Fire Resilient LA: Solano Canyon

The catastrophic Los Angeles fires of January 2025 lasted for 24 days, burned over 57,000 acres, destroyed more than 18,000 homes and structures, and killed at least 30 people. It was one of the most devastating disasters in the city’s history and the vivid images will be forever ingrained in the minds of Angelenos. After the wildfires, Angelenos are now charged with the monumental task of recovering and rebuilding the physical structures and social and support networks that burned to the ground.

Beyond recovery and rebuilding, the January fires have also raised critical questions that challenge existing ways of accommodating growth in the face of ever-increasing severe weather events. The Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) has become an important space for building new, and fairly affordable, homes throughout the country. Should we continue to build in the WUI given the increasing scale and pace of natural disasters fueled by climate change? What can be done to the 44 million households that already exist in WUI?