Statement from Southern California Wildfire Response In Response to KCRW's Reporting on Our Department Southern California Wildfire Response (SCWR) strongly disputes several claims and characterizations made in KCRW's reporting about our department, our firefighters, and our history of emergency operations in Los Angeles. We have provided KCRW with more than 90 photographs, emails, and other
Los Angeles Volunteer Firefighters: Unpaid, Not Unprofessional The city's fire service began with volunteer companies. Held to professional standards, they still have a place in it. I grew up in a fire station. Both of my grandfathers, my grandmother and my mother all ran calls with the volunteer fire department, and when the tones dropped,
Fireworks Are Illegal in Los Angeles. All of Them. Before you light anything this Fourth of July, read this. Less than two years ago, Los Angeles burned. The Palisades, Eaton, Hurst, and Kenneth fires destroyed more than 16,000 structures, killed dozens of people, and displaced entire communities. The grass is dry again, the winds will
If You Were Under an Evacuation Order, You May Not Owe Rent for Those Days A new California law that took effect January 1, 2026 has quietly handed renters one of the most practical protections to come out of the state's wildfire response efforts. It's called Senate Bill 610, and if you were forced out
When the City Ran Out of Engines: How SCWR Held the San Fernando Valley During LA's Worst Fire Disaster. Most people found out about the January 2025 Los Angeles fires from a phone notification, a news alert, or smoke on the horizon. The volunteers of Southern California Wildfire Response (SCWR) were already in the field
