For the past ten years, Laguna Canyon Foundation has proudly partnered with the Laguna Beach Fire Department on an innovative “fuel modification” program. This initiative is dedicated to reducing the combustible vegetation that fuels wildfires—a critical effort underscored by the recent devastating fires in Los Angeles. By managing vegetation in canyons and slopes adjacent to neighborhoods and businesses, we’ve reduced the fire behavior potential by approximately 70%.
Our work creates an extra margin of time for residents to evacuate and provides room for firefighters to protect homes and businesses. While homeowners still need to fire-harden their structures and maintain defensible space around them, our fuel modification zones add an essential layer of community protection.
In ecologically sensitive areas where goats aren’t appropriate, LCF is part of a more environmentally sensitive approach. Our expert teams conduct thorough surveys for sensitive plants and nesting birds, communicate closely with neighbors, and mark areas to ensure that our work preserves the habitat and aesthetic values of Laguna Beach. Using specially trained hand crews and a variety of tools—from chainsaws to loppers—we guide the careful removal of invasive species and reduce native vegetation cover to 50%. This process breaks up the continuity of fuels and eliminates ladder fuels that can carry flames into tree canopies.
In 2022, Coastal Commission Executive Director Jack Ainsworth called this approach “…the most sensibly designed fuel modification plan I’ve ever seen.” and said that “it should be used as a model across the state.”
Our commitment doesn’t end with establishing a fuel modification zone. We continuously monitor and maintain these areas, coordinating additional thinning and weed management to ensure long-term fire safety benefits.
Thanks to grants from Calfire and CalOES/FEMA, the City of Laguna Beach has been able to add several new fuel modification zones and is currently working to complete the final planned zones. Every step we take makes Laguna Beach safer and more resilient.
We are immensely grateful for your continued support. Together, we’re not only protecting our community from wildfires but also preserving the biodiversity and natural beauty of Laguna Beach for generations to come.
For more information on how to be wildfire prepared, visit the below links:
1. City of Laguna Beach Wildfire Preparedness (scroll down)
2. CalFire’s Defensible Space page
3. CalFire’s Ready for Wildfire page
4. UCANR Wildfire Preparedness page
5. UCANR Invasive Plants and Wildfires in Southern California
6. UCLA Expert Perspective: Wildland Fuels Management Would Not Have Saved Us from the January 2025 LA Fires