WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS INITIATIVE
Our families run toward the fire. This initiative exists so the families they leave at home are ready before the smoke ever rises.
Community Event Coming Soon
Coming Soon
WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS EVENT
Our second community event, on a much larger scale, for the Tesoro Highlands community and our neighboring community down the hill, Tesoro. Every agency we count on in a disaster, in one room, answering your questions directly.
Every household goes home with informational pamphlets on fire safety and emergency preparedness, and one family wins an emergency preparedness kit in a drawing held in front of everyone.
Date and Details Coming SoonOur first community night, Safe at Home SCV, comes first. See it here.
Law Enforcement
LA County Sheriff's Department
Santa Clarita Valley Station
Fire
Firefighters Who Serve Our Area
The crews who answer our 911 calls
Water
SCV Water
Our local water agency
Utilities
Department of Water and Power
In attendance
Disaster Relief
American Red Cross
Disaster readiness and relief
Pets
Local Animal Shelters
What to do with your pets in a disaster
Get the Date First
Leave your name and email and we will tell you the moment the date and location are set.
Why This Matters
FIRE IS NOT A QUESTION OF IF
The Santa Clarita Valley lives with wildfire. Two recent fires tell the whole story: one shows how fast danger arrives, the other shows what preparation and rapid response can do.
The Hughes Fire
January 2025
The Hughes Fire burned 10,176 acres near Castaic Lake, pushing evacuation zones to within roughly 3 to 4 miles of our neighborhoods. Tens of thousands of residents were placed under evacuation orders and warnings with little notice. Families who had a plan left calmly. Families who did not lost precious minutes deciding what mattered.
The Martin Fire
July 2026
The Martin Fire ignited along Interstate 5 north of Templin Highway in Castaic, about 10 to 12 miles from our community. It grew to 19 acres and forward progress was stopped the same day. Aggressive response, cleared brush, and defensible space are why a fire that could have run stayed small. Preparation works.
The Framework
READY. SET. GO.
The same three step framework fire agencies teach across California, written for the families behind the uniform.
Step One
Ready
Harden your home and create defensible space before fire season. Build your go bags, scan important documents, photograph your home for insurance, and agree on a family meeting point and an out of area contact.
Step Two
Set
When fire is in the area, get situational awareness. Load the car, dress in cotton or wool layers, stage pets and medications, back the car into the driveway, and monitor official evacuation zones and alerts.
Step Three
Go
Leave early. Do not wait for the order if you feel unsafe, and never wait to see the flames. Early evacuation keeps roads clear for fire engines and keeps your family out of the most dangerous minutes of any fire.
Around Your Home
DEFENSIBLE SPACE, ZONE BY ZONE
Zone Zero: 0 to 5 Feet
The ember resistant zone. Nothing combustible against the house: no mulch, no woodpiles, no dry plants, no doormats of natural fiber, nothing stored under decks. Embers land here first, and this zone decides whether your home ignites.
Zone One: 5 to 30 Feet
Lean, clean, and green. Remove dead vegetation, keep grass short, space trees and shrubs apart, and relocate firewood and propane away from the structure. Keep this zone irrigated through fire season.
Zone Two: 30 to 100 Feet
Reduce fuel. Thin brush, mow annual grasses down, create horizontal and vertical spacing between plants, and remove ladder fuels that let ground fire climb into tree canopies.
Know Your Landscaping
VEGETATION AND TREE SAFETY
Ficus Trees
Beautiful, and a hidden hazard. Ficus root systems are invasive, lifting hardscape and destabilizing the tree itself. In high winds or saturated soil, mature ficus trees can topple onto homes, vehicles, and power lines. Evaluate placement and root health every year.
Palm Trees
Palms are highly flammable, and a burning palm becomes an ember cannon, throwing burning fronds far downwind onto roofs and yards. Keep palms skirted and trimmed of dead fronds, and never let dry frond skirts build up near structures.
Tree to Roof Contact
Never let branches touch or overhang your roof. Ember driven ignition happens through exactly that zone: branches deposit litter in gutters and on shingles, and embers find it. Keep a clear gap between every canopy and your roofline.
Pack It Before You Need It
THE GO BAG
One bag per family member, staged and ready every fire season. Build it once, refresh it twice a year.
- Three days of water and nonperishable food per person
- Medications, prescriptions, and copies of medical records
- N95 masks, flashlight, batteries, and a battery radio
- Phone chargers and a backup power bank
- Copies of IDs, insurance, and vital documents (physical and digital)
- Cash in small bills
- Changes of clothing, sturdy shoes, and cotton or wool layers
- Pet food, leashes, carriers, and vaccination records
- Comfort items for kids: a toy, a book, a familiar blanket
- Photos of your home, inside and out, for insurance claims
COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS WORKSHOPS
Uniform Families Foundation hosts wildfire preparedness workshops for Santa Clarita Valley communities, beginning in our own backyard, and built alongside the agencies our families serve in: the Los Angeles County Fire Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in Santa Clarita, the American Red Cross, and local utilities. Neighbors learn evacuation planning, home hardening, and family communication plans directly from the people who respond when the call comes.
Request A Workshop For Your Community
Our Signature Education Program
WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS PROGRAM
Harden The Home. Clear The Zone. Plan The Exit.
The Wildfire Preparedness Program is the Foundation's education program for the Santa Clarita Valley wildland urban interface, anchored in our own neighborhoods and built for the corridor that has burned twice in eighteen months. The program turns awareness into action, house by house and street by street.
Readiness Workshops
In person community workshops covering defensible space, home hardening, evacuation planning, and go bag training, taught with the agencies our families serve in.
Bilingual Guides and Checklists
A locally tailored preparedness guide and checklist suite in English and Spanish, in print and digital form, so every household in the corridor can prepare in the language of home.
Neighborhood Action
A community wildfire risk assessment, a neighborhood Wildfire Action Plan, and a resident led path to Firewise USA recognition, because prepared neighborhoods protect each other.
The Wildfire Preparedness Program is part of the Uniform Families Foundation Wildfire Preparedness Initiative, serving those in uniform, the families who stand behind them, and the neighborhoods they call home.
Uniform Families Foundation
Serving Those in Uniform and the Families Who Stand Behind Them: Fire, Paramedic, Law Enforcement, Medical, Military, and Uniform Kids.
Uniform Families Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. EIN: 41-5063345. Donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law, and every donation goes only to the donor's designated service category.
