One year after the fast-moving Eaton and Palisades fires destroyed more than 16,000 structures in the L.A. area, California is drafting the toughest statewide rules in the country for vegetation near homes.
Zone Zero: The idea, called Zone Zero, is to prevent plants and flammable items from igniting during a wildfire, spreading flames to the house and the surrounding neighborhood. In high winds, most homes burn down due to embers, the tiny bits of burning debris carried by the wind. In areas at risk of wildfires, homeowners could be required to clear some or all of the plants within five feet of their house, depending on what regulators decide. Well-maintained trees would still be allowed.
Public pushes back: Homeowners have voiced concerns about losing greenery and shade, as well as the cost of clearing the vegetation. Some say they believe plants and hedges saved their homes by acting as a buffer, though many scientific studies show that vegetation increases the risk a building will burn. The new defensible space rules would affect about 17% of buildings in California. But they could set a much bigger precedent across the West, as more states deal with wildfires growing increasingly destructive as the climate gets hotter.
Read on ... to learn more about the science and politics of Zone Zero.
A typical single-family house is encircled by green, its shrubs and plants sitting just under windows and hugging exterior walls. It's an image that California is trying to get homeowners to rethink as the state's risk of extreme wildfires grows.
One year after the fast-moving Eaton and Palisades Fires destroyed more than 16,000 structures in the L.A. area, California is drafting the toughest statewide rules in the country for vegetation. In areas at risk of wildfires, homeowners would be required to clear some or all of the plants within 5 feet of their house, depending on what regulators decide. Well-maintained trees would still be allowed.
The idea, called Zone Zero, is to prevent plants and flammable items from igniting during a wildfire, spreading flames to the house and the surrounding neighborhood. In high winds, most homes burn down due to embers, the tiny bits of burning debris carried by the wind.
Still, the pushback has been strong, even in the Los Angeles area neighborhoods where so many lost homes. In public meetings, homeowners have voiced concerns about losing greenery and shade, as well as the cost of clearing the vegetation. Some say they believe plants and hedges saved their homes by acting as a buffer, though many scientific studies show that vegetation increases the risk a building will burn.
The new defensible space rules will affect about 17% of buildings in California. But they could set a much bigger precedent across the West, as more states deal with wildfires growing increasingly destructive as the climate gets hotter.
High winds spread burning embers into Altadena during the Eaton Fire, leading to the fire's rapid spread through neighborhoods.
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"How we step up and do this is hard, but I think we have to adapt and change a bit if we're going to try to not keep losing our homes," says Michael Gollner, who runs the Berkeley Fire Research Lab at UC Berkeley.
Hundreds of tiny fires
When the Eaton Fire broke out the evening of Jan. 7, Richard Snyder was at his home in Pasadena, working on a slide presentation about wildfire risk. Snyder had spent more than 30 years in firefighting before retiring and now does wildfire risk consulting. So when he saw the smoke in the nearby foothills, driven by powerful winds, he knew it didn't look good.
"I know where the smoke is going is going to be where the fire is going, and I saw this smoke heading off into Pasadena," Snyder says.
He told his wife to evacuate and started telling neighbors to be ready. Snyder decided to stay. Although the fire itself was still more than a mile away, he knew the biggest danger was the glowing embers being blown into his neighborhood by the wind.
"And then it happened," he recalls. "There was a palm tree that lit off and showered our neighborhood with embers and it started a fence on fire at my neighbor's house. Myself and two other retired firefighters tried to put that fire out with garden hoses, and it wouldn't work. It was too hot and the wind was too strong."
In windy conditions, embers can rapidly spread a fire, landing in dry leaves in a roof gutter, bark mulch on the ground or even being sucked into an attic through a vent. Once that fire gets going, the extreme heat and embers help it spread to neighboring buildings.
"I'm looking over and I'm seeing my St. Augustine grass burning," Snyder says. "Who would have thought that green St. Augustine grass would start burning? There's hundreds of little tiny fires burning in the yards and next to the houses of my neighbors."
Several homes in Snyder's neighborhood were lost. His own survived, but with damage. While he says it was a shock, it wasn't surprising to him. For years, wildfire experts had been finding that houses are vulnerable to wildfires both because of the building materials they're constructed with and when something flammable is next to the house. The concept of Zone Zero focuses on the crucial zone within five feet of a structure.
"We're not going to stop the fires, but we can absolutely keep them from burning our houses down," Snyder says. "But it's a change."
Public meetings get heated
California regulators are creating rules for the "ember-resistant zone" next to houses under state law. The original deadline was 2023, but the effort flagged. After the Los Angeles fires, Gov. Gavin Newsom set a new deadline for the end of 2025. With all the debate, regulators pushed past that deadline and say they expect to keep working through March to gather more feedback.
The proposed rules would prohibit flammable items such as firewood, bark mulch, dead leaves and weeds within five feet of a house. Fences and gates would need to be made of metal or other non-combustible materials in that zone. The rules wouldn't go into effect for existing homes for three years and local fire agencies would have some discretion over tailoring it for their areas.
The sticking point is over green vegetation. Trees would be allowed as long as they're well-maintained, by keeping branches five feet above the roofline, for example. When it comes to plants, regulators are considering several options: only allowing potted plants in Zone Zero, allowing plants under 18 inches, or allowing any well-maintained plants with no dead material.
Steve Hawks of the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety inspects a home after the Eaton Fire. Embers caught a pile of flammable material, but the house's fire-resistant siding prevented it from spreading.
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The change isn't being welcomed by some California residents. In September, California's Board of Forestry and Fire Protection held a public hearing in Pasadena to gather feedback on the proposed rules.
"Our community just endured the most destructive residential fire disasters in modern history, yet this board is pushing Zone Zero policies that completely miss the mark," Jessica Rogers of the Pacific Palisades Resident Association said at the hearing. "My home and my neighbors' homes burned because of adjacent structures, not vegetation."
In the hours of public testimony, some residents spoke in support of clearing Zone Zero to prepare for wildfires that will inevitably come again. Other residents pushed back, worried that houses on small lots would lose too much greenery and shade, reducing wildlife habitat. Some raised concerns about the cost, since the new rules wouldn't include funding for landscaping work, though California is developing other programs for that. A few residents noted that in the aftermath of the fires, some plants were still left standing.
"I saw the well-hydrated hedges that I had planted protecting my house, acting as a fire catcher, essentially, because they were upwind," Pacific Palisades resident Martin Hak testified at the hearing.
"We know that not everyone will agree with every decision or aspect of what comes next," Board of Forestry and Fire Protection executive officer Tony Andersen wrote about the Zone Zero rules. "But we do know that many Californians agree that protecting our communities is not a passing fad or a momentary response."
The board also posted its responses to many of the questions raised at the hearings.
Do green plants burn?
"We don't really know how often plants can be 'protective' and provide a buffer for homes," says Max Moritz, wildfire specialist with the University of California Cooperative Extension at UC Santa Barbara.
The destruction in a wildfire can be a patchwork, with some homes and plants left standing directly next to others burned to the ground. In the aftermath, it's difficult to know when vegetation was responsible for spreading fire because the evidence is often completely destroyed.
Ember-driven wildfires can leave a patchwork of destruction behind. In Altadena, some buildings and vegetation were left intact, while others were destroyed
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Moritz is one of the few fire experts who say that green plants may not pose a risk to houses and that more research needs to be done. Greener plants, which hold water in their leaves, are harder to ignite. He agrees that some plants, like highly flammable juniper and cypress, should not be allowed, nor should plants with dead leaves or dry branches.
"The really important aspect to the plants is the dead material," he says. "If most homeowners are just going to let dead material accumulate in Zone Zero anyway, then it makes sense that there shouldn't be any plants in Zone Zero."
Other wildfire experts warn that in the hot, windy conditions of an extreme wildfire, all vegetation poses a potential threat.
"Just because a plant is very moist doesn't mean it's non-flammable," says Gollner of UC Berkeley. "Having a well-watered plant is less of a risk, but it's not no risk."
What makes things burn
Gollner runs a "burn lab" on campus, where his team studies how and why materials burn. There, they place a well-watered shrub inside a special chamber lined with sensors. They ignite a small bit of mulch under the plant. After a few minutes, the flames creep up into the base of the plant.
"You can see, once the flames touch the leaves, they immediately dry out and burn," he says.
Gollner says in a wildfire, if a neighbor's fence or shed is on fire, it can dry out and ignite the vegetation next to a home. If those plants are within Zone Zero, the fire can then reach a neighboring house. Even shrubs and hedges that look healthy on the outside are often dry and bare in the interior. At a recent California Board of Forestry meeting, Gollner's colleagues presented their recent experiments about how green plants can burn.
Other scientific studies show that vegetation is influential in wildfire risk. A team from the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, a non-profit research group funded by the insurance industry, inspected damage at more than 250 homes in the Los Angeles fires. They found when Zone Zero had vegetation in quarter or more of it, the chances that a home was damaged or destroyed were almost 90%.
Michael Gollner watches a burn test in his lab at UC Berkeley. Green plants take longer to ignite, but he says leaves can dry out quickly in hot, dry conditions during a wildfire.
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Gollner and colleagues also looked at several of California's recent wildfires and used computer models to simulate those burns under different conditions. Their study found Zone Zero rules could have reduced structure losses by 17%. Another study looking at the 2018 Camp Fire and the 2017 Thomas Fire found having mostly vegetation within six feet of the walls was a big factor in whether the building was lost. Other studies have also shown the importance of defensible space.
Still, minimizing vegetation alone won't guarantee that homes survive. Wildfire experts say buildings need to be fire-resistant as well, a crucial factor in reducing fire risk. Many older homes have wood roofs, wood siding or single-paned windows, which are much more vulnerable to burning. Gutters need to be clear of dead leaves and attic vents need to be covered in a fine mesh, so embers don't get inside.
Homes built after 2007 in wildfire zones are required to meet California's building codes for fire-resistant materials, but most of the state's housing stock is older than that. Some vulnerabilities can't be changed, like when houses are built close together on smaller lots.
With wildfires, neighborhoods are only as strong as their weakest link. Once a fire starts, it can spread from house to house, so wildfire preparation is far more effective when an entire community fortifies itself — something regulators have cited as a reason for the new vegetation rules.
"It's a change of aesthetic, and it's incredibly difficult because it's people's private property," Gollner says. "But a wildland fire is unique amongst all catastrophes in that what your neighbor does directly affects you. We know that whatever we do, it's got to be across the community."
Aaron Schrank
has been on the ground, reporting on homelessness and other issues in L.A. for more than a decade.
Published April 2, 2026 4:23 PM
Supervisor Holly Mitchell, L.A. County Department of Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer, actor Danny Trejo and others gathered at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Wilmington.
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Topline:
A new private foundation called The Fund for Advancing Public Health LA launched Thursday, aiming to raise $2 million to shore up county health services this year. It comes after the Department of Public Health closed seven clinics following $50 million in funding cuts since early 2025.
Who's behind it: The foundation's board includes Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, the CEOs of Blue Shield of California Foundation and LA Care Health Plan, actors Sean Penn and Danny Trejo and more. Board member Saree Kayne of the R&S Kayne Foundation pledged $150,000 at the launch. Ferrer acknowledged it's "a hard day" when a public agency has to turn to private donors to fund basic services.
Deeper cuts ahead: The federal "Big Beautiful Bill" slashes Medi-Cal funding, and the department anticipates losing up to $300 million over the next three years. Federal dollars account for nearly half the public health budget.
Some government funding streams for L.A. County’s public health system are drying up, and officials are turning to private philanthropy to fill the gap.
A new privately funded foundation launched Thursday to strengthen public health services after $50 million in federal, state and local funding cuts to the county’s Department of Public Health since early last year.
“It is really a hard day for our community when we have to ask for private donations to fund a public good, but unfortunately, we've lost too much money to not take this important step,” said Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.
In February, the county’s Public Health Department closed seven clinics, with six remaining open. About half of the patients seen in those clinics are uninsured, according to county officials. The department also cut hundreds of staff positions.
She said the fund will help the county maintain its basic public health infrastructure, including disease prevention, health promotion, environmental health, and emergency response efforts.
Other board members include several health insurance executives, as well as actors Sean Penn and Danny Trejo. Board member Saree Kayne of the R&S Kayne Foundation pledged $150,000 to the fund Thursday. Kayne said she hopes the donation encourages others to give.
The foundation aims to raise $2 million this year.
More cuts expected
L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell said it’s crucial to have an alternative funding stream to protect services for the county's most vulnerable residents.
“We are saving public health,” Mitchell said. “This fund represents a new approach, one that brings together government philanthropy in the private sector to invest in community-based solutions, protect vulnerable populations, and strengthen our public health infrastructure.”
Officials say more public health cuts are coming, through the federal budget law known as the "Big Beautiful Bill," which slashes funding for Medi-Cal.
The county Department of Public Health anticipates losing up to $300 million in revenue over the next three years because of the federal budget bill and other potential funding freezes. Federal funding accounts for almost 50% of the public health budget, according to county officials.
Mitchell also led an effort to put a half-percent county sales tax increase to fund public health on the June ballot.
If approved by voters, that proposal, known as Measure ER, is expected to raise about $1 billion a year for county safety net health services, including about $100 million for the public health department.
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez
is an arts and general assignment reporter on LAist's Explore LA team.
Published April 2, 2026 4:20 PM
Water infrastructure such as pipes that feed water to drinking fountains and toilets at the Rose Bowl Stadium are getting an infusion of $1 million for fixes.
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Topline:
Rep. Laura Friedman today announced that she secured $1 million for improvements to the water infrastructure at the aging Rose Bowl Stadium as it prepares for a global starring role in the LA28 Olympics.
Why it matters: The pipes may be working fine — for now — but the fear of backed-up toilets as the world watches is an ongoing worry at the venue.
Why now: Public officials have been pushing for spending to improve Olympic venues and surrounding areas as L.A. and other municipalities roll out the red carpet for the world to attend the Olympics. But they’ve hit road bumps and detours.
The backstory: The Rose Bowl is 103 years old and public officials have committed to spending $200 million to upgrade the Pasadena venue over the next two decades.
The Rose Bowl in Pasadena may be a centenarian, but it’s holding up pretty well as it continues to host events on its way to a starring role in the LA28 Olympics.
But before it can host the soccer final, it needs fixes, especially to the infrastructure serving the bathrooms and drinking fountains. Fears of a toilet backup while in the world’s spotlight led Rep. Laura Friedman to seek federal funds for upgrades. On Thursday she announced she secured just over $1 million.
“Two years from now, athletes around the world are going to compete for gold right where we are standing. This is not the time to find out whether or not these pipes are up to the task,” Friedman said.
The planned work, she added, will lead to improved water flow capacity and water drainage, eliminating the risk of backups and emergency maintenance.
The funds came from the House of Representatives Interior and Environment subcommittee. The fixes, an official said, will be completed by the LA28 Olympics.
The funds, however, are a drop in the bucket when it comes to what’s needed to make needed improvements to the Pasadena venue.
Officials, including (left to right) Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation President Dedan Brozino, Deputy Fire Chief of the City of Pasadena Tim Sell, Congresswoman Laura Friedman, and Rose Bowl Stadium CEO Jens Weiden announced infrastructure funding for the 103-year old Rose Bowl.
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“Over the next 20 years there's about $200 million that we need to put in and that's everything from updating light fixtures to updating gas, water, wastewater lines, etc.,” said Dedan Brozino, president of the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, the nonprofit that supports the Rose Bowl stadium's preservation and enhancement.
Getting venues ready will be expensive
The money is a much-needed win at a time when elected officials in city, county, state and federal offices have been struggling to find the funds to get L.A.-area venues ready for the global Olympic stage in two years.
The entrance to a men's bathroom at the Rose Bowl.
Additionally, to save money, LA28 organizers moved Olympic diving to the Rose Bowl complex last year because it has two Olympic-sized pools, while the Exposition Park complex doesn't and would need expensive upgrades.
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Kevin Tidmarsh
is a producer for LAist, covering news and culture. He’s been an audio/web journalist for about a decade.
Published April 2, 2026 3:39 PM
This Cape vulture chick hatched March 14 at the L.A. Zoo.
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The zoo said it’s the first major breeding success in its Cape vulture habitat, which opened up last year. The chick now joins the zoo’s committee — that’s the name for a group of vultures.
About the chick: The chick hatched on March 14. The zoo opened its Cape vulture enclosure in February 2025 after years of planning to encourage the birds to roost and nest, welcoming a new breeding pair that year. When it grows to be an adult, it’ll have a wingspan of eight and a half feet.
About the enclosure: The L.A. Zoo said it spent years developing the vulture habitat, which was designed to mimic the vultures’ natural environment in South Africa. Dominick Dorsa II, the zoo’s director of animal care, said in a statement the successful hatching is “a testament to the design and construction” of the habitat.
How to see the chick: You can’t for the time being. Zoo officials are keeping it away from visitors until the chick matures, though you can still see adult Cape vultures at the zoo’s enclosure.
Though visitors will have to wait until the chick matures to see it in the enclosure, you can still take in the impressive eight and a half foot wingspan of the adult Cape vultures.
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What zoo officials are saying: “Welcoming a Cape vulture chick is a thrilling moment for our team and a beacon of hope for African vultures,” the L.A. Zoo’s curator of birds Rose Legato said in a statement. “Vultures are one of nature's most misunderstood marvels, and I cannot wait for our guests to eventually watch this chick grow and learn just how vital they are to our ecosystems.”
About the species: Cape vultures are listed as a vulnerable species due to human activities and encroachment. According to the L.A. Zoo, African vultures are more closely related to eagles and hawks than vultures native to the Americas, like the California condors that just hatched last year at the L.A. Zoo.
Topline:
The Los Angeles Zoo said it’s the first major breeding success in its Cape vulture habitat, which opened up last year. The chick now joins the zoo’s committee — that’s the name for a group of vultures.
About the chick: The chick hatched March 14. The zoo opened its Cape vulture enclosure in February 2025 after years of planning to encourage the birds to roost and nest, welcoming a new breeding pair that year. When it grows to be an adult, it’ll have a wingspan of 8 1/2 feet.
About the enclosure: The L.A. Zoo said it spent years developing the vulture habitat, which was designed to mimic the vultures’ natural environment in South Africa and nearby countries. Dominick Dorsa II, the zoo’s director of animal care, said in a statement the successful hatching is “a testament to the design and construction” of the habitat.
How to see the chick: You can’t for the time being. Zoo officials are keeping it away from visitors until the chick matures, though you can still see adult Cape vultures at the zoo’s enclosure.
Though visitors will have to wait until the chick matures to see it in the enclosure, you can still take in the impressive eight and a half foot wingspan of the adult Cape vultures.
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Courtesy Jamie Pham/L.A. Zoo
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What zoo officials are saying: “Welcoming a Cape vulture chick is a thrilling moment for our team and a beacon of hope for African vultures,” the L.A. Zoo’s curator of birds Rose Legato said in a statement. “Vultures are one of nature's most misunderstood marvels, and I cannot wait for our guests to eventually watch this chick grow and learn just how vital they are to our ecosystems.”
About the species: Cape vultures are listed as a vulnerable species due to human activities and encroachment. According to the L.A. Zoo, African vultures are more closely related to eagles and hawks than vultures native to the Americas, like the zoo's California condors that hatched last year.
What should have been a celebration for formerly incarcerated youth completing a reentry program at the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory (BHAC) last week instead ended with seven students and two staff members detained by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to witnesses.
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Last week, seven students and two staff members from the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory (BHAC) were detained by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to witnesses. Now, BHAC staff and city officials are demanding answers from the LAPD, with some accusing officers of racial profiling.
What happened: According to the LAPD, officers observed a large group gathered on the corner of Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and Mott Street around 4:16 p.m. on March 26. The group, classified by police as an “aggressive gang group,” consisted of seven 18-year-old students from the BHAC’s Bridge Academy Movement (BAM) program and two BHAC staff members.
Allegations of racial profiling: In total, seven 18-year-old students and two staff members were detained. BHAC staff said one student and one staff member were taken to Hollenbeck Community Police Station and released less than two hours later after advocacy from community members and Councilmember Ysabel Jurado. According to Rene Weber, a teaching artist at the BHAC, the students had gone to coffee across the street at Milpa Kitchen as they often did. After Weber told the officers that all of the students were 18, they said they would investigate whether the group had any gang affiliation.
What is BAM? The BAM program pays formerly incarcerated youth to complete 200-250 hours in media and visual arts training to prepare them for creative careers. That day, students were set to showcase their work at the BAM program graduation for families and community members.
What should have been a celebration for formerly incarcerated youth completing a reentry program at the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory (BHAC) last week instead ended with seven students and two staff members detained by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to witnesses.
Now, nearly a week later, BHAC staff and city officials are demanding answers from the LAPD, with some accusing officers of racial profiling.
According to the LAPD, officers observed a large group gathered on the corner of Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and Mott Street around 4:16 p.m. on March 26. Authorities then requested backup for what they described as “a large group surrounding officers,” LAPD Public Information Officer Tony Im said.
The group, classified by police as an “aggressive gang group,” consisted of seven 18-year-old students from the BHAC’s Bridge Academy Movement (BAM) program and two BHAC staff members.
The BAM program pays formerly incarcerated youth to complete 200-250 hours in media and visual arts training to prepare them for creative careers. That day, students were set to showcase their work at the BAM program graduation for families and community members.
Rene Weber, a teaching artist at the BHAC, had been with the students setting up for the ceremony minutes before the incident occurred.
According to Weber, the students had gone to coffee across the street at Milpa Kitchen as they often did, when staff were alerted that they were being detained.
Weber said he arrived to find students and a staff member pressed against the wall in handcuffs.
Video from the scene, taken by a staff member at the BHAC, shows multiple officers surrounding the group. At one point, an officer orders a person to “get on the wall” and displays a stun gun.
“No, none of that, these are kids right here,” the staff member replies.
Another staff member, Teotl Veliz, recorded a large police response.
“I counted 12 cop cars, that’s at least 25 cops, and they had a helicopter,” Veliz said. “It was just so comedic, tragically comedic, that it was on their graduation day too.”
Officers established a perimeter with yellow tape along the side of Ashley’s Beauty Salon as local business owners and witnesses gathered around the students.
“I was just incredibly disappointed in LAPD… because it became so apparent to everybody, all at the same time, that it was racial profiling and nothing else,” Veliz said.
Weber said officers gave shifting explanations for the stop at the scene, including blocking the sidewalk and possible underage vaping. After Weber told the officers that all of the students were 18, they said they would investigate whether the group had any gang affiliation.
Police have not responded to questions about what led officers to believe that the group was gang-affiliated.
Weber recalled pleading with the officers to let the group go and explaining to them that they worked across the street. Community members and local business owners also stepped in to vouch for the students.
“Our job is to help them gain a new perspective on life,” Weber said. “They’re coming out of juvenile detention and they’re turning their lives around. We can do our part in keeping them off the streets and keeping them doing better but what does it mean if they’re going to be profiled and treated exactly the same way?”
In total, seven 18-year-old students and two staff members were detained. BHAC staff said one student and one staff member were taken to Hollenbeck Community Police Station and released less than two hours later after advocacy from community members and Councilmember Ysabel Jurado.
The incident ultimately resulted in an infraction for smoking a cannabis e-vape on a public sidewalk, according to a photo of the infraction shared with the Beat. LAPD did not provide details about the people taken to Hollenbeck Station or the infraction.
The graduation ceremony was cancelled that night and is expected to be rescheduled in April.
“Graduation should be a moment of pride and possibility — not fear,” Jurado said in a statement. “I’m seeking answers about what occurred, and this underscores the need for stronger relationships between law enforcement and community organizations so moments like these are protected, not disrupted.”
Carmelita Ramirez‑Sanchez, the conservatory’s executive director, said she was grateful to the community and Jurado for advocating for the students’ release. Jurado met her at Hollenbeck Station within 20 minutes of being alerted to the incident, she said.
“They had store owners, señoras, barbers, that ran out and were trying to explain to the police who our kids were,” Ramirez‑Sanchez said.
Still, she said the incident tarnished what should have been a joyous celebration.
“I imagine that what this does is derail this entire idea that you can be an active participant in your own restorative growth,” she said.
