The Brief

Topanga Canyon’s nightmare fire scenario begins in the middle of the night when everyone’s asleep at home.

As blustery Santa Ana winds blow in from the east, a spark from a powerline or a passing car drops onto dry brush, starting a fire along the edge of the San Fernando Valley. As the flames grow, emergency services send out alerts, waking up thousands of residents throughout the area, telling some to shelter in place and others to leave.

It’s an increasingly likely situation as our vegetation dries out and winds pick up, according to Drew Smith, fire behavior analyst with L.A. County Fire.

“I would not be surprised,” Smith told me as we stood atop a helipad looking across the Transverse Ranges. “We are training for that.”

Emergency plans divide the area in and near Topanga Canyon into 10 evacuation zones.

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Courtesy Topanga Coalition for Emergency Preparedness

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With only a few arteries in and out of the canyon, Smith warns that a fast-moving wildfire could trap people on the canyon’s narrow roads, consuming everything in its path.

In a worst-case scenario, the fire explodes into a devastating tragedy akin to the 2018 Camp Fire in Butte County, which destroyed the town of Paradise, trapping people trying to escape. At least 85 people were killed.

“That’s one thing that keeps me up at night,” he said. “That worst-case scenario fire with our residents at home with limited options. It’s terrifying.”

Preparing for the worst-case scenario

A hilltop near the Eagle Rock fire road burns in Topanga Canyon State Park from the Palisades Fire on May 15, 2021 in Topanga, California.

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Brian Feinzimer for LAist

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It’s difficult to emphasize just how dangerous wind driven fires can be, especially where we were standing, near the top of Stunt Road, above Calabasas.

Looking out across the Santa Monica Mountains, you can see small communities tucked in between dense chaparral that hasn’t burned in 30 plus years. Meaning, there’s a whole lot energy ready to fuel fires that roll through.

If the Santa Ana winds are blowing, strong gusts can throw embers more than a mile ahead of a fire front, starting up spot fires all over.

And because of the steep and rocky terrain, firefighting hand crews and bulldozers might struggle to dig fire lines meant to help contain the fire.

Even with water drops from helicopters, containing a fire in nightmarish fall conditions can be all but impossible.

“We know that fire history tells us on a high risk day, if we don’t suppress a fire within the first 10 minutes, it has a high probability of extending to the Pacific,” Smith said.

Drew Smith is a fire behavior analyst with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

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Jacob Margolis

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LAist

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Smith estimates that it'd take one of these worst case scenario fires about four hours to sweep westward, from the San Fernando Valley to the Pacific Ocean, destroying communities along the way. Just as we saw during the Woolsey Fire in 2018, which made its way 17 miles across L.A. to Malibu in less than 24 hours, destroying 1,600 structures and killing killing three.

"Don't get lured into a false sense of security because we've had a very passive fire season in Los Angeles County," said Smith. "Under the right conditions, we have a high potential for a devastating fire in the Santa Monica Mountains that hasn't seen fire frequency in 25 years."

Topanga isn't the sole community at risk, the threat really applies to those throughout the Santa Monicas.

A key staging area: 69 Bravo

The helipad Smith and I were standing on is called 69 Bravo, and it’ll likely be one of the most important staging areas for firefighters when one of these fires does break out.

It sits at about 2,600 feet above sea level, offering views of Newhall Pass on one side and the Pacific on the other. Below the pads are four 8,000 gallon water tanks that automatically refill, there to be drawn on by helicopters and fire trucks that are working to head off flames on their run to the ocean.

The 69 Bravo helipad sits at about 2,600 feet in the Santa Monica Mountains. It offers views of the Transverse Ranges, the San Fernando Valley and the Pacific Ocean. A critical spot for firefighters battling flames nearby.

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Jacob Margolis

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LAist

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The four, 8,000 gallon tanks at 69 Bravo have open tops so that firetrucks and helicopters can draw directly from them. They automatically refill.

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Jacob Margolis

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LAist

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You can see a live view here.

How do you know if conditions are ripe for an extreme fire?

It’s quite likely that many fires will be started – all by people – in the coming months. Though, each won’t become a Woolsey level event.

So how do you know if you should be worried?

Smith laid out some of the key conditions he looks for to figure out if a fire is going to move fast:

• Temperatures above 80 degrees
• Relative humidities in the single digits
• Live plants with moisture levels at 80% or less (they’re usually around 55% by the fall)
• Strong, gusty winds

If you want to keep it simple, look out for red flag warnings from the National Weather Service, which indicate that extreme fire behavior is possible.

Check out their Fire Weather Snooper, which presents data from weather stations that are entering or in red flag territory.

On average we get eight red flag events per year, according to Smith, and on average each lasts three days.

How you can prepare and respond

If you live in a high risk area like Topanga Canyon and a red flag event is on its way:

Unsure if you live in a high risk area? Check out the state's Fire Severity Zone map for your county.

Listen to our podcast

How did wildfire risks get so bad? What can you do to stay safe? We have answers in our 2022 podcast, "The Big Burn," from LAist Studios.

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Jacob and retired L.A. County Fire Captain Derek Bart answer your burning questions.

The Big Burn: The Advice Episode

Jacob and retired L.A. County Fire Captain Derek Bart answer your burning questions.

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Thousands of students from schools across Los Angeles walked out Wednesday in peaceful protest of the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

The Los Angeles Unified School District estimated 4,400 students from about two dozen schools participated.

“ I think it's really empowering that we aren't being discouraged to [protest], but it's also really discouraging to have to live through this,” said Roybal Learning Center senior Melisa. 

“The reason I came out is 'cause we're so young and I feel like people always think that like young people don't have a voice and in reality we have one of the strongest voices,” said Jazlyn Garcia, a senior at  Alliance Gertz-Ressler High School. “I want people to go out and vote for midterms, pre-register to vote.”

Leonna, a senior at Downtown Magnets High School and daughter of immigrants from Cambodia, said she was thinking of her neighbors.  “We need to protect the people that make sure that the economy is running and make sure that our lives are the way that they are every day.”

Students said the Trump administration's immigration raids threaten their families, communities and education.

LAUSD estimated that several thousand students walked out.

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Sabrina Sanchez

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LAist

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Students said they were concerned for family and neighbors.

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Sabrina Sanchez

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LAist

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Alexis, a senior at Brío College Prep, said administrators locked down his campus after agents detained a nearby fruit vendor. “He was a part of our community,” Alexis said. “He would always be out there selling fruits to us after school.”

San Fernando Valley students at more than 40 schools plan to walk out Friday.

“Los Angeles Unified supports the rights of our students to advocate for causes important to them,” a district spokesperson wrote in a statement to LAist. “However, we are concerned for student safety at off-campus demonstrations as schools are the safest place for students.”

The district encouraged students to exercise their rights in on-campus discussions and demonstrations.

The University of Southern California board of trustees has appointed interim president Beong-Soo Kim to be its 13th full president.

Kim was named as the interim leader in February 2025 and began the role this summer. He most recently served as USC’s senior vice president and general counsel, and as a lecturer at the law school. Prior to joining USC, he worked at Kaiser Permanente and was a federal prosecutor for the Central District of California.

Kim succeeds Carol Folt, who was brought on to stabilize the university following a series of scandals under the administration before hers. She formally stepped down from her role in July, following criticism of her ability to handle student protests and concerns over fiscal stewardship.

Soon after his term began, Kim oversaw the university’s effort to manage a $200 million deficit, which also led to hundreds of layoffs.

“We did have to make some difficult decisions last year with respect to our budget and layoffs,” Kim told LAist. “And I'm really pleased that as a result of those difficult decisions, we're now in a much stronger financial position and really for a number of months have been really focusing on the opportunities that we see on the horizon.”

In a call with LAist, and joined by USC board chair Suzanne Nora Johnson, Kim touched on bright spots and some of his priorities. He also touched on the relationship between USC and the Trump administration before a sudden ending to the call.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

LAist: You've talked about addressing the mass layoffs and budget challenges. What do you see as the way forward?

Beong-Soo Kim: Our research expenditures have actually been going up over the last year, over the last couple of years. We're focusing on: How do we provide the best possible educational value to our students? We're focusing on how to maintain and strengthen our academic culture of excellence, open dialogue and engagement with different viewpoints.

And we're also really kind of leaning into artificial intelligence and asking questions as a community about how we incorporate AI responsibly into our education, into our operations, into our research. And there are obviously a lot of important ethical questions that we're working on, and it's really an quite an exciting time to be in the position that I'm in.

What are you excited for?

Well, a couple things that we're really looking forward to are, as part of the anniversary of the United States, we're going to be hosting a National Archives exhibition [of] founding documents in late April. We're also looking forward to helping host the L.A. Olympics in 2028. We have our 150th anniversary coming up in 2030 as a university.

So there's a lot that's on the horizon. We also have the Lucas Museum opening up across the street later this year and, of course, George Lucas is one of our most beloved Trojan alumni. So there's so much vitality, so much energy on the campus right now.

USC has, for the most part, avoided the sort of conflicts that the University of California system and elite private institutions across the country have had with the Trump administration. What can you share about how you plan to manage USC’s relationship with the federal government?

Well, we really make an effort to engage with all levels of government, as well as foundations, the private sector, community groups. That kind of engagement is really more important nowadays. Universities can't just go off on their own. It's important for us to partner and find opportunities to work with others. And that's what we've been doing.

And that's part of the reason why I think that our research has continued to go strongly. And I give a lot of the credit to our faculty and researchers who can continue submitting grant applications and continue to do research in areas that are critically important to the benefit of our community, our nation, and our world. And I think that we -—

Suzanne Nora Johnson: —Actually I'm so sorry, but we have to complete the board meeting, and we've got to run. Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it. We'll be in touch. Bye. Thanks. Bye.

Huntington Beach will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision striking down the city’s controversial voter ID law.

What’s the backstory?

Huntington Beach voters approved a measure in 2024 allowing the city to require people to show ID when casting a ballot. That contradicts state law — voters in California are asked to provide ID when they register to vote but generally not at polling places.

The ensuing court battle

The state and a Huntington Beach resident promptly sued the city over the voter ID law and won an appeals court ruling striking down the law. The California Supreme Court declined to review the decision earlier this month. The state also passed a law prohibiting cities from implementing their own voter ID laws.

Then, the City Council voted unanimously this week to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in.

Does the city have a shot?

The Supreme Court gets 7,000 to 8,000 requests to review cases each year. The Court grants about 80 of these requests, so the city’s chances of getting the court’s attention are statistically slim.

There’s also a question of whether or not the city’s voter ID case meets the Court’s criteria for review — SCOTUS addresses questions of federal law. Mayor Casey McKeon said it does, in a news release, noting a 2008 Supreme Court decision that upheld a state’s voter ID law — in Indiana. But Huntington Beach is a city, and the question in its voter ID case is whether or not a city can implement its own requirements for voting, even if it clashes with state law.

Go deeper

• Huntington Beach's controversial voter ID law is illegal
• Huntington Beach clashes with California over voter ID requirement in court
• HB Mayor defends Voter ID measure as Gov. Newsom seeks to ban it
• Listen 26:32

  The Trump Administration wants your confidential voter data. What’s behind their battle with CA and other states?