Just after the new year began, wildfires erupted across the Los Angeles, California, area. The Palisades fire started on Jan. 7, 2025, in Pacific Palisades, California, followed a few hours later by the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California.
Fueled by extreme high winds and dry brush, firefighters described it as one of the worst fires they had ever seen. Thousands of people evacuated, and hundreds of people lost their homes. Sadly, at least 29 people died before the fires were fully contained on Jan. 31.
While the official causes have not yet been determined, it is a scenario that is familiar to one Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal member.
Mark Johnson, District 7 legislator and retired firefighter, watched as disaster hit another California community.
“(Television reporters) kept saying this was unprecedented but in the 2018 Camp Fire, it burned more than 153,000 acres and more than 18,000 structures and wiped the town of Paradise off the map,” Johnson said of the northern California wildfire.
The Vieux-Johnson family descendant spent his entire professional career in public service. Beginning as a volunteer firefighter, he retired in December 2020 as unit chief of the Fresno-Kings unit of CAL-FIRE and chief of the Fresno County Fire Protection District, after commanding the Creek Fire, the single largest wildland fire in California state history.
These dangerous wildfires have some factors in common.
“Cities let people build in canyons and on hills,” Johnson said. “These wind driven fires start in the hills and go right into towns.”
Add to that, plenty of brush fuel and high winds, and it is a dangerous situation for both homeowners and firefighters.
“The blowing embers, with 70 to 90 mile per hour winds, you could have 10,000 fire engines and 100,000 firefighters and you’d still not be able to get ahead of it,” he said. “With these types of fires, (firefighters) you have to try and keep the edges contained and prevent it from getting wider and wait for the weather to improve.”
“The biggest spreader of fire is wind and when it’s blowing like that, all bets are off,” Johnson said.
Prevention
“Think about the radiant heat just from a campfire. You can only get so close before it’s too hot,” he said. “Now think about your neighbor’s house on fire and it’s that close. There’s nothing you can do to keep yours from burning.”
Fortunately, there are some ways homeowners can help protect their property and safety.
Homeowners should make it a priority to protect the first five feet around the house, Johnson said. This measure can help safeguard a home on an average day with 5-10 mile per hour winds, giving firefighters time to respond.
Any large objects burning nearby can result in flying embers. If a home uses propane, the propane tank should be at least 30 feet from the home. A storage shed should be at least 10 feet from the home.
“The embers can pile up against the side of the house like a snowdrift,” he said. “You have to protect the house and prevent (embers) from getting up against it.”
Annual grasses can dry out in the summer and should be cut to two inches to prevent radiant heat from reaching a home.
Johnson said no flammable items should be within five feet of a home’s walls. Brush is the worst fuel for fire and should be kept away from the home.
Homeowners can retrofit vents, especially in homes with a crawlspace and vents around the foundation. Applying a one-eighth inch mesh over the vent can prevent embers from entering the vent.
No matter where they live, every homeowner should visit readyforwildfire.org to learn more, Johnson said.
“In California and the southwest, even some areas of Utah and Colorado, there are many fire-prone areas,” he said. “Fire season tends to be in summer and late fall when the winds kick up and affect hills and mountains.”
In low-elevation areas like Oklahoma, homes tend to be more spread out and fire season is generally in winter when grass and brush are dry, he said.
Insurance complications
Homeowners also face additional challenges, particularly in California.
“My insurance canceled my policy last October. If your house has certain kinds of plumbing or the roof is over a certain age, they will tend to cancel your policy, if you live in wildfire prone rural areas, most likely you will need a wildfire preparation home certification,” Johnson said.
To receive certification, Johnson had to make several changes both inside and outside his home. He estimated that he spent more than $13,000 to upgrade his home with prevention measures. University studies have shown these methods are effective, he said, but he wonders how many homeowners can afford the upgrades.
Johnson replaced 36 attic vents at a cost of over $50 each. Other restrictions include wood fences and lawn furniture. The fence must be chain link up against the house. The portion not touching the home can be made of wood. Lawn furniture should be steel with removable cushions that can be stored.
“You can’t have a flammable wood deck, or green lawn within five feet of the house,” he said. “I had to remove four feet of lawn from the front of my house.”
Potted plants must be moved away from the home unless they are in a ceramic container. Flowerbeds should not have wood chips or edging and must be at least five feet from the home.
Uncertain future
Johnson was able to be reinsured but the cost of his insurance has increased exponentially.
“My next renewal is next fall. We’ll see what happens,” Johnson said. “It’s not going to be pretty in California next year.”
He said in 2020, while fighting the last major fire before his retirement, 379,000 acres and 840 structures were lost. Only 10 percent of the previous homeowners have returned and built new homes.
“With these latest fires, we have to see if people have left, or if they’re not going to rebuild. There are a lot of fire related laws for building back. The cost of homes is going to go up,” he said. “I was able to get my insurance back, but will others?”
To learn more about wildfire preparedness, revisit Johnson’s February Hownikan column at cpn.news/wildfire or readyforwildfire.org, wildfireprepared.org or fire.ca.gov/dspace.