The Time To Get Ready For Major Wildfires Is Now

Here's the message from L.A. city officials: Get ready for major wildfires — and do it now! Clear the brush around your home, prepare an emergency kit and make sure you and your family have evacuation plans.
At an event held today at Van Nuys Airport, councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who represents the northeast San Fernando Valley, stressed the importance of preparation.
“It is important that we all do our part to have advanced preparation so that we both protect ourselves, protect our neighbors and allow our firefighters to have access to these areas and not be met with a mad rush of evacuations,” she says.
Rodriguez's district, located in the foothills, has a sizable equestrian community. Her office is setting up evacuation centers for horses and other large animals.
At today's event, officials also showed off the Erickson Skycrane helicopter, which can release 2,600 gallons of water at once. For the next 150 days, typically the peak of Southern California's fire season, it will be available to assist the L.A. Fire Department's existing helicopter fleet.