recreation managers and user groups into the City's education and prevention efforts, improving early ignition reporting and ensuring that evacuation guidance reaches hikers, riders, and other open-space users who may not be following standard alert channels.

3.3.8 Local Economy
The economy of Laguna Beach is uniquely dependent on tourism, the arts, hospitality, and small business sectors, industries that rely heavily on the physical beauty and safety of the environment. A major wildfire would cause economic damage well beyond the immediate cost of structural replacement. These potential impacts include the disruption of tourism for multiple seasons, physical damage to critical business districts, and a subsequent reduction in municipal tax revenues essential for city services.

The increasing frequency of wildfires also poses a long-term threat to the affordability and availability of property insurance, adding financial strain for residents and business owners. The wildfire mitigation strategies in this CWPP are therefore economic resilience measures as much as safety measures. Reducing the risk of catastrophic fire protects property values and the continued viability of the commercial and creative sectors at the heart of the local economy.

3.4 FIRE PROTECTION RESPONSIBILITY
Fire protection in the City of Laguna Beach is a
shared, layered responsibility across the City,
partner fire agencies, law enforcement, land
managers, utilities, and the public. Laguna
Beach Fire Department (LBFD) is responsible
for emergency response within the City,
including structural fire suppression,
emergency medical response, rescue, and
wildfire response. LBFD operates from four fire
stations. One station is staffed with a fourperson engine company; the other three stations are each staffed with a three-person
engine company. A battalion chief leads each
shift, for a total of 14 personnel on duty per shift.

Wildfire response in Laguna Beach regularly
requires coordinated operations across
jurisdictional boundaries given the City’s proximity to extensive open space and regional parks, as well as ridge systems and drainages that allow fire to move across municipal and land ownership boundaries. Orange County Fire Authority and other neighboring agencies partner with Laguna Beach Fire Department, with resources ready to provide support when incidents exceed local capacity.

Figure 31. 2022 Interagency Response on the 2022 Coastal Fire Photo credit: Fire Engineer Chris Ornelas LBFD
Figure 32. 2022 Interagency Response on the 2022 Coastal Fire Photo credit: Fire Engineer Chris Ornelas LBFD
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Effective wildfire preparedness and
response in this environment depends on
the coordinated performance of several
distinct functions: local incident command
and initial attack, regional and statewide
mutual aid, land management and fuels
stewardship across open space, utility
coordination during periods of elevated fire
risk, and community-level action including
defensible space, home hardening, and
evacuation readiness. No single agency or
program controls all these functions, which
is what makes coordination across the full
system a planning priority.

Figure 33. Interagency Response on the 2025 Rancho Fire Photo credit: Fire Engineer Chris Ornelas LBFD
Figure 34. Interagency Response on the 2025 Rancho Fire Photo credit: Fire Engineer Chris Ornelas LBFD
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3.4.1 Additional Fire Protection / Collaborative Agreements Laguna Beach’s operational resilience depends on formal and informal cooperative agreements that enable multiagency response, resource sharing, and coordinated incident management.

3.4.1.1 Automatic aid and mutual response
Laguna Beach has executed an Automatic Aid
Agreement with the City of Newport Beach for
exchange of fire, rescue, and emergency
medical services.

3.4.1.2 Countywide mutual aid coordination
Orange County organizes fire and rescue mutual
aid through a countywide structure coordinated
by OCFA at the operational area level. This
framework supports ordering and deployment of
resources across agencies when incidents
escalate beyond local capability.

3.4.1.3 Regional cooperative initiatives
Laguna Beach also participates in regional
cooperative efforts intended to reduce response
times and improve coordination among
participating agencies. A City agenda item
describes a regional cooperative agreement
focused on improving mutual aid apparatus
response times.

These agreements and mutual aid frameworks
support the “closest-appropriate-resource”
concept during fast-moving incidents, particularly
wind-driven fires where early suppression
opportunities can narrow quickly.

Figure 35. 2025 Rancho Fire
Photo credit: Fire Engineer Chris Ornelas, LBFD
Figure 36. 2025 Rancho Fire
Photo credit: Fire Engineer Chris Ornelas, LBFD
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Defining the Wildfire Challenge
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4.0 Defining the Wildfire Challenge
Wildfire risk in Laguna Beach is a product of intersecting natural and human factors. Vegetative fuels, rugged topography, and a climate defined by seasonal drought and periodic extreme wind produce the environmental conditions under which fire can establish and spread. Human activity contributes persistent ignition pressure along the urban edge. Most ignitions do not develop into significant events, but when fuels, weather, and topography converge under the most dangerous conditions, the potential for rapid, destructive fire growth is substantial.

Developing an effective fire mitigation strategy for the Planning Area requires understanding the local fire ecology, climatology, and the ways in which human activity has altered these natural systems.

4.1 FIRE ECOLOGY OF THE LAGUNA COAST
The wildlands surrounding Laguna Beach are part of a Mediterranean-climate ecosystem defined by marked seasonal contrast: hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. The coastal marine layer moderates daily temperatures along the immediate shoreline, but periodic extreme weather patterns drive fire behavior in this region. Most consequential are the offshore wind events that drive hot, dry air from inland areas toward the coast, rapidly reducing relative humidity and accelerating fire spread.

4.1.1 Vegetation and Fire Adaptation
The dominant vegetation communities of the Planning Area, including coastal sage scrub, chaparral, and native grasslands, are naturally adapted to the Mediterranean climate cycle and its fire regime. The physical structure of these fuel beds supports intense, fast-moving fires,
particularly when driven by strong offshore winds.

Chaparral species are highly fire-adapted and employ two primary regeneration strategies. Obligate resprouters, such as scrub oaks, regenerate from existing root crowns using stored carbohydrate reserves. Obligate seeders, including some species of Ceanothus and Manzanita, rely on heatactivated seed banks for regeneration and do not survive the fire itself. Both strategies reflect a long evolutionary relationship with periodic, high-intensity fire.

Coastal Sage Scrub communities, dominated by species
such as California sagebrush, historically burned at lower frequencies than chaparral and rely on slow seedling
recruitment for recovery. This makes them among the most vulnerable plant communities to increased fire frequency:
where fire returns before adequate recovery, the
community cannot reestablish and the site becomes
susceptible to conversion to herbaceous cover. Urban
Figure 37. LBFD Fire Response
Photo credit Fire Engineer Chris Ornelas, LBFD
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expansion and persistent human ignition pressure have
accelerated this dynamic, eliminating coastal sage scrub from significant portions of its historical range.

The intrusion of invasive annual grasses has further altered the fire environment throughout the Planning Area. These fine fuels cure earlier in the season than native shrubs, effectively extending the fire year and producing conditions that support rapid spread before peak fire weather arrives. During windy conditions, cured annual grasses function as a continuous carrier fuel, moving fire rapidly across the landscape and into adjacent shrub and ornamental fuels. Cumulative land use change, invasive species expansion, and a shifting climate have increased both fire frequency and potential severity across these ecosystems, compressing recovery intervals and accelerating the conversion of native shrubland to fireprone herbaceous cover.

Table 2. Existing Laguna Beach Vegetation Types
Vegetation /
Cover Type General Description Typical Locationswithin Laguna Beach Wildfire Behavior
Considerations
Coastal sage scrub
Low to medium height
drought-deciduous
shrubland with seasonal
drying and patchy openings
Lower elevations, coastal
slopes, disturbed edges,
and interface areas
Rapid rates of spread during
late summer and fall; increased
ignition receptivity where
invasive grasses fill gaps
Chaparral (mixed
chaparral, chamise,
scrub oak)
Dense evergreen
shrublands with high live
and dead fuel loading
Steeper slopes,
ridgelines, canyon walls,
and interior open space
High flame lengths, high heat
release, and ember production
under wind alignment
Annual grassland
and disturbed grass
Non-native annual grasses
and herbaceous fuels that
cure seasonally
Road margins, utility
corridors, previously
burned areas, disturbed
slopes
Very fast ignition and spread
when cured; drives initial fire
growth
Grass–shrub
admixture
Mixed fine fuels and
regenerating shrubs
following disturbance
Interface edges and
transitional slopes
Supports rapid spread with
intermittent intensity increases
as shrubs torch
Riparian scrub
and woodland
Vegetation along drainages
including willow, mule fat,
and sycamore
Canyon bottoms and
intermittent drainages
Variable behavior; can burn
intensely during drought; windaligned drainages can
accelerate spread
Figure 38. 2022 Coastal Fire
Photo credit Fire Engineer Chris Ornelas, LBFD
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Vegetation /
Cover Type General Description Typical Locationswithin Laguna Beach Wildfire Behavior
Considerations
Oak woodland
patches
Coast live oak and
associated understory
Local canyon pockets
and sheltered slopes
Surface fire in litter and
understory; ember exposure
risk to adjacent structures
Urban and
landscaped areas
Ornamental vegetation,
irrigated landscaping, and
built structures
Developed urban
footprint
Structure-to-structure spread
and ember vulnerability
dominate
Beach and rock Sand, rock outcrops, and
water features
Coastal shoreline and
rocky slopes
Generally non-burnable but
ember intrusion may pose a
hazard

4.1.2 Fire Regime and Human Influence
Pre-settlement fire return intervals in the coastal sage scrub and chaparral communities surrounding Laguna Beach were governed primarily by lightning ignition, which in this region was infrequent. The historical pattern likely consisted of large, episodic fires that developed when a lightning ignition survived into autumn and encountered strong Santa Ana winds, rather than the short-interval, distributed burning that characterizes fire regimes in other parts of California.

The dramatic population growth of the 20th century fundamentally altered this pattern. Human ignitions increased both in number and in seasonal distribution, compressing fire return intervals well below what fire-adapted shrubland communities can sustain. Coastal sage scrub is particularly vulnerable to this shift: where fire recurs before adequate recovery, native shrubland cannot reestablish and the site converts to herbaceous cover. That dynamic also forecloses prescribed fire as a restoration tool, since additional fire frequency would accelerate the conversion rather than reverse it.

4.2 FIRE HISTORY
The modern fire history of Laguna Beach is anchored by the 1993 Laguna Fire, which remains the benchmark event for community risk in this area. Ignited near Laguna Canyon Road during severe Santa Ana wind conditions, the fire burned 16,864 acres, destroyed 366 homes, damaged over 500 more, forced the evacuation of approximately 25,000 residents, and severely strained local water supplies. At its peak, the fire consumed four structures per minute.

Since 1993, the City has faced recurring wildfire threats across a range of scales and conditions. The 2015 Canyon Fire prompted evacuations and road closures within Laguna Canyon. The 2018 Aliso Fire threatened neighborhoods bordering Aliso and Wood Canyons and required a complex, multi-agency response. The 2022 Emerald and Coastal Fires demonstrated how quickly wind-driven events can threaten hillside neighborhoods and expose structural and evacuation vulnerabilities. The Coastal Fire alone destroyed 20 homes in adjacent Laguna Niguel and forced evacuations along the Laguna Beach boundary. 42 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan

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Beyond local events, the City
and its partners actively
monitor significant fires in
comparable interface
communities. The 2023
Lahaina Fire and the 2025
Palisades and Eaton fires
each produced catastrophic
structure loss under conditions
that parallel Laguna Beach’s
fuel environment, topography,
and wind exposure. These
events inform local planning
by illustrating what happens
when home hardening,
defensible space, and
evacuation infrastructure fall
short of what extreme fire
conditions demand.

Table 3. Most Recent Ten Years of Wildfire Incidents within and adjacent to CWPP Planning Area Distances below are approximate straight-line distances from central Laguna Beach to incident coordinates where published. (All listed incidents are within 20 miles based on published coordinates) Fire Name Start Date General Location Acres Planning Relevance Rancho Fire July 7
2025
Hillside area
(Laguna Beach) 4.6
+ Recent local ignition
+ Illustrates potential for human-caused
events within City limits
Coastal Fire May 11
2022
Laguna Niguel area
(SE of Laguna Beach) 200
+ Wind-driven WUI fire
+ Structure loss and evacuations
+ Demonstrates exposure along coastal
canyons
Emerald Fire Feb. 10
2022
Emerald Bay area
(NW of Laguna Beach) 154
+ Wind-influenced coastal slope fire
+ Evacuations and structure exposure
Bond Fire Dec. 2
2020
Silverado Cyn. area
(Orange County) 6,686
+ Santa Ana wind-driven fire
+ Regional resource drawdown
+ Multi-day operational complexity
Silverado Fire Oct. 26
2020
Irvine area
(Orange County) 12,466
+ Rapid growth under offshore winds
+ Demonstrates initial attack limitations
during extreme conditions
Figure 21. 1993 Laguna Fire
Figure 22. 1993 Laguna Fire
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Fire Name Start Date General Location Acres Planning Relevance Holy Fire Aug. 6
2018
Trabuco Canyon /
Cleveland NF 23,136
+ Large wildland fire in rugged terrain
+ Prolonged smoke
+ Regional impact
Aliso Fire June 2
2018
Aliso Wood Cyns. area
(Near Aliso Viejo) 175
+ Brush fire near interface communities
+ Short response window in coastal terrain
Laguna Fire
June 26
2016
Laguna Coast
Wilderness Park 47
+ Within immediate planning area
+ Demonstrates ignition risk along canyon
corridor

4.3 VEGETATION AND FUELS
The vegetative landscape surrounding Laguna Beach is a diverse mosaic of fuel types that drives local fire behavior. The dominant native communities - coastal sage scrub (featuring California sagebrush and buckwheat) and chaparral (comprising chamise, ceanothus, and manzanita) - cover the City’s steep slopes and ridges. These shrublands transition into riparian vegetation and oak woodlands in the canyon bottoms. Complicating this natural arrangement are extensive grasslands, often dominated by non-native annuals that promote dangerous fine-fuel continuity, as well as the dense ornamental landscaping found throughout the built environment. 44 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan

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These fuel complexes present distinct challenges
for fire management. The primary concern is fuel
loading and continuity along ridges and slopes
immediately adjacent to residential development.

Ladder fuels allow fire to climb vertically from
surface vegetation into higher shrub and canopy
layers, increasing fire intensity as it enters
developed areas. Invasive species and fine fuels
also cure early in the season, establishing
conditions that support rapid spread even before
peak fire weather arrives. Where wildland fuels
meet ornamental and non-native landscaping
within the Home Ignition Zone, paths are created
such that wildfire can move from open space into
the built environment without interruption.

The City actively manages this risk through fuel
modification programs, weed abatement, and goat
grazing operations targeting priority fuel zones.

These efforts require continuous maintenance:
post-fire regrowth can restore hazardous fuel levels
quickly, and climate‑driven changes in vegetation
growth rates compound the challenge. Keeping
pace with the local fuel profile demands sustained
investment in additional treatments over time.

Repeated human-caused ignitions and shortinterval fires can shift the local fuels mosaic away from mature coastal sage scrub and chaparral
toward younger shrub stands, grass–shrub mixes,
and in some locations invasive annual grass
dominance. This matters because the ecosystem type conversion has implications on both fire behavior and longterm ecological resilience in and around Laguna Beach. Where fire returns too frequently, shrubland communities may not fully recover before burning again, increasing the likelihood of vegetation type conversion to herbaceous cover. Type conversion increases fine fuel continuity, shortens the effective fire return interval, and supports faster-moving fires under wind and low humidity.

Laguna Beach’s recurring exposure to wildfire is well documented in recent history. The 2016 Laguna Fire, 2018 Aliso Fire, 2022 Emerald Fire, and 2025 Rancho Fire, each within a few miles of the City, occurred in terrain that channels wind-driven and slope-driven spread toward developed areas.

4.3.1 Fuel Characteristics
Laguna Beach's coastal Mediterranean climate, densely built up urban-wildland interface, and persistent human ignition pressure along developed edges together produce a demanding fire environment. Coastal sage scrub, chaparral, and annual grasslands dominate the surrounding open space, with riparian, marsh, and woodland patches distributed across the terrain mosaic.

From a fire behavior perspective:

Figure 22. Fuels on Slope
Photo credit Fire Engineer Chris Ornelas LBFD
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+ Fine fuels (grasses and grass-shrub) drive rapid ignition, high rates of spread, and quick alignment with wind and slope. These fuels often control early fire growth and create pathways into heavier shrub fuels. + Shrub fuels (sage scrub and chaparral) support high intensity fire, ember production, and long-range spotting during wind events, especially under late summer through fall dryness and Santa Ana wind conditions.
+ Riparian and wetland fuels can provide localized moisture effects but do not reliably function as containment features, particularly where invasive grasses dominate edges or where wind-driven spotting occurs.

4.3.1.1 Fuel Types/Fuel Models
Table 4. Breakdown of Generalized Fuel Types/Fuel Models within the Planning Area Generalized
Fuel Type
Representative
Fuel Model
Estimated
Acres
Share of
Area
Planning Implications
Developed /
Non-burnable NB1, NB8, NB9 2250 ~39%
+ Structure ignition and ember
exposure dominate risk
+ Limited surface fire spread
Chaparral
(dense shrub) SH5, SH7 1520 ~27%
+ High flame lengths, high heat
release, ember production
under wind alignment
Coastal
sage scrub SH3 to SH5 1180 ~21%
+ Rapid spread potential
+ Seasonal drying strongly
influences intensity
Annual
grassland GR1 to GR3 510 ~9%
+ Very fast rates of spread when
cured
+ Drives early fire growth
Grass–shrub
mosaic GR / SH transitional 160 ~3% + Conduit for fire movement into heavier shrub fuels
Riparian /
Woodland patches TL and TU series 70 ~1%
+ Variable behavior
+ Can support surface fire in litter
and understory

4.3.1.2 Fuel Moisture
Fuel moisture refers to the water content of both living and dead vegetation. Dead fuels adjust to ambient humidity relative quickly, with fine fuels less than ¼ inch in diameter reaching within roughly one hour, which is why grasses and fine shrub material exert outsized influence on ignition and early fire spread. Live fuel moisture is governed by plant physiology, and responds to rainfall, drought, and seasonal drying patterns over longer timescales, typically peaking in spring and reaching its lowest point in late summer through early winter.

In coastal Southern California shrublands, this seasonal cycle follows a consistent trajectory, though the specific timing and intensity vary annually based on winter precipitation and spring temperatures. Within the Planning 46 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan

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Area, Laguna Beach generally experiences peak moisture in the spring following winter rains, followed by a steady decline into late summer and fall as soil moisture depletes and plant water stress rises. This decline is critical because the period of lowest vegetation moisture often coincides with the onset of seasonal wind events, aligning the most flammable fuel conditions with the most dangerous weather patterns.

Topography and maritime influence further diversify fuel moisture across the local landscape. North-facing slopes and canyon bottoms typically retain higher live fuel moisture longer into the dry season. South and west-facing ridges and exposed coastal bluffs dry earlier, reaching critically low moisture levels sooner. Areas with recent fire history also tend to carry a higher proportion of fine, flashy fuels that respond more quickly to environmental drying than mature stands, which can accelerate fire spread even when surrounding shrubs retain some moisture.

For planning purposes, live fuel moisture is best treated as a monitored indicator rather than a fixed assumption.

Regional datasets and monitoring programs allow the City to track seasonal anomalies against historical baselines, providing measurable context for anticipating periods of elevated fire activity.

The most destructive wildfire scenarios in Laguna Beach emerge when critically low live fuel moisture converges with desiccated dead fuels and high winds. Under these conditions, the vegetation loses its ability to dampen fire behavior, allowing small ignitions to transition rapidly into high-intensity events characterized by spotting and rapid perimeter growth. This relationship between fuel condition and potential fire behavior is what drives the CWPP’s emphasis on defensible space, home hardening, and evacuation readiness as the primary risk reduction actions on this terrain.

4.4 CLIMATE AND CLIMATE CHANGE
The Laguna Beach Planning Area sits within a dynamic climatic zone that is currently undergoing significant shifts.

Regional climate modeling indicates a clear trend toward increasing average temperatures and a higher frequency of extreme heat days. While the region remains defined by its Mediterranean variability, precipitation patterns are projected to become increasingly volatile, characterized by intense storm events separated by prolonged dry periods.

4.4.1 Nighttime Humidity and Fire Behavior
Nighttime humidity recovery is a critical and underappreciated dimension of changing fire conditions. Historically, cool, moist nights provided a natural reset that dampened fire activity, allowing firefighters to make meaningful progress during suppression operations. Recent trends show that warming is occurring across all four seasons, with the most pronounced increases in nighttime lows. This warming correlates with poor relative humidity recovery overnight. When fuels fail to absorb moisture at night, they remain primed to burn actively the following day. Local fire personnel report that fires are now burning more aggressively overnight than in decades past, complicating multi-day suppression efforts.

4.4.2 Santa Ana Winds
The primary meteorological driver of catastrophic fire in Laguna Beach is the Santa Ana wind event. These offshore winds occur when high pressure builds over the Great Basin, forcing dry air down through the canyons toward the coast. Unlike the "Sundowner" winds typical of Santa Barbara, Santa Ana winds in Laguna Beach compress and heat up as they descend, lowering relative humidity and increasing wind speeds.

Climate projections suggest that while the total frequency of these events may not change drastically, the timing may shift later into the autumn and winter. This predicted shift is particularly dangerous because it aligns peak wind events with the period when vegetation is at its driest after the long summer drought. When a Santa Ana event aligns with critically low fuel moisture, the probability of rapid fire spread and long-range spotting (where 47 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan

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embers are carried miles ahead of the main fire front) rises sharply, particularly in the steep terrain of Laguna Canyon and Emerald Bay.

4.4.3 The Marine Layer
Laguna Beach is historically protected by the marine layer, a coastal fog that develops during summer and early autumn due to the temperature gradient between the cool ocean and the heated land mass. This layer acts as a natural buffer, keeping vegetation moisture higher and temperatures lower. However, long-term data indicates that the marine layer is becoming thinner and lifting earlier in the day. A weakening marine layer exposes vegetation to more solar radiation and higher temperatures, effectively extending the daily burning period.

Continued ocean warming may erode this protective influence further, potentially expanding the fire season into summer months that were previously considered lower-risk.

4.4.4 Forecasting Future Climate Conditions
Projections of future climate change are modeled based on anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, but also account for natural climate variability. Increases in fire activity across the western United States have been definitively attributed to anthropogenic climate change (Abatzoglou and Williams, 2016), so there is high confidence that projections of future climate will have implications for fire.

In the Planning Area, there is a projected temperature increase of an additional 5 to 10° F by 2100, with increases seen across all seasons, and for both maximum and minimum daily temperatures. In contrast to high relative certainty that temperatures will continue to increase, little is known about how climate change will influence precipitation.

This combination of even warmer temperatures year-round would increase large fire probability at all times of the year, but especially during the winter when Santa Ana winds are most frequent. Periods of drier vegetation later into autumn and winter, coinciding with the strongest Santa Ana wind events, would produce more area burned, faster rates of spread, and more intense fire behavior than has historically been observed, consistent with conditions seen during the Woolsey Fire. In evaluating the most extreme fire danger days (historic 95th percentile conditions) for both the winter/spring period and the summer/fall period, fall and winter will see the greatest increase in extreme fire danger days. Studies projecting changes in Santa Ana wind events have suggested that Santa Ana winds may shift to later in autumn and potentially become more frequent (Goss et al. 2020).

4.4.5 Vegetation Management Strategies in this Context
The considerable body of recent science on fuel treatments and home loss in chaparral shrubland systems points to a need for localized approaches to vegetation management for reducing fire risk. These include:
+ Modifying home construction materials to be fire resistant. + Modifying vegetation within 100-feet or more of a structure, dependent upon slope and fuel density. + Planning localized fuel reduction projects adjacent to homes, critical infrastructure, and roads. + Developing localized fuel treatment prescriptions to support safe firefighting operations (i.e., creating safe working zones) and facilitate resident evacuation.
+ Incorporating vegetation management into policy and zoning codes consistent with the best available science, with flexibility for updates as new science emerges.

Intensive vegetation treatment in localized critical areas that are regularly maintained and highly accessible (especially during a wildfire event), coupled with focused efforts to increase the use of fire-resistant materials for 48 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan

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home construction, will likely be the most effective strategy for reducing impacts to life safety and limiting structure loss.

4.5 TOPOGRAPHY
Topography is the configuration of the earth’s surface and is the most stable of the elements in the fire environment. While vegetation and weather change over time, topography remains constant, playing a significant role in wildland fire behavior by sheltering areas from prevailing winds or, conversely, channeling them through prominent canyons and drainages. Factors of topography that affect fire behavior include slope, aspect, terrain features, and elevation, with the steepness of the slope being the most influential driver of rapid fire spread.

Laguna Beach is located along the southwestern edge of the San Joaquin Hills, a coastal sub-range of the Peninsular Ranges. Unlike the broad alluvial plains found in other parts of Orange County, the City is defined by its dramatic relief, rising sharply from the Pacific Ocean to steep ridgelines within less than two miles. The primary ridge system bordering the City attains its maximum height at Temple Hill (locally known as "Top of the World"), which reaches an elevation of approximately 1,007 feet. The slopes leading to this primary ridge are exceptionally steep, frequently exceeding 40% to 50% grades, which facilitates rapid uphill fire runs that can outpace suppression efforts.

The City’s geography is dissected by several major canyon systems that trend north-south or northeast-southwest out of the San Joaquin Hills. Laguna Canyon is the most prominent of these features, bisecting the coastal hills and creating a major wind corridor. Other critical drainages, such as Bluebird Canyon, Rim Rock Canyon, and Emerald Canyon, descend sharply from the ridgetops before flattening slightly near the coastline. These canyons define the natural beauty of the community, supporting diverse riparian and chaparral ecosystems. However, in a wildfire scenario, they function as chimneys, preheating fuels ahead of the fire front and channeling Santa Ana winds, accelerating the spread of fire from the wildlands directly into the built environment.

The Planning Area has a predominantly southwest aspect, though the rugged terrain creates fine-scale variations along canyon walls. Slopes with southern and southwestern aspects receive the highest amounts of solar radiation, resulting in higher fuel temperatures and lower fuel moisture levels compared to north-facing slopes.

This solar heating creates "flashy" fuel beds dominated by coastal sage scrub and grasses that ignite easily and carry fire quickly. While north-facing slopes in Laguna Beach often support denser vegetation (including Toyon and localized oak woodlands), the intense heat and spotting potential of wind-driven fires in this terrain often override these minor variations in aspect.
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5.0 Wildfire Hazard and Risk Assessments

5.1 OVERVIEW

5.1.1 Core Input Data
The wildfire hazard and risk assessment for the Laguna Beach Planning Area integrates multiple high-resolution datasets to characterize fire behavior potential, exposure, and consequence. Primary inputs include:
+ Topography. LiDAR-derived elevation and slope datasets used to model fire spread rates, uphill run potential, and canyon wind alignment.
+ Fuels and Vegetation. LANDFIRE fuels data refined with local vegetation mapping and field validation to ensure accuracy in coastal California chaparral conditions, where standard LANDFIRE datasets have been documented to underestimate fuel loads in mature shrub communities. Field-validated fuel models differentiate between coastal sage scrub, chaparral, grasslands, and developed landscapes. + Weather and Climate. Historical Remote Automated Weather Station (RAWS) data, including wind speed, direction, and fuel moisture trends, with particular emphasis on Santa Ana wind conditions that represent the primary extreme fire weather driver in the planning area. + Fire History. CALFIRE and LBFD incident records including ignition locations, fire perimeters, and suppression outcomes, used to calibrate modeled fire behavior against observed events. + Built Environment. Parcel-level structure data, building age and construction type, and development density patterns to evaluate vulnerability and quantify values at risk. + Evacuation and Access. Road network geometry, travel time modeling, and documented access constraints within canyon and hillside neighborhoods, including results from the KLD Engineering evacuation modeling study.
+ Values at Risk. Critical infrastructure, population distribution, seasonal visitor concentrations, and environmentally sensitive areas within the planning area.

These datasets are integrated within a GIS-based model to produce spatially explicit hazard and risk outputs used to inform prioritization and mitigation strategies throughout this CWPP.

5.1.2 Wildland Fuel Models
Wildland fire behavior modeling within the Planning Area uses standard national fire behavior fuel models adapted to local vegetation conditions. Dominant fuel models include:

Shrub Models (SH3–SH7). Representing coastal sage scrub and chaparral, characterized by moderate to heavy fuel loading, high continuity, and significant potential for ember production under wind-driven conditions.

Grass Models (GR1–GR3). Representing annual grasslands and disturbed areas, characterized by rapid ignition and high rates of spread, particularly following wet winters that produce abundant fine fuel.

Timber Litter and Understory Models (TL/TU). Representing riparian corridors and oak woodland patches, where surface fire can transition to higher intensity under drought-stressed conditions.

Non-Burnable and Urban Models (NB). Representing developed areas where structure-to-structure ignition is the primary concern rather than vegetation-driven fire spread. 50 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan

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Local calibration reflects the strong influence of invasive annual grasses, which increase fine fuel accumulation and connectivity across disturbed areas, and the adjacency of ornamental landscaping to structures, which can extend effective fuel continuity beyond what standard models alone would suggest.

5.2 WILDFIRE HAZARD ASSESSMENT
Wildfire hazard within the Planning Area is driven by the convergence of steep terrain, continuous shrub fuels, and periodic extreme wind events. The highest hazard conditions occur:

Along ridgelines and upper slopes, where wind exposure and slope alignment support rapid fire spread and elevated flame lengths.

Within canyon systems, which function as wind corridors and accelerate fire movement toward developed areas at the canyon mouths.

At the wildland-urban interface, where continuous shrub fuels extend directly into residential neighborhoods without interruption by fuel breaks or treated zones.

Under Santa Ana wind conditions, fire behavior is expected to include long-range spotting, high flame lengths exceeding firefighting safety thresholds, and rates of spread that can outpace initial attack capabilities. Hazard is therefore not uniformly distributed across the planning area, but concentrated in corridors where topography and fuels align with prevailing offshore wind patterns from the northeast.

5.3 RISK ASSESSMENT
Wildfire risk is a function of both hazard and the presence of values exposed to that hazard. In Laguna Beach, risk is elevated due to several reinforcing factors:

Extent of development within Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones. Approximately 87 percent of the city's land area falls within the VHFHSZ, and approximately 65 percent of buildable property carries this designation.

High structure density. Hillside neighborhoods throughout the planning area are characterized by closely spaced structures on steep lots, where structure-to-structure fire spread and limited firefighter access compound individual property vulnerability.

Limited evacuation capacity. Evacuation modeling establishes a baseline clearance time of approximately 4 hours and 20 minutes under optimal conditions, extending to more than 8 hours if the two primary corridors are simultaneously compromised.

Aging housing stock. A significant portion of residential structures predate modern ignition-resistant construction standards for WUI zones, leaving them more susceptible to ember ignition.

Risk is highest where high hazard intersects with high concentrations of vulnerable structures and constrained evacuation routes. These areas represent priority locations for fuel treatment, home hardening support, and evacuation infrastructure investment.

5.4 WILDFIRE STRUCTURE DEFENSIBILITY
Structure defensibility within the Planning Area varies significantly based on parcel size, slope, surrounding vegetation conditions, and construction vintage. Main constraints include:
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Limited parcel depth in many hillside neighborhoods makes it difficult or impossible for individual property owners to achieve the defensible space required under California Public Resources Code Section 4291, because parcel boundaries are reached before the required clearance distance.

Steep slopes increase flame contact duration and radiant heat exposure at the structure perimeter, requiring more aggressive vegetation management than flat-terrain conditions to achieve equivalent protection.

Vegetation continuity across property boundaries means that an individual parcel in compliance with defensible space standards may still be exposed to fire behavior driven by adjacent non-compliant properties or open-space fuels.

In many neighborhoods, due to home spacing and lot size, effective defensibility depends not on individual parcel management alone, but on coordinated, neighborhood-scale treatment that addresses fuel continuity across multiple properties simultaneously. The city’s fuel break program and community-level outreach through Firewise USA are designed to support this neighborhood-scale approach.

5.5 EMBER EXPOSURE ZONES
Ember attack is the dominant mechanism of structure ignition in wind-driven wildfire events throughout the WUI.

Research on recent California wildfires consistently demonstrates that structures are ignited primarily by firebrands transported ahead of the fire front, not by direct flame contact.

Based on fire behavior modeling and documented fire behavior in previous Laguna Beach and Southern California WUI fires:

Ember exposure is expected to extend well beyond the advancing flame front, often by a mile or more under strong Santa Ana wind conditions. Structures in areas with no adjacent vegetation are not exempt from ember ignition risk.

All areas within the Planning Area, including coastal terrace neighborhoods and fully developed zones, are subject to ember exposure regardless of adjacent vegetation conditions. Accordingly, the entire community should be treated as an ember exposure zone, and mitigation efforts must emphasize home hardening, ignition-resistant construction, and management of combustible materials within the immediate structure perimeter. 52 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan

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5.6 STRUCTURE VULNERABILITY
Structure vulnerability is driven by a combination of construction characteristics and surrounding conditions that together determine how likely a structure is to ignite from ember exposure, radiant heat, or direct flame contact.

Primary vulnerability factors in the Planning Area include:

Pre-2008 construction. Most residential structures in Laguna Beach predate building code requirements for ignition-resistant construction in the WUI. These structures frequently have wood shake or wood shingle roofing, open eave vents, single-pane windows, and combustible wood siding - all of which are primary ignition pathways.

Combustible roofing, vents, and decking. Roofing is the structure component most vulnerable to ember accumulation and ignition. Unscreened or coarsely screened vents allow embers to enter attic and crawlspace voids. Combustible decking and fence attachments provide fuel pathways from vegetation directly to the structure.

Vegetation and combustibles within the immediate perimeter. Combustible mulch, wood furniture, stored materials, and landscape plantings within five feet of a structure substantially increase the likelihood of ignition during an ember shower.

Close structure spacing. Dense hillside neighborhoods, where structures are separated by less than 10 feet, are susceptible to structure-to-structure fire spread if an initial ignition is not rapidly controlled.

Addressing these vulnerability factors through home hardening programs, targeted inspection, and resident education is central to the structure protection strategy described in Section 6.4.3.

5.7 COMMUNITY INPUT ON HAZARDS AND RISKS
Community input on wildfire hazards and risks was gathered through multiple planning efforts in Laguna Beach over the last seven years. Those findings are incorporated throughout this document and informed the prioritization of mitigation actions in Section 6.0 and Section 8.0.

Survey results indicated significant community concern about evacuation route capacity and the risk of simultaneous road blockage from fire behavior and downed infrastructure. More than half of survey respondents reported that they did not evacuate during a prior wildfire event, instead electing to shelter in place or attempt to defend their property. This behavioral pattern represents a significant life safety risk and underscores the need for sustained public education about evacuation compliance and zone-specific procedures.

Community members also highlighted concerns about notification reliability for visitors and non-registered residents, access for vulnerable and mobility-limited populations, and the role of defensible space enforcement in neighborhoods where individual compliance is undermined by non-compliant adjacent properties. 53 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan

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6.0 Community Action Plan

6.1 COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS AND PROGRAMS

6.1.1 City/Community Programs
+ Fuel Break Program. The Laguna Beach Fire
Department (LBFD) established its fuel break program
in 1991 following the Oakland Hills Fire. The program
now encompasses approximately 363 acres of treated
vegetation along the inland perimeter of the city and
in numerous interior canyon areas. Fuel breaks range
from 100 to 200 feet in width depending on terrain and
reduce vegetation cover by 50 to 90 percent to
separate wildland areas from developed
neighborhoods. Approximately 285 acres are
maintained through contracted goat grazing; hand
crews treat the remainder. The program is actively
expanding into South Laguna, Park Avenue, and
lower Bluebird Canyon.
+ Laguna Canyon Foundation Partnership. The
Laguna Canyon Foundation, a local environmental
nonprofit, partners with LBFD on fuel modification
work in ecologically sensitive areas where mechanical
equipment or grazing is not appropriate, using trained
hand crews to selectively remove invasive species
and reduce native vegetation cover by 50 percent. In
2022, the California Coastal Commission Executive Director recognized this approach as a model for statewide application.
+ Annual Weed Abatement Program. For over 40
years, LBFD has managed a weed abatement
program targeting privately and publicly owned parcels in the developed portions of the city. Annual spring inspections focus on removal of annual grasses and invasive species, with year-round monitoring for dead vegetation under City Ordinance 1510.
+ Defensible Space Inspection Program. All properties in the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone that were not constructed under a required Fuel Modification Standard are subject to annual defensible space inspections. The city requires year-round compliance under local ordinance, including cutting grass to three inches, maintaining native brush continuity gaps, removing dead material, and keeping vegetation within 200 feet of structures in a fire-modified state. The annual Brush Clearance Inspection Sweep begins each May 1.
+ Fuel Modification for Development. All new construction and major remodel projects within the citydesignated Fuel Modification Zone must comply with the 2019 LBFD Landscape/Fuel Modification Standards and Maintenance Program. Properties built under this or prior standards must maintain the approved fuel-modified condition in perpetuity. LBFD fire prevention staff review and inspect these projects as part of the permitting process.

Figure 23. Laguna Beach Fire Personnel
Observing Goat Grazing
Photo credit Fire Engineer Chris Ornelas
Figure 24. Laguna Beach Fire Personnel
Observing Goat Grazing
Photo credit Fire Engineer Chris Ornelas
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+ Free Wildfire Consultation. LBFD fire prevention staff offer free on-site consultations to all property owners within the city. Staff assess structural and landscape conditions and provide specific guidance on defensible space and home hardening measures appropriate to the property. Property owners may request a consultation through the LBFD website.
+ AB 38 Real Estate Disclosure Inspections. Consistent with California law, the city conducts pre-sale defensible space inspections under AB 38, ensuring that properties in designated fire hazard zones are disclosed to prospective buyers as compliant or non-compliant with defensible space standards at the time of sale.
+ Firewise USA Communities. LBFD's Fire Prevention Division supports the Firewise USA recognition program administered by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Five communities in and adjacent to the planning area currently hold Firewise recognition:
• Emerald Bay Community Association: Unincorporated Orange County, OCFA jurisdiction • Terrace at Canyon Hills Homeowners Association: Near El Toro Road and Canyon Hills Drive, recognized September 12, 2025
• ABH Laguna: Arch Beach Heights area of South Laguna, recognized October 24, 2025 • Y Place Fire Safety Org: Along Y Place and portions of Loma Terrace behind City Hall, recognized November 24, 2025
• Top of the World Neighborhood Association: Top of the World area, recognized February 9, 2026
LBFD actively encourages additional neighborhood groups with a minimum of eight dwelling units to initiate the Firewise recognition process, with guidance provided through the Fire Prevention Division.

6.1.2 County/Regional Programs
+ Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA). OCFA provides fire protection to all communities bordering Laguna Beach and serves as the primary mutual aid partner for wildland fire incidents in Orange County.

OCFA’s 2023 Unit Strategic Fire Plan establishes county-level priorities for fuel reduction, pre-fire planning, and community preparedness that complement and inform this CWPP. + Greater Laguna Coast Fire Safe Council. The Greater Laguna Coast Fire Safe Council is the locally active chapter of the California Fire Safe Council network. The council coordinates education, outreach, and community preparedness initiatives in the greater Laguna Beach area, and serves as a liaison between residents and state and federal resource agencies. + ReadyOC. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s Emergency Management Division maintains the ReadyOC program and its companion mobile application, which consolidate preparedness resources for all hazards including wildfire. The ReadyOC app provides evacuation guidance, emergency kit checklists, and AlertOC registration in a single platform and is available through the Apple App Store and Google Play.
+ Orange County Fire Watch Program. The Irvine Ranch Conservancy administers the Orange County Fire Watch program, which provides supplemental situational information and community resources during periods of elevated fire weather and active incidents. 55 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan

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6.2 AREA NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS
The City of Laguna Beach maintains a layered alert and warning architecture that combines county-regional systems, city-specific channels, and physical broadcast infrastructure to reach residents and visitors across all communication modes.
+ AlertOC. AlertOC is Orange County’s regional mass notification system, operated by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department in collaboration with local cities. Upon registration at AlertOC.com, the system delivers time-sensitive voice calls, text messages, and email notifications to landlines, cell phones, and other registered devices. The service can also alert landline phones via the reverse-911 database.

AlertOC is geo-targeted, allowing authorities to notify only the zones affected by an incident. All residents and seasonal visitors are encouraged to register cell phones and secondary devices. + Nixle/Everbridge. The City of Laguna Beach uses Nixle as a primary community alert platform for locally issued notifications including road closures, fire weather restrictions, and evacuation orders. The public may subscribe by texting the city’s zip code (92651) to 888-777. Dedicated subscription keywords allow targeted notification for traffic, business conditions, Red Flag Warning parking restrictions (text LBREDFLAG to 888-777), and other localized alerts. Notifications are also accessible through the Nixle Everbridge mobile application.
+ Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). The City is an authorized sender of Wireless Emergency Alerts.

WEA messages deliver directly to all mobile devices within a geographic area using cell broadcast technology, without requiring prior registration. They activate audible tones even on devices set to silent, making them a critical tool for reaching visitors and non-registered residents during fast-moving events. + Emergency Alert System (EAS). EAS allows authorized agencies to interrupt radio and television broadcasts with time-sensitive emergency messages. EAS activations most frequently originate from the National Weather Service for Red Flag Warnings and similar weather-related advisories, but can also be used by local authorities for life-safety directives.
+ Outdoor Warning System (OWS). Laguna Beach operates a city-wide Outdoor Warning System in partnership with Genasys Inc., consisting of 23 Long Range Acoustic Devices distributed across the city and positioned at neighborhoods, schools, and open-space adjacencies. Each unit is solar-powered with battery backup and satellite connectivity, providing operational redundancy when cell networks or utility power are compromised. The system can broadcast voice messages, evacuation tones, and multilanguage instructions across wide areas simultaneously. Activations can be targeted to specific zones or broadcast city-wide depending on the nature and location of an incident.

6.3 SOCIAL MEDIA AND MEDIA PROGRAMS

6.3.1 Social Media
The City of Laguna Beach and the Laguna Beach Fire Department maintain active social media presences as supplemental channels for emergency information, preparedness education, and real-time incident updates.

During wildfire events, city and LBFD social media accounts broadcast evacuation zone status updates, road closure information, shelter availability, and links to official resources. These posts complement but do not replace the official alert systems described in Section 6.2.

The supplemental situational awareness application Watch Duty provides near-real-time fire perimeter mapping, incident status, and operational updates during active wildfires in California. The city’s public education efforts recommend that residents install Watch Duty as a tool for monitoring conditions adjacent to the planning area, 56 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan

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particularly during Red Flag periods, while emphasizing that Watch Duty does not issue official evacuation orders and should not be used as a substitute for Nixle, AlertOC or WEA notifications.

6.3.2 Local Radio like Ready LA
Radio remains a reliable emergency communication channel when cell networks, internet infrastructure, or power are compromised during a wildfire event. Several radio resources serve the Laguna Beach planning area. + KXFM 104.7 FM. KXFM is Laguna Beach’s only locally licensed FM radio station, operating as a lowpower (LPFM) non-commercial community broadcaster under call sign KXRN-LP. The station is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and explicitly identifies fire safety and emergency broadcasting as a core community service. During wildfire events affecting the planning area, KXFM provides real-time alerts and guidance and directs residents to official alert channels. Residents who prefer radio as a primary or backup information source should keep a battery-powered or hand-crank radio accessible and program 104.7 FM as a local emergency resource.
+ Regional EAS Broadcasters. The Emergency Alert System (EAS) can interrupt programming on any broadcast radio or television station. In the greater Los Angeles and Orange County region, primary EAS stations include KFI 640 AM and KNX 1070 AM, both of which provide 24-hour news coverage and are commonly used during major wildfire incidents in Southern California for traffic, road closure, evacuation, and air quality information.
+ NOAA Weather Radio. The National Weather Service operates NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards, a continuous 24-hour broadcast network transmitting weather information and official hazard alerts. NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts Red Flag Warnings, High Wind Watches, and other fire-weather advisories automatically. All-hazard radios with Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) technology can be programmed to alarm only for alerts affecting Orange County, providing an important backup notification pathway for households without cellular service or during power outages.

The City’s public preparedness materials recommend that residents maintain a battery-powered or hand-crank all-hazards radio as part of their go-kit, pre-programmed with KXFM (104.7 FM), KFI (640 AM), and the NOAA Weather Radio frequency serving the area.

6.3.3 Local/Public Access TV
Laguna Beach does not currently operate a traditional government-access cable television channel. Television coverage of wildfire events affecting the planning area is delivered primarily through regional broadcast and cable news outlets serving the greater Los Angeles and Orange County market.

6.3.3.1 Regional Television Coverage
During significant wildfire incidents, Los Angeles-area network affiliates including ABC7 (KABC), NBC4 (KNBC), CBS2 (KCBS), and KCAL provide continuous live coverage, including evacuation zone maps, road closure information, and aerial footage of fire behavior. These stations are accessible over the air and via cable and satellite throughout the planning area.

6.3.3.2 Emergency Alert System Television Interruptions EAS authorizations allow official agencies to interrupt any broadcast or cable television channel with emergency audio messages regardless of what is currently airing. Residents should not rely solely on on-screen alerts, as EAS messages may require a radio or other device to receive the audio component. 57 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan

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6.3.3.3 City Video and Streaming Resources
The City of Laguna Beach posts emergency information, preparedness briefings, and community meeting recordings through its official website and social media channels. These resources supplement traditional broadcast television for residents who consume video content through internet-based platforms.

The City should explore formal coordination with regional broadcast stations to ensure that Laguna Beach evacuation zone designations and route information are clearly communicated during incidents, given the complexity of the 22-zone EMZ system and the potential for visitor confusion about local geography.

6.4 PROTECTING VALUES

6.4.1 Public Safety
Protecting public life safety before, during, and after a wildfire requires a combination of pre-incident preparedness, real-time situational awareness, and early, coordinated response. In Laguna Beach, the challenge is amplified by a resident population that regularly swells from approximately 23,000 to more than 100,000 on peak summer weekends and during major arts events such as the Sawdust Art Festival and Tournament of the Masters, creating a large, transient population that may be entirely unfamiliar with local evacuation zones, routes, and alert systems.

Community Preparedness Education. LBFD and the City conduct ongoing public education efforts through the Firewise USA program, CERT training, community meetings, and digital outreach. Preparedness messaging emphasizes zone awareness, go-bag readiness, early evacuation compliance, and registration with AlertOC and Nixle. Educational campaigns targeting seasonal visitors, short-term renters, and transient populations are a priority given the documented tendency of non-residents to be unaware of local emergency protocols.

Red Flag Patrol. The Greater Laguna Coast Fire Safe Council coordinates a volunteer Red Flag Patrol program that deploys community members during periods of elevated fire weather to monitor canyon areas, open spaces, and access points for signs of ignition risk, unauthorized activity, or fire starts. Patrol volunteers drive marked vehicles along primary corridors including Laguna Canyon Road and report observations to LBFD. This program provides additional eyes on the landscape during periods when LBFD resources may be simultaneously managing elevated demand and pre-positioning for rapid initial attack.

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). Laguna Beach maintains an active CERT program, training community volunteers in basic disaster response skills including search and rescue, medical triage, and fire suppression. CERT members supplement professional emergency response during incidents that exceed routine agency capacity and can assist with neighborhood-level preparedness outreach and evacuation support.

Vulnerable Populations. Life safety planning must account for residents with limited mobility, medical equipment dependence, or transportation barriers. The City should coordinate with social service organizations for outreach to this population, and incorporate their needs explicitly into the 22-zone EMZ protocols. Public messaging during evacuations should include clear guidance in multiple languages, given Laguna Beach’s significant seasonal and tourism-related population diversity.

6.4.2 Firefighter Safety
Protecting the safety of emergency responders is a fundamental operational priority. Laguna Beach’s WUI environment, canyon topography, and limited road network create conditions that require careful pre-incident planning and strict operational discipline to prevent firefighters from becoming trapped or overwhelmed by rapidly changing fire behavior.
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Red Flag Pre-Positioning. During Red Flag Warning periods, LBFD pre-positions engine companies at strategic locations throughout the city to reduce response time to initial attack on any vegetation fire. Police Department enforcement of Red Flag parking restrictions in high-risk neighborhoods reduces road obstruction hazards and keeps important egress routes clear. Public Works stages equipment for rapid response to utility and road infrastructure failures that could impede emergency access.

Pre-Attack Planning. LBFD maintains pre-attack plans for each Fuel Modification Zone and adjacent residential areas, identifying access roads, water supply points, and tactical retreat routes for crews working in each area.

These plans inform initial attack assignments, tactical objectives, and resource deployment under the Incident Command System (ICS).

Water Supply Reliability. LBFD coordinates with the Laguna Beach County Water District and South Coast Water District on hydrant flow capacity, system pressure, and pre-positioned water supply locations throughout the planning area. During a major incident, municipal water systems can experience pressure loss when multiple hydrants are in simultaneous use; pre-positioned water tenders and known drafting points supplement hydrant supply and reduce firefighter exposure when system pressure drops.

Mutual Aid Activation. LBFD activates mutual aid from OCFA early during vegetation fires to ensure adequate resource depth before conditions deteriorate. OCFA’s air resources, including helicopters with helibuckets and fixed-wing tanker coordination capability, provide suppression support that significantly extends LBFD’s initial attack effectiveness. Mutual aid activation protocols are established through the Orange County Operational Area.

Staffing Enhancements. The City Council approved three additional firefighter positions in the FY 2024-25 budget, the first staffing additions in 35 years. These positions directly strengthen LBFD’s capacity for initial attack, pre-positioning, and sustained operations during extended wildfire events.

LBFD participates in regular multi-agency training exercises with OCFA and neighboring departments to validate pre-attack plans, test communications and coordination protocols, and identify gaps in resource deployment under simulated wildfire conditions. The EOC is activated as needed during incidents and is staffed with trained personnel; the City conducts EOC drills throughout the year to maintain operational readiness.

6.4.3 Reducing Structure Ignitability
Reducing the ignitability of existing structures is one of the most effective long-term strategies for limiting residential losses during wildfire events. Research consistently demonstrates that ignition from wind-driven embers, rather than direct flame contact, is the primary cause of structure loss in WUI fires. Laguna Beach’s dense residential development, aging housing stock, and combustible landscaping in close proximity to structures make home hardening a priority throughout the planning area.

The LBFD Fire Prevention Division promotes home hardening through the free wildfire consultation program, online resources, and enforcement of defensible space standards. Major structural vulnerabilities that property owners should prioritize include:

Roofing and gutters. The roof is the component most vulnerable to ember ignition. Class A fire-rated roofing materials are required under current building standards in the VHFHSZ, but a significant portion of existing homes predate these requirements. Accumulated debris in gutters and roof valleys provides concentrated ignition material; metal or noncombustible gutter covers reduce this risk substantially.

Vents and openings. Unscreened vents allow embers to enter attic and crawlspace voids. Ember- and flameresistant vent screens meeting the ⅛-inch mesh standard are among the most cost-effective hardening measures available.
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Exterior walls and windows. Wood siding, particularly with lap or board-and-batten profiles, presents significant ignition risk. Single-pane and standard dual-pane windows are vulnerable to radiant heat failure. Replacing or supplementing existing windows with tempered glass substantially reduces this exposure.

The noncombustible zone. All combustible materials should be removed from within five feet of any structure.

This Ember-Resistant Zone should consist of noncombustible ground cover such as gravel, pavers, or bare soil.

AB 3074 codified this requirement statewide for applicable properties.

Decks and fences. Combustible wood decking and fences attached to or within the immediate envelope of a structure significantly increase ignitability by providing continuous fuel pathways from vegetation to the structure.

Composite or noncombustible decking materials and metal or masonry fencing in Zone 0 reduce this risk.

CALFIRE maintains a low-cost home hardening retrofit list identifying measures that most property owners can implement without professional contractors. LBFD staff can provide property-specific guidance through the free consultation program.

6.5 FUELS MITIGATION STRATEGY

6.5.1 Existing Fuel Treatment Activities
The City of Laguna Beach manages a comprehensive program of vegetative fuel treatment across public lands and open-space perimeters through two primary methods: contracted goat grazing and hand crew work. This program, coordinated by LBFD’s Fire Prevention Division, covers 27 designated Fuel Modification Zones (FMZs) totaling over 363 acres. The FMZs are distributed around the city’s inland perimeter, through interior canyon systems, and along significant evacuation corridors.

Goat grazing is used in areas where terrain, permit conditions, and vegetation density favor this approach. Hand crews using chainsaws and hand tools handle zones where grazing is not feasible, including ecologically sensitive areas where selective removal is required to protect native species under Coastal Development permits. The Laguna Canyon Foundation monitors fuel modification work in sensitive areas, ensuring compliance with state biological resource requirements.

Most zones receive multiple treatment passes per year to manage vegetation regrowth. Annual scheduling is coordinated with permit status, seasonal conditions, and available funding. FMZ 16 is currently in the permitting phase for a Coastal Development permit, which requires biological, paleontological, geological, and fire behavior review prior to treatment initiation. FMZ 19 is scheduled for implementation in fall 2026. 60 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan

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+ 1: Dartmoor 31.2 ac
+ 2: Skyline-Alta Laguna 60.2 ac
+ 3: Hidden Valley 43.0 ac
+ 4: Bluebird Canyon 40.0 ac
+ 5: Nestall-Top of the World 30.5 ac
+ 6: Fire Road 37.8 ac
+ 7: Ceanothus 7.20 ac
+ 8: Three Arch Bay 10.9 ac
+ 9: Del Mar 7.50 ac
+ 10: Barracuda 4.90 ac
+ 11: Driftwood 2.60 ac
+ 12: View Park 1.40 ac
+ 13: Oro Canyon 5.70 ac
+ 14: Moorhead 2.40 ac
+ 15: Nyes-Oro 15.0 ac
+ 16: Hobo Canyon 17.0 ac
+ 17: North Bluebird 8.60 ac
+ 18: South Bluebird 9.20 ac
+ 19: Diamond Canyon 19.7 ac
+ 20: Sunset 7.90 ac
+ 21: South Laguna 12.6 ac
+ 22: Park Avenue 7.00 ac
+ 23: Canyon Acres 15.0 ac
+ 24: Laguna Canyon 28.9 ac
+ 25: Irvine Cove 6.90 ac
+ 26: Emerald Bay 17.3 ac
+ 27: Corporate Yard 1.50 ac
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6.5.2 Defensible Space
Property owners in the planning area are responsible for maintaining compliant defensible space on their parcels in accordance with California Public Resources Code Section 4291 and the city’s local VHFHSZ requirements.

LBFD conducts annual defensible space inspections as part of the Brush Clearance Inspection Sweep, which begins each year on May 1. Property owners who receive a notice of non-compliance are required to correct cited deficiencies within the timeframe specified in the notice.

Defensible space is organized into three zones:

Zone 0 (0 to 5 feet). All combustible materials, including wood mulch, dead vegetation, and combustible furniture, must be removed from this immediate area. Noncombustible ground cover is recommended.

Zone 1 (0 to 30 feet, or to the property line). Vegetation must be well-irrigated, widely spaced, and free of dead material. Ladder fuels connecting ground-level vegetation to tree canopies must be removed. Combustible wood fencing should be replaced or interrupted where it connects to structures.

Zone 2 (30 to 100 feet, or to the property line). Native brush must be reduced in quantity and height. Grass must be cut to three inches. Individual native shrubs may be retained if spaced a minimum of 18 feet apart and trimmed to remove dead material and the lower third of shrub height.

The dense, fine-textured character of Laguna Beach’s native coastal sage scrub and chaparral means that even modest lapses in defensible space maintenance can significantly increase ignition potential from ember accumulation. Residents with questions about specific compliance measures may request a free wildfire consultation through LBFD.

6.5.3 Proposed Fuel Treatments
Table 5. Goat Grazing Fuel Treatments
FMZ
Goat Grazing
Area Name Tentative Schedule
FMZ 1 Dartmoor TBD
FMZ 2 Skyline-Alta Laguna (City Hall to Bermuda) TBD
FMZ 2 Skyline-Alta Laguna (Bermuda to Alta Laguna) TBD
FMZ 3 Hidden Valley/Pacific TBD
FMZ 4 Bluebird Canyon TBD
FMZ 5 Nestall - Top of the World TBD
FMZ 6 Fire Road TBD
FMZ 7 Ceanothus TBD
FMZ 8 Three Arch Bay TBD
FMZ 9 Del Mar TBD
FMZ 10 Barracuda - West/Nyes TBD
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Table 6. Hand Crew Fuels Treatment Schedule
Hand Crews
FMZ Area Name First Pass Second Pass Third Pass
(as needed)
FMZ 10 (East) Barracuda - East Completed June 2026
FMZ 11 Driftwood Completed May 2026 August 2026
FMZ 12 Arch Beach Heights View Park Completed May 2026
FMZ 13 Oro Canyon Completed May 2026
FMZ 14 [Laguna Beach County
Water District Responsibility] N/A N/A N/A
FMZ 15 Nyes & Oro Canyons Completed May 2026
FMZ 16 Hobo Canyon - Permitting [Permitting] [Permitting] [Permitting] FMZ 17 Upper Bluebird Mar 2026 June 2026
FMZ 18 South Bluebird Completed June 2026
FMZ 19 Diamond Canyon - Permitting Fall 2026 TBD TBD
FMZ 20 Sunset Completed April 2026
FMZ 21 South Laguna Completed April 2026
FMZ 22 Park Ave. Completed June 2026 Sept 2026
FMZ 23 Canyon Acres Completed Completed
FMZ 24 Laguna Canyon Completed Mar 2026
FMZ 25 Irvine Cove - HOA N/A N/A
FMZ 26 Emerald Bay - HOA N/A N/A
FMZ 27 City Corporate Yard Completed Completed

6.5.3.1 Roadside Fuel Treatments
Roadside fuel treatments are designed to moderate fire intensity adjacent to roads and driveways thereby providing safer operational space for firefighters, improving access/egress for firefighting equipment, and providing safer evacuation routes for residents and visitors during a wildfire event. Roadside or driveway fuel treatments range from the centerline of a road or driveway up to 100’ on either side with “feathered”, gradient fuel treatments softening any appearance of vegetated walls. Standards for roadsides incorporate trailheads, reducing highly ignitable fuels in undeveloped parking areas.

To help inform a more comprehensive roadside fuel treatment workplan and timeline, an inventory of public/private roads and driveways that do not meet standards for vegetation clearance should be completed. As funding becomes available to treat these areas, they can be performed to the prescriptive standards.

6.5.3.2 Recommendations for Private Lands
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The majority of the land within the Planning Area is held by the state and not local individuals, meaning much of the responsibility for mitigating wildfire hazard remains with the state of California. That said, local property owners play an important role in implementing wildfire hazard abatement activities which can act not just to reduce the risk of catastrophic fire to their properties but also to their community. Many smaller parcels have difficultly establishing the 100’ of defensible space as required by the California Public Resources Code (PRC), let alone the requirements by Orange County Fire Authority, since individuals do not have the authority to manipulate vegetation beyond their property lines. However, establishing high quality defensible space regardless of the parcel size should be a priority for all residents of Laguna Beach. + Follow Defensible Space and Structural Hardening Direction. Multiple websites provide clear guidance on establishing and maintaining defensible space. CALFIRE provides easy to understand defensible space direction online, and Orange County Fire Authority maintains a list of approved brush clearance and goat vendors at to assist property owners in establishing and maintaining their defensible space. Importantly, Laguna Beach Fire Department can be contacted to work directly with property owners concerning defensible space and home hardening techniques. + Remove Fire Susceptible Species from the Defensible Space Zones. While the defensible space codes and standards (e.g. PRC 4291) defines the standards of defensible space it does not address the relative flammability of vegetation that is retained on the property. Orange County Fire Authority maintains a list of species which are prohibited within the defensible space zones as well a list of acceptable plants by defensible space zone
Compared to other locations, Orange County Fire Authority is relatively flexible regarding the species prohibited in the defensible space zones. San Diego County’s Department of Planning and Land Use maintains a very comprehensive list of species which should not be utilized in a fire safe landscape. + Remove All Combustibles within 5 ft. of a Structure. The first five feet from a structure should be free of combustible material of any kind. A recent study focused on the flammability of landscape mulches and found that all of the mulches evaluated were combustible under the test conditions of dry, hot and windy weather and more than 2½ months of outdoor exposure (University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, 2011). Main recommendations from the study are:
• Since all mulch test is flammable, maintain a noncombustible, ignition-resistant area immediately adjacent to the house and other structures. During a wildfire, embers may accumulate in this area, providing an ample source of ignition for combustible materials. • Composted wood chips demonstrated the least hazardous fire behavior of the eight mulch treatments tested and would be the best choice for use in a residential landscape in the 5-feet to 30- feet defensible space zone.

This “ember resistant” or “non-combustible” zone within 5ft of a structure is adopted by City of Laguna Beach in local ordinance and recently by AB 3074.
+ Implement Vegetation Treatment Standards on Larger Parcels. On larger parcels where ownership allows for the manipulation of vegetation beyond the defensible space zones, property owners should consider applying the Vegetation/Fuel Treatment Prescriptive Guidelines presented in this plan.

Organized by vegetation types, these guidelines provide direction on how to manage vegetation in larger areas to reduce potential wildfire impacts as well as limiting resource damage by reducing fire intensity. 65 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan

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6.5.4 Fuel Treatment Prioritization
Fuel treatment prioritization for the planning area should reflect both the spatial distribution of modeled fire hazard and the relative consequences of fire in different parts of the community. Priority should be assigned on the basis of:
+ Proximity to structures and critical infrastructure. Treatments adjacent to residential neighborhoods and along evacuation corridors provide the most direct benefit to life safety and structure survival. + Alignment with modeled fire run corridors. Canyon systems and ridgeline zones where fire behavior modeling identifies rapid spread potential toward developed areas warrant the highest treatment priority. + Evacuation route protection. Fuel treatments along Pacific Coast Highway, Laguna Canyon Road, and secondary neighborhood egress routes reduce the risk of fire behavior obstructing evacuation during an incident.
+ Opportunities for community-scale defensible space. Areas where coordinated treatment across multiple parcels and public lands can achieve continuity of protection merit priority over isolated singleparcel treatments.

Highest priority should be given to treatments that directly support life safety and evacuation effectiveness. Largescale landscape treatments with limited proximity to structures or evacuation routes should be evaluated against their life safety benefit before competing for limited fuel treatment funding.

6.6 EVACUATION

6.6.1 During a Wildfire Event
When a wildfire threatens the planning area, LBFD and LBPD will activate emergency operations using the established 22 Evacuation Management Zone (EMZ) framework. Evacuation warnings and orders will be communicated through AlertOC, Nixle, Wireless Emergency Alerts, and the Outdoor Warning System, and will specify the affected zones by name and number.

The public should know their zone designation before an emergency occurs. Zone maps and evacuation route information are available at lagunabeachcity.net/evacuation/ and through the city’s emergency management webpage. During an evacuation, residents should take their go-bag, medications, medical devices, and pets, and depart immediately upon receiving an Evacuation Order without waiting for further instruction. Attempting to shelter in place or delay departure to defend a property substantially increases personal risk and impedes access for emergency responders.

Mutual aid partners, including LBPD’s established relationships with neighboring law enforcement agencies, provide traffic control support during evacuations. The City maintains mutual aid agreements with Newport Beach, UC Irvine, and the City of Irvine for Emergency Operations Center backup if City Hall must be evacuated.

Anyone who observes fire or smoke should not wait for an official alert before beginning to prepare. An Evacuation Warning signals that the public should be ready to leave immediately; an Evacuation Order is mandatory and should be acted on without delay. Those with mobility challenges, pets, small children, etc. who know they’ll need more time evacuating should leave immediately during an Evacuation Warning and not wait for an Evacuation Order.

6.6.2 Main Evacuation Routes
Laguna Beach’s topography imposes fundamental constraints on evacuation. The city is bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west, steep coastal canyons and ridges inland, and two primary surface corridors to the north and 66 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan

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east. A KLD Engineering evacuation modeling study commissioned by the City determined that a full community evacuation requires approximately 4 hours and 20 minutes under optimal conditions with no stalled vehicles, downed power lines, or blocked roadways. If Laguna Canyon Road and the North Coast Highway are rendered simultaneously unavailable, clearance time exceeds 8 hours.

Pacific Coast Highway (State Route 1). PCH functions as the principal evacuation spine, running north toward Newport Beach, and south toward Dana Point. When an Evacuation Order is issued, residents should proceed to PCH and then north or south as directed by incident command.

Laguna Canyon Road (State Route 133). Laguna Canyon Road provides the city’s primary inland access to Interstates 405 and 5 as well as State Route 73. The two-and-a-half-mile segment from Canyon Acres Drive to El Toro Road is single-lane in each direction and is both a critical ingress route for emergency resources and a primary resident egress path. The City has prioritized utility undergrounding along this corridor to reduce the ignition and obstruction risk posed by overhead power infrastructure. Pre-positioned evacuation barricades and traffic control devices are stored at identified choke points to facilitate rapid implementation of contraflow or oneway exit configurations.

Secondary neighborhood routes feed into these arterials from each EMZ. The public should familiarize themselves with their zone-specific route before an emergency occurs. The vulnerability of Laguna Canyon Road to simultaneous fire behavior and road hazard underscores the importance of early departure when an Evacuation Warning is issued for any inland or canyon-adjacent zone.

6.6.3 Safe Refuge Areas
The City of Laguna Beach is actively assessing potential temporary refuge areas within or near the community for use by residents who are unable to evacuate when primary routes become inaccessible due to fire or debris.

These locations are intended as last-resort life-safety options for individuals who cannot safely exit the city, not as preferred alternatives to early evacuation.

Publicly accessible open areas adjacent to the coast and along PCH have been identified as candidate refuge locations given their distance from wildland fuels and accessibility from multiple residential zones. The city’s ongoing mitigation strategy work includes assessment of suitable sites and development of operational guidance for their use under extreme conditions. Prior city planning discussions have identified the PCH/Crown Valley Parkway area, PCH/Newport Coast Drive (adjacent park-and-ride), and the Laguna Canyon Road/El Toro Road intersection area as potentially suitable locations for staging, traffic management, and short-term refuge.

Once refuge area designations are finalized, they will be integrated into EMZ mapping, public preparedness materials, and interagency coordination protocols with LBFD, LBPD, OCFA, and Orange County OES. Public communication will consistently frame designated refuge areas as last-resort life-safety measures, not as destinations to plan for in advance of an evacuation order.

6.6.4 Potential Evacuation Issues
Several factors are likely to complicate evacuation in Laguna Beach. Evacuation planning staff should consider each of the following:
+ Many residents and business owners do not have established preparedness plans. Some will choose to remain on-site to defend property or shelter in place rather than evacuate, putting their own lives and the lives of emergency responders at risk.
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+ Individuals often delay their evacuation with the intent of defending their property, or to shelter-in-place, or are slow to leave their homes due to packing personal items and thereby jeopardizing their life safety. + Latest research in social behaviors in wildfire evacuations indicate that people tend to take multiple vehicles when fleeing their homes. This can introduce additional demands on the transit networks and should be considered as part of an evacuation management plan. + Vulnerable populations and/or individuals with limited mobility may be less likely to respond to, cope with, or recover from wildfire. Additional thought should be focused on these populations to ensure they are prepared to respond to developing emergency situations. + Additional residents and other visitors in unincorporated Laguna Beach will also introduce significant traffic loads to the already limited road/evacuation route capacities. If not considered in the recent traffic analysis conducted for the area, a revision to that study to account for these additional loads should be undertaken to better inform evacuation planning efforts.
+ Evacuating animals poses significant problems since panicked animals behave unpredictably and may refuse to respond to normal handling approaches.

6.7 FIRE SUPPRESSION RESOURCE CAPABILITY

6.7.1 Suppression Capabilities
The Laguna Beach Fire Department operates from four fire stations distributed across the city’s 9.86 square miles, providing all-risk emergency response including structural firefighting, wildland fire suppression, and emergency medical services. LBFD’s front-line resources include four Type-1 engine companies, and the department crossstaffs two Type-3 wildland engine companies and one OES Type-3 wildland engine, as well as a rescue squad.

One station is staffed with a four-person engine company; the other three stations are each staffed with a threeperson engine company. A battalion chief leads each shift, for a total of 14 personnel on duty per shift. At least one crew member per engine holds paramedic certification. The department employs more than 50 personnel including 12 fire captains, 12 apparatus engineers, 12 firefighters, and two fire prevention officers. LBFD responds to more than 5,000 calls annually, with emergency medical services accounting for more than 80 percent of call volume.

The Type-3 wildland engines provide LBFD with a tactical capability suited to the city’s WUI environment, including off-road access to canyon fuel break areas, initial attack on vegetation fires, and structure protection in areas inaccessible to heavier apparatus. The OES Type-3 engine extends this capacity and may be deployed as a mutual aid resource for regional incidents when not needed locally.

LBFD operates under mutual and automatic aid agreements with Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA), which serves all surrounding jurisdictions except Newport Beach. Under these agreements, OCFA can provide engine companies, truck companies, hand crews, and aircraft support for a major wildland fire in the planning area.

Newport Beach Fire Department provides automatic aid for portions of North Laguna. Countywide mutual aid coordination is managed through the Orange County Operational Area under the Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS).

6.8 FISCAL RESOURCES AND CONSTRAINTS

6.8.1 Potential Grant Funding Sources
The City of Laguna Beach has invested more than $25 million in wildfire mitigation efforts, much of it supported by competitive state and federal grant awards. The following funding programs represent current and recurring opportunities applicable to activities identified in this CWPP. 68 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan

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CALFIRE Wildfire Prevention Grants. CALFIRE administers annual wildfire prevention grant cycles funded through Cap-and-Trade auction proceeds and Proposition 4 (the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024). Eligible activities include hazardous fuels reduction, wildfire prevention planning, community education, and fuel break construction and maintenance. The city has previously received CALFIRE grant funding for fuel modification zone expansion and permitting.

FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). HMGP is authorized following a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration and provides 75 percent federal matching funds for mitigation projects that reduce future disaster losses. Eligible wildfire-related activities include defensible space, fuel reduction, ignition-resistant infrastructure, and utility undergrounding on evacuation routes. Sub-applications are submitted through Cal OES.

FEMA HMGP Post-Fire. This variant of HMGP targets communities within declared Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) areas. Eligible activities include fuel reduction, defensible space, ignition-resistant infrastructure, and post-fire stabilization measures such as soil erosion prevention and reforestation.

Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG). Administered by the USDA Forest Service, the CWDG program provides funding specifically for developing or updating CWPPs and implementing CWPP-identified projects in communities at risk. Laguna Beach’s VHFHSZ designation establishes baseline eligibility. Priority is given to communities with recently updated CWPPs, which is an additional benefit of this 2026 update.

California Fire Safe Council Grants Clearinghouse. The California Fire Safe Council administers a sub-grant program funded by a master award from the U.S. Forest Service, supporting fuel hazard mitigation on non-federal lands and community wildfire planning activities. Projects may include chipping, thinning, grazing, and CWPP development.

FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC). BRIC supports pre-disaster mitigation for infrastructure systems. The Laguna Beach County Water District has applied for BRIC funding to improve water system power reliability and emergency storage capacity to support firefighting water supply during wildfire events.

Proposition 4 and State Bond Programs. Proposition 4, approved by California voters in November 2024, allocates funding for wildfire prevention across multiple state programs administered by CALFIRE and other agencies. Cities and special districts may access these funds through annual grant cycles. 69 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan

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7.0 Monitoring

7.1 CWPP MONITORING
This CWPP is a living document intended to reflect current conditions, completed actions, and evolving risks in the planning area. The City of Laguna Beach, in coordination with LBFD, OCFA, and participating stakeholders, will review the CWPP on an annual basis to assess progress against identified recommendations and update priorities where conditions have changed.

Annual monitoring activities should include: tracking the status of proposed fuel treatment areas; updating the evacuation route assessment to reflect any infrastructure changes or modeling revisions; reviewing changes to FHSZ designations or land use that affect values at risk; and incorporating lessons learned from any wildfire incidents affecting the planning area.

A full CWPP update is recommended every five years, or sooner if a significant wildfire event affects the planning area, if new risk assessment data substantially changes the hazard picture, or if state or federal CWPP standards are revised in ways that affect the document’s compliance posture.

7.2 FUEL TREATMENT MONITORING AND MAINTENANCE
Each of the 27 Fuel Modification Zones identified in this plan requires ongoing maintenance to sustain the fire behavior reduction benefits achieved through initial treatment. Vegetation in coastal sage scrub and chaparral communities recovers rapidly following mechanical or biological treatment; without follow-up maintenance, treated areas can return to pre-treatment fuel loads within two to three growing seasons.

LBFD coordinates annual re-treatment schedules for each FMZ based on vegetation growth rates, permit conditions, and available funding. Most zones receive multiple treatment passes per year. The Laguna Canyon Foundation provides ongoing biological monitoring of FMZs in ecologically sensitive areas, ensuring that treatment activities comply with permit conditions.

LBFD’s Fire Prevention Division should maintain a GIS-based treatment tracking record for each FMZ documenting treatment dates and methods, estimated vegetation reduction achieved, biological monitoring findings, permit status, and any deviations from the planned schedule. This tracking record supports grant reporting, future CWPP updates, and public accountability for fuel management investments. 70 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan

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8.0 Mitigation Strategy and Implementation Priorities
The following mitigation and preparedness actions are intended to reduce wildfire risk, improve life safety outcomes, and strengthen coordination during response and recovery. These actions build upon the hazard, risk, and vulnerability assessment presented in this CWPP and reflect identified needs related to evacuation effectiveness, public information, and post-incident coordination.

8.1 ACTION PLAN
This section provides a list of key action items for the City of Laguna Beach. 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.

These action items 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 (given access to necessary resources for implementation). The tool 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.

Laguna Beach Action Plan
Action Lead(s) Priority Timeframe Metric for success
Public Works
Wildfire Safety
Module
LBFD
High
Year 1 Focused, practical training on where
crews can safely operate, where to avoid,
equipment staging (dozers/bulldozers),
and hazard awareness
Fire Radio Access
Paper and training LBFD,
LBPD
High Year 1 Short paper outlining what’s needed to
ensure law enforcement can access and
monitor fire communications. Provide
training to law enforcement and other LEI
on accessing communications
information.

Wildfire
Awareness
Training for LEI
LBFD Medium Year 2 Collective training presented by LBFD and LBPD to LEI providing a basic orientation
to the fireground, fire behavior, resource
needs and training on evacuations
“Pink Channel”
Use Plan LBFD,
LBPD,
OCFA
High Year 1 Clear approach for using the channel for
situational awareness and coordination
across agencies during incidents,
implementing training for users.

Pink Channel
Training LBFD High Year 2 Education and training on the use of the Pink Channel (radios) for non-emergency personnel during an incident, to include
city employees, volunteers, etc.
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Laguna Beach Action Plan
Action Lead(s) Priority Timeframe Metric for success
Public Works
Working Group City of
Laguna
Beach,
LBFD
Medium Year 2 Convene public works working group.

Traffic engineering is central to preventing
gridlock and ensuring evacuation routes
remain viable.

Water District EOC
Representative City of
Laguna
Beach
High Year 1 Ensure a Water District
representative/operations manager is
assigned and prepared to coordinate
water system operations
Chiefs/Operations
Text Group LBFD,
OCFA
High Year 1 Create a Chiefs/Operations text group for
rapid information sharing amongst agency
leadership during emergnecies.

Evacuation Traffic
Coordination Tool LBFD,
LBPD
High Year 1 Map of choke points, trigger points, and
recommended intersection control actions
to support PD/Public Works during staged
evacuations
Unified Messaging
Protocol LBFD,
LBPD,
OCFA
High Year 2 Coordinated framework for city and county
PIOs—focused on consistency, rapid
initial messaging, and managing
misinformation
Reentry/Repopulation
Plan
LBFD High Year 2 Practical playbook for post-evacuation decisions, including coordination with
utilities, safety checks, and phased reentry
Red Flag Protocol
Training LBFD High Year 2 Training on Red Flag day protocol for support personnel who are not primary emergency responders (e.g. public works,
civilian staff and volunteers)
County-Wide
Public Information
Officer
Coordination
Group
LBFD,
LBPD,
OCFA
High Year 1 Establish a county-wide public information
officers’ PIO working group.

Private sector
support resources
contact list
LBFD Medium Year 2 Identify local individuals in the private sector (contractors, heavy equipment
operators, utilities, communications
providers) and maintain an updated
contact list for use in emergency.
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Laguna Beach Action Plan
Action Lead(s) Priority Timeframe Metric for success
Routine Tabletop
Exercises
LBFD,
LBPD
High Year 1 Routine tabletops incorporating a range of
stakeholders strengthen interagency
coordination, reveal capability gaps, and
build public understanding of wildfire
limitations and expectations.

Establishment of
planned
centralized mutualaid staging zones
LBFD,
LBPD
High Year 1 Establish planned mutual-aid staging and
check-in areas for incoming resources
with a staffed check-in process for
accountability and assignment.

Enhanced
coordination with
utility providers
LBFD High Year 1 Enhanced pre-incident relationships with local utility providers to aid in timely
assessment and restoration of damaged
infrastructure and coordination for PSPS
events.

Donation/Volunteer
Management Plan LBFD Medium Year 2 Develop and document a donation and volunteer management plan and assign
EOC responsibilities for that function
Debris Removal
Plan Framework LBFD,
city of
Laguna
Beach
Medium Year 2 Draft debris removal plan framework
(sorting, hazardous materials handling,
tracking and contractor options) for postfire recovery.

Public Outreach
and Education LBFD High Year 1 Provide resources to community members about emergency communications
resources, the City evacuation plan, and
Red Flag days

8.2 PUBLIC EDUCATION AND SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
Subject to grant funding availability, the City plans to expand public education on real-time wildfire information resources that support situational awareness during active incidents.

Official alerting systems are the primary source of life-safety information. These include Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), AlertOC, Nixle, and the Outdoor Warning System. Public education will emphasize the importance of registering for and maintaining access to these systems, which deliver evacuation warnings, evacuation orders, and other time-sensitive emergency instructions.

Supplemental situational awareness tools provide additional context. Platforms such as Watch Duty and CALFIRE incident information systems offer near-real-time updates on fire perimeters, incident status, and operational information. These tools help the public track changing conditions but do not replace official alerts or directives. 73 City of Laguna Beach 2026 Community Wildfire Protection Plan

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Education on both categories of resources will be integrated into Firewise outreach, community engagement programs, and visitor-facing communication materials, with particular attention to visitors, short-term renters, and part-time residents who may be less familiar with local alerting systems and the geographic references used in emergency messaging.

8.3 EVACUATION AND LIFE SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS
Laguna Beach's topography and limited roadway network create conditions where evacuation routes can become congested during a fast-moving wildfire. The City plans to develop and document contingency strategies for situations in which primary routes become blocked or inaccessible.

As the City pursues state and federal grant funding to support this work, planned efforts include assessment of potential temporary refuge areas within or near the community, along with operational guidance for their use under extreme conditions. Public communication will frame these options as last-resort measures for situations in which immediate evacuation is not possible.

8.4 POST-INCIDENT COORDINATION AND RECOVERY
Post-incident coordination in the immediate aftermath of a major wildfire encompasses life safety, damage assessment, debris management, and the mobilization of recovery resources across multiple agencies and nonprofit partners. Absent prior planning, these activities tend to proceed in an uncoordinated manner that wastes resources, creates gaps in service delivery, and imposes unnecessary burdens on affected residents.

8.4.1 Emergency Operations Center Activation
LBFD and the City activate the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) during incidents that exceed routine response capacity. The EOC coordinates resource requests, public information, alert and warning, and interagency logistics while also conducting financial tracking. The City maintains mutual aid agreements with Newport Beach, UC Irvine, and the City of Irvine for alternate EOC facilities if the Emergency Operations Center must be evacuated.

8.4.2 Damage Assessment
Following incident containment, LBFD, Community Development, and Public Works will conduct an initial damage assessment of affected structures, infrastructure, and public lands. Findings inform the City’s pursuit of state and federal disaster declarations, which activate additional funding under FEMA’s Public Assistance program.

8.4.3 Debris and Hazardous Material Removal and Tracking Post-fire debris removal in the WUI presents environmental and public health risks from ash, hazardous materials in building debris, and erosion from denuded slopes. Before a major wildfire event, the City should consider contracting disaster debris removal and tracking services to ensure debris is removed and tracked in accordance with state and federal law, preserving eligibility for financial reimbursement. The City should coordinate with Orange County Healthcare Agency, CalRecycle, and DTSC to establish a debris removal and tracking protocol consistent with state and federal guidelines for post-fire recovery.

8.4.4 Community Recovery Planning
Prior to a major wildfire event, the City should convene a post-incident planning process drawing on FEMA’s National Disaster Recovery Framework and the experience of communities such as Paradise, the Pacific Palisades, and Lahaina that have undergone long-term wildfire recovery. Recovery planning should address housing, business continuity, watershed restoration, and long-term rebuilding standards under current California fire-resistant construction codes.
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8.4.5 Donation and Volunteer Management
Without active management, uncoordinated donations and spontaneous volunteers can complicate response and recovery operations rather than support them. The City plans to develop standing procedures for managing donations and volunteers in the aftermath of a major wildfire.

As the City pursues state and federal grant funding to support this work, planned efforts include integrating donation and volunteer coordination into Emergency Operations Center (EOC) functions, with defined roles for intake, distribution, registration, assignment, and supervision. The work will also establish coordination with nonprofit partners, shelters, and neighboring jurisdictions. 75

Laguna Beach City CouncilJune 9, 2026

Laguna Beach City Council
June 9, 2026