The Brief

Clara Solis would hate to lose the hedge outside her window. It’s on the sunny, south side of her house in Highland Park and it provides shade on hot days.

It also offers some protection against pollution from the 110 Freeway just two blocks away. Her neighbors have similarly placed plants.

“They don’t have a lot of green space, just a few shrubs right by their windows usually to kind of protect them from the sound and noise and from pollution,” she said.

But if new statewide fire safety regulations go into effect, Solis — and the many other Los Angeles County residents who live in fire hazard zones — will have to remove most plants from the areas closest to their homes.

“I am concerned that if they pass this, people are just going to go left and right cutting down trees,” Solis, a member of the Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council, said.

Specifically, the state Board of Forestry and Fire Protection is considering new rules during the final months of 2025 that would require homeowners in designated “very high” fire hazard zones throughout the state to clear the first 5 feet of space around their homes of any flammable materials, an area the agency refers to as “zone zero.”

Those flammable materials include landscaping such as bushes, hedges and flowers (with an exception for potted plants, which can be moved). The list also includes firewood, fallen leaves and attached fences that are made of combustible materials like wood. Well-maintained trees would be allowed in zone zero but only if the branches are pruned so that the lowest are at least 5 feet above the roof.

The intention is to create an “ember-resistant zone” around the home, providing fewer opportunities for a fire to spread to the building and improving safety for firefighters who may need to get close to the home in an emergency.

The acreage covered by zones deemed to be “high” or “very high” fire hazard have grown significantly throughout the state since Cal Fire updated its maps in March, which it does based on modeling using various types of data.

According to CalMatters, those zones combined make up about 3,626 square miles — an area almost twice the size of Delaware — and are home to approximately 3.7 million people.

In the city of L.A., the “very high” fire hazard zones have grown by 7% — representing an increase of as many as 30,000 homes — while in unincorporated L.A. County, that number has tripled.

And the same rules will apply to all very high fire hazard zones in California, including densely populated neighborhoods of Los Angeles, where for some residents, 5 feet is just about all that separates one house from the other or from the street.

Diana Nicole, an ecological horticulturalist and vice president of the Los Angeles Audubon Society, lives in a very high hazard zone in Studio City, an area where the new regulations will be in effect.

Five feet is the entire distance between Nicole’s house and the street. And the back side of her house is sloped and prone to mudslides. With zone zero, she would have to replace crucial landscaping with a retaining wall; she was quoted $80,000 for one a decade ago — a cost she cannot afford.

“That’s untenable,” she said.

These rules come at a time when L.A. is getting serious about its shade shortage as the threat of extreme heat grows. Shade is especially lacking in L.A.’s poorer neighborhoods. In July, a coalition of universities, local agencies and nonprofits announced ShadeLA, a new initiative to expand L.A.’s shade options, including planting and maintaining trees countywide.

Shaded areas, such as under trees, can feel 35 to 70 degrees cooler than in the sun.

And L.A. is going to need it. By 2050, about one in three days in L.A. is expected to be over 95 degrees.

Not everyone believes in zone zero

California passed a law to regulate these ember-resistant zones in 2020, but implementation stalled until February of this year, when Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order to enact rules by the end of 2025.

After months of holding workshops in Sacramento, the Board of Forestry held its first public meetings in Southern California last month. Hundreds of people attended the Pasadena town hall–style meeting Sept. 18, and over the course of nearly seven hours, about 75 L.A. County residents spoke. Most were critical of zone zero, including some who had lost their homes in the Eaton and Palisades fires.

But even the critics were not entirely opposed to the rules. Most seemed to agree that replacing wood fences with an ember-resistant material is a good idea. Removing firewood and dead leaves, also good. But the statewide, one-size-fits-all rules on vegetation rankled most of them.

The science behind getting rid of plants in zone zero, however, is not exactly settled.

A recent study led by Francisco Escobedo of the Forest Service suggested that the type and moisture level of vegetation in zone zero matters — that well-hydrated vegetation might not pose a threat — and that it varies among regions within California.

Max Moritz, a wildfire specialist with the University of California Cooperative Extension at UCSB, saw some evidence of this as he toured the Altadena burn area with colleagues in April. He said what they saw on the ground didn’t quite line up with the proposed zone zero rules on vegetation.

“We were seeing lots of homes that burned with green vegetation around them," he said. "And many times, if that green vegetation was scorched, it was scorched from the home itself burning.”

The Board of Forestry plays down the importance of the Forest Service study, citing the limitation of its methods, and points to other research that supports zone zero.

The price of compliance

Once enacted, the owners of existing homes will have three years to comply with the new rules. The costs could be high. An estimate to implement ember-resistant renovations — similar to the current zone zero proposal — for a home in Auburn, near Sacramento, was about $13,000. For most people in L.A., rules enforcement will fall to local fire departments, and it’s unclear how that will work.

Wendy Sotelo, co-founder of Corazón Tlalli, an environmental nonprofit, and a member of the North Hollywood Northeast Neighborhood Council, said some residents will attempt to take matters into their own hands to avoid the hassle.

“Unfortunately, that is what’s happening around my neighborhood, and it causes trees to be pruned incorrectly,” she said. “And they eventually die. Or they become a liability to their property.”

Sotelo wants to educate gardeners on how to make sure their plants and trees thrive.

“I feel that there are other ways to take care of this instead of being so reactive,” she said.

Residents may send written comments to the Board of Forestry at publiccomments@bof.ca.gov.

California voters will advance two candidates for governor to the November election in the most unsettled gubernatorial race in recent memory, concluding a long and winding primary campaign in which Democrats struggled to pick a new leader for the nation’s most populous blue state.

The decision comes at a particularly consequential time for California. Residents face a crushing cost of living, nation-topping gas prices made worse by the war in Iran, wildfire risks that have driven insurance companies out of state, an unstable state budget, impending federal cuts to the state’s expansive health system and an economy dampened by immigration enforcement.

Democratic former state Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who has promised to fight Trump and freeze insurance and utility rates, is the leading Democrat in opinion polls and is favored by much of the state’s Democratic establishment. He appeared in contention to secure one of the top two spots for November heading into Election Day.

Republican Steve Hilton, a Donald Trump-endorsed former Fox News host who has vowed to cut income taxes and slash environmental regulations, was polling in second place ahead of Election Day, having consolidated support from many of the state’s conservatives.

But billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer, a progressive Democrat who has self-funded his campaign to the tune of $213 million, was still fighting for one of the top spots. A series of polls released in the final days of the race showed Becerra in the lead with roughly a quarter of likely voters’ support, and Steyer and Hilton locked in a tight battle for second.

Votes could take days or weeks to tally. Pollsters and strategists noted that lingering Democratic uncertainty led some voters to wait so they could back whoever appears to be ahead.

“Those polls could become self-fulfilling,” said Paul Mitchell, a Democratic strategist whose company tracks ballot return data.

The race to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, who will leave office at the end of the year due to term limits, is the marquee contest on the ballot Tuesday. The seat is considered a shoo-in in November for Democrats, who have nearly twice as many registered voters as Republicans, and holds national importance for the Democratic Party’s pushback to the Trump administration.

It’s also been one of the most unusually open races in recent state history.

No Democratic stars in the race

In contrast to decades of California politics dominated by movie stars, family dynasties and larger-than-life personalities, none of the most recognizable Democratic names jumped into the race.

That led to a crowded field on the left, briefly causing liberals to panic that Hilton and a fellow Republican, the bombastic Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, could each garner more votes than any Democrat, locking the party out of the general election. The state Democratic Party began a public pressure campaign asking lower-polling candidates to drop out. Nearly all stayed in the race.

But when Democratic then-Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out over multiple sexual assault allegations, Becerra was the clear beneficiary, raking in many of Swalwell’s donors and supporters. He’s been surging ever since, successfully dodging criticism of his record. Steyer, who spent $200 million boosting his name recognition through campaign ads, consolidated much of the party’s left flank. Former Rep. Katie Porter, a progressive dogged by allegations about her temperament, fell behind. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, a moderate backed by Silicon Valley billionaires, rose from single digits in the polls, but not enough.

Trump’s endorsement of Hilton quickly helped him pull away from Bianco, making it unlikely both Republicans would come in first and second. If Hilton advances to the November election, he faces long odds of being elected against a Democrat.

Both he and Steyer have spent the final weeks of the campaign portraying Becerra as a symbol of the status quo and themselves as agents of systemic change amid multiple state crises, with affordability dominating the race.

For Hilton, that would mean ending 16 years of “one-party rule” under Democrats, slashing spending and reversing many liberal policies such as greenhouse gas reduction mandates, the progressive tax system and parts of the social safety net.

“After 16 years of everything being in one direction, that’s left a lot of people dissatisfied,” he said last week. “Anybody who wants change or balance in our politics, the only choice is for me.”

His name recognition as a former Fox host helped him start the race with a fan base. Nancy LeVesque, a retired salesperson from Roseville, already admired him and said he was an easy choice as she dropped off her ballot at a Placer County vote center on Monday. She liked that he would bring an outsider’s perspective to the governor’s office and a change for those leaving California because of its liberal politics.

“We have lost so many good people,” to other states, she said.

Steyer styled himself as a populist “class traitor” who would force lower costs for Californians by taking on monied special interests like investor-owned utilities, the real estate industry and health insurance corporations. He made a litany of progressive promises on climate change, single-payer health care and raising taxes on the wealthy.

Undecided voter Tina Varnado attended a rally last week for Steyer hosted by her union, which represents home health aides. The South Sacramento resident is a full-time caretaker for her elderly mother and her adult daughter who had open-heart surgery. Between her mother’s social security checks and her pay as her daughter’s health aide, “we do have to spend everything we have every single month” to stay afloat, she said.

“Everything he touched on really touched home for me,” she said after hearing Steyer speak. “If we can lower prices, maybe we can start putting money down on a home for my future.”

Becerra has emphasized his long experience in government, including his lawsuits against the first Trump administration and his time as U.S. Health and Human Services secretary during the pandemic.

That appealed to Evan Cragin, of the California Young Democrats, which endorsed Becerra weeks before his sudden surge. Cragin said he wants the next governor to have government experience to push back on federal “abuses” from the Trump administration.

“Secretary Becerra has done that before,” Cragin said.

Surrounded by supporters at the offices of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California on Monday, Becerra dismissed his opponents’ promises, pointing to past accomplishments including passing the Affordable Care Act and defending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration program.

“You can have all these great inflated promises,” he said. “Getting things done is not easy.”

Ryan Sabalow contributed reporting.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

May gray has come and gone, and now it's time for June gloom.

Overcast skies will be present this morning, especially along the beaches and valleys closest to the coast. Otherwise, we're in for a partly cloudy afternoon.

Today's temperatures at L.A. County beaches will stay around 66 to 71 degrees, and reach 76 to 80 degrees for places more inland.

In Orange County, expect similar temperatures with highs from 67 to 74 degrees for Huntington Beach and surrounding areas. More inland areas like Anaheim and Garden Grove will see temperatures of up to 79 degrees.

Moving on to L.A. County valleys, expect high temperatures in the low to mid 80s.

In the Inland Empire, temperatures will range 80 to 89 degrees.

Election Day is here, but now comes the waiting.

Do you have something to watch on Netflix? Maybe you've been meaning to pick up a hobby — how about crochet? Whatever you do, take a deep breath and keep busy because it could be days (or weeks) before we get some California election results.

The state is often knocked by the rest of the country as being "slow" to count votes. But here's the deal: that's a feature, not a bug, of the election system.

The backstory

Things take a while here largely because California works so hard to expand the ways people can vote. For example:

• Californians in recent years overwhelmingly vote by mail — nearly 90% of votes cast in the 2024 presidential election were mail-in ballots. In that same year's primary the percentage was just as high. Those ballots can be postmarked up to and including Election Day. They're counted as long as the ballot arrives within seven days (for the June primary, that's June 9).
• California offers same-day voter registration at any voting center. These new voters must cast a provisional ballot, which is counted once election officials confirm their eligibility (they are overwhelmingly accepted — for example, Los Angeles County reports that historically between 85% to 90% have been counted.
• Voters also have the right to cast provisional ballots if there's any problem on election day — like if poll workers aren't able to void an outstanding mail-in ballot, or if there’s any issue calling up voter information from e-pollbooks. Again (see above), provisionals take longer to process because eligibility has to be confirmed.
• Vote-by-mail ballots require signature matching. When the one received doesn't match the one on file, county registrars must contact that voter to let them know — and give them the chance to correct it.
• And, with more than 23 million registered voters, we're really, really big. In the 2024 general election more than 16 million Californians voted (down from nearly 18 million in the 2020 presidential election). Either way, that’s more people than the total populations of all but three other states.

Why things have sped up, some

But things have sped up considerably in the 30 counties that have adopted a 2016 law called the Voter's Choice Act, including L.A., Orange and Riverside counties. In recent elections, the changes associated with that law — like voters not being locked into a designated polling location — drastically cut down the number of provisional ballots cast, which helped move things along faster than they had before.

A closer look at ballot counting times in California where an increasing number of vote-by-mail ballots has slowed ballot counts.

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Courtesy California Voter Foundation

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Still, accuracy and a commitment to "expanding the franchise" — translation: allowing more people to vote — means the process is not designed to produce instantaneous results.

Why you should take a deep breath Election Night

You'll have to get that endorphin hit elsewhere on June 2.

A few things to keep in mind: You may recall that during the 2024 primary, it took about a week to call the results for L.A. City Council races in District 4, where incumbent Nithya Raman was fighting to avoid a runoff election, and District 14, where challenger Ysabel Jurado wound up overtaking incumbent Kevin de León by just a few hundred votes.

It took an even longer 15 days to call the results of Prop. 1, during which opponents conceded, walked back that concession, and conceded again when the measure won by a razor-thin 0.4% margin. And it took 23 days to call the second-place winner for Orange County's 45th congressional district — it ultimately went to Democrat Derek Tran who went on to beat Republican Michelle Steel in the general election. Tran is now up for reelection and rematch with Steel is considered likely in November.

Depending on how close some of these races end up being, we may face similar waits this election cycle.

TL;DR: Officially, county and state election officials have until July 10 to certify election results — including a mandatory audit that requires hand-counting all of the ballots at 1% of precincts. Nevertheless, you're going to see a lot of national media headlines about California's relative "slowness." Brush it off. We have sunshine, beaches, and a highly enfranchised population.