Wildfire prevention efforts have been underway on state and federal land for decades. In the Santa Monica Mountains near the community of Topanga, fuel-reduction operations are being fast-tracked.
Leigh Adams Croley, a fire prevention specialist with the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, explained there are parts of Topanga, such as Old Topanga, that haven't burned in decades.
"We feel that this area is an extremely vulnerable area," Croley said. "We have long, windy roads that don't have good infrastructure for our fire engines to be able to operate the way they could operate in any areas of the Santa Monica Mountains."
California's Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said the state has streamlined approvals for these projects.
"In the past, they've required just too long to go through environmental permitting and approval process," Crowfoot explained.
What took a year to get approved is now taking 30 days. In Topanga, the Los Angeles County Fire Department partnered with MRCA to construct fire breaks near homes. That gives firefighters access to mountainous terrain to help save communities.
Those in fire prevention admit fire breaks wouldn't have stopped embers driven by 100-mph winds during the Palisades and Eaton fires, but brush-clearance projects are one piece of the puzzle to prevent future devastating wildfires, which also includes home hardening, Zone Zero, infrastructure and firefighting investments.
"Fuel breaks will slow down fires, including ones we know we're going to have in the future and enable the protection of communities," Crowfoot said. "You know, not all fires that threaten our Southern California communities will manifest like that firestorm last January."
"It's all about reducing risk. We're not going to eliminate the risk, but our focus is reducing it," Crowfoot added.
Fuel-reduction operations aren't just taking place in the mountains, but also along roads in neighborhoods off Topanga Canyon Boulevard - roads that could be critical evacuation routes during a fire.