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Fire doesn’t just affect wildlands—it reaches into our urban neighborhoods, streetscapes, and community forests. As Southern California faces increasingly complex fire impacts, understanding how urban and community trees factor into planning, response, and recovery is critical.
Join CAL FIRE, the USDA Forest Service, and the Council for Watershed Health for a three-part webinar series exploring how agencies, communities, and partners can better plan, respond, and recover in the face of post-fire challenges. Each session will feature experts and guest speakers sharing insights on essential topics.
SAVE THE DATES
DAY 1
DAY 2
DAY 3
DAY 4
Wednesday, October 29, 1:30 - 3:30PM PT
Wednesday, November 5, 1:30 - 3:30PM PT
Wednesday, November 12, 9:00 - 11:00AM PT
In-Person Gathering Early 2026
Registration required for each webinar
International Society of Arboriculture CEUs available for certified arborists
PROGRAM
WEBINAR 1 | Planning for the Future
Wednesday, October 29, 2025 | 1:30 - 3:30 PM (PT)
1:30 – 1:35 PM | Welcome & Introductions
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Walter Passmore, State Urban Forester, CAL FIRE Urban and Community Forestry Program
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Miranda Hutten, Region 5 Program Manager, USDA Forest Service
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Eileen Alduenda, Executive Director, Council for Watershed Health
1:35 – 2:05 PM | Fire in the Wildland Urban Interface vs. Urban Areas
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Dr. Francisco Escobedo, Research Scientist, Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service
2:05 – 3:10 PM | Guidance on Tree Safety Near Homes: Identifying and Reducing Fire Hazards
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J. Lopez, Executive Director, California Wildfire Mitigation Program Authority
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Igor Lacan, University of California Cooperative Extension Advisor, San Francisco Bay Area
3:10 – 3:25 PM | Moderated Q & A
3:25 – 3:30 PM | Closing Remarks & Next Webinar Preview
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Closing survey to engage interest in future topics
WEBINAR 2 | Research and Response
Wednesday, November 5, 2025 | 1:30 - 3:30 PM (PT)
1:30 – 1:35 PM | Welcome & Introductions
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Walter Passmore, State Urban Forester, CAL FIRE Urban and Community Forestry Program
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Miranda Hutten, Region 5 Program Manager, USDA Forest Service
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Eileen Alduenda, Executive Director, Council for Watershed Health
1:35 – 1:45 PM | Urban Forest Management and Planning
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Rebecca Ferdman, Sustainability Policy Director, Los Angeles County Chief Sustainability Office
1:45 – 2:10 PM | Post-Fire Tree Risk Assessment Protocol for Western Urban Forests
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Alessandro Ossola, Associate Professor, University of California, Davis
2:10 PM – 2:35 PM | Post-Fire Tree Risk Assessment Protocol for Western Urban Forests
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Christopher Shogren, Environmental Horticulture Advisor, UC Cooperative Extension, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, Los Angeles County
2:35 – 3:00 PM | Water Supply Challenges in an Era of Increasingly Urban Wildfires
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Edith de Guzman, Water Equity and Adaptation Policy Cooperative Extension Specialist, Adjunct Assistant Professor, UCLA Department of Urban Planning
3:00 – 3:20 PM | Moderated Q & A
3:20 – 3:30 PM | Closing Remarks & Next Webinar Preview
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CEUs and closing survey to engage interest in future topics
WEBINAR 3 | Conservation, Protection and Recovery
Registration Link
Wednesday, November 12, 2025 | 9:00 - 11:00 AM (PT)
9:00 – 9:10 AM | Welcome & Introductions
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Walter Passmore, State Urban Forester, CAL FIRE Urban and Community Forestry Program
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Miranda Hutten, Region 5 Program Manager, USDA Forest Service
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Eileen Alduenda, Executive Director, Council for Watershed Health
9:10 – 9:30 AM | CAL FIRE’s GIS Analysis of Urban Tree Canopy Loss in SoCal Post-Fires
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Francesca Rohr, Research Data Specialist, CAL FIRE Urban and Community Forestry Program
9:30 – 10:15 AM | Grassroots Greening & Restoration: Partnering with NGOs and Communities to Co-Design Recovery Efforts
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Claire Robinson, Executive Director, Amigos de Los Rios
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Jeff Perry, Founder, Angel City Lumber
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Rebecca Latta, Consulting Arborist, Altadena Green
10:15 – 10:40 AM | Initial Findings: Post-Fire Tree Species Survivability in the Eaton Fire
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Dr. Francisco Escobedo, Research Scientist, Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service (sharing preliminary findings from Jeremy Yodder, Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at California State University Northridge)
10:40 – 10:50 AM | Moderated Q & A
10:50 – 11:00 AM | Closing Remarks & Next Webinar Preview
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CEUs and closing survey to engage interest in future topics
PANELISTS
WEBINAR 1
Igor Lacan
J. Lopez
University of California Cooperative Extension Advisor, San Francisco Bay Area
Executive Director,
California Wildfire Mitigation Program Authority
WEBINAR 2
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Dr. Alessandro Ossola
Associate Professor of Urban Science, University of California, Davis and Director of the Urban Science Lab
Edith de Guzman
Water Equity and Adaptation Policy Cooperative Extension Specialist, Adjunct Assistant Professor, UCLA Department of Urban Planning
Christopher Shogren
Environmental Horticulture Advisor, UC Cooperative Extension, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, Los Angeles County
Rebecca Ferdman
Sustainability Policy Director,
Los Angeles County Chief Sustainability Office
WEBINAR 3
Claire Robinson
Dr. Francisco Escobedo
Francesca Rohr
Executive Director,
Amigos de Los Rios
Research Social Scientist at USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station
Research Data Specialist, CAL FIRE Urban and Community Forestry Program
Jeff Perry
Founder,
Angel City Lumber
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Rebecca Latta
Consulting Arborist,
Altadena Green
HOSTS
Eileen Alduenda
Executive Director,
Council for Watershed Health
Miranda Hutten
Program Manager, Pacific Southwest Region, USDA Forest Service, Urban and Community Forestry Program
Walter Passmore
State Urban Forester,
CAL FIRE Urban and
Community Forestry Program
RESOURCES
Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK):
Selected Research
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California’s native trees and their use in the urban forest
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Exploring urban vegetation type and defensible space’s role in building loss during wildfire-driven events in California
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Increasing wildfires and changing sociodemographics in communities across California
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Post-Fire restoration and recovery manual for western urban forests
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Redefining expectations for urban water supply systems to fight wildfires
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Urban forest cover and ecosystem service response to fire varies across California communities
Mental Health:
Tree Canopy:
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American Forests: Tree Equity Score
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CalFire: California Urban Tree Canopy Viewer
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CalFire: Fire Hazard Severity Zone classes from the map dated March 24, 2025
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CalFire: Historic Fire Perimeter Zones
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CalFire: Urban and Community Forestry Hub
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Post-Fire Restoration and Recovery Manual for Western Urban Forests
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Trees Damaged by Fire: What not to do and what to do
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USDA: California's Urban Tree Canopy
Tree Selection:
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Selectree - Best Medium to Large Trees for California’s Climate Future
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Selectree - Small to Medium Trees for California’s Climate Future
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Selectree - Trees of Altadena (not all recommended for replanting)
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UFEI - Urban Tree Detector
Defensible Space and Home Hardening:
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CAL FIRE: Defensible Space
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CAL FIRE: Home Hardening
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UCANR: Sustainable and Fire Resistant Landscapes
Soil Resources:
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301 Organics | Sustainable Composting Solutions for Soil Restoration
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Center for Applied Ecological Remediation
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How to fix polluted soil after L.A. fires without scraping - Los Angeles Times
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SoilWise
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Testing soil safety after L.A. wildfires - USC
Urban Forestry Organizations Working on Post-Fire Recovery in Southern California:
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Altadena Green (currently offering low cost tree assessments)
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Altadena Wild
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Amigos de los Rios (currently offering tree watering)
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City Plants
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Resilient Palisades
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Theodore Payne Foundation
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Tongva Taraxat Paxaavxa Conservancy
Please consider tax deductibles donations to the groups listed above.
News & Media:
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After LA fires, Altadena pushes to save its cherished trees - CSMonitor.co
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After the Eaton Fire, this group is working to save Altadena’s surviving trees | LAist
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Altadena conservation group rallies to save local trees – NBC Los Angeles
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As trees get chopped down in Altadena, residents fear for future - Los Angeles Timesv
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CalFire Contacts:
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Shawn Arnold, Battalion Chief, Fire Hazard Severity Zones – Shawn.Arnold@fire.ca.gov
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Steven (Brian) Barkley, Battalion Chief, Defensible Space – Steven.Barkley@fire.ca.gov
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Kristine Schaefer, Battalion Chief, Subdivision Review – Kristine.Schaefer@fire.ca.gov
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Jimmy Barraza, Fire Captain, Fire Captain - is the LA area Land Use Planning Program representative
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Dead trees do not do not create more flammable environments - Chaparral Institute
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How to fix polluted soil after L.A. fires without scraping - Los Angeles Time
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LA Times Today: In Altadena, a fight to save the trees that survived the fire - Los Angeles Times
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LA Urban Center/UC Riverside 2025 Los Angeles Fire Workshop
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Social-Ecological Context and Its Role in Trees, People, Diversity, Equity, and the Ecosystem Services of Urban Forests – slides from USFS Pacific Southwest Research Station & LAUC talk, 2025
Post-Fire Recovery Resources:
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