Becerra Returns to Altadena, Meets with Firefighters, Community Leaders, Announces Plan to Make Fire Safety Efforts More Affordable for California Families

While meeting with Eaton Fire survivors, Becerra discusses cutting wildfire risk, bringing insurance bills down, and setting one standard for a statewide emergency alert system that works

ALTADENA, CA – Fmr. HHS Secretary and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra visited Altadena today, meeting with Eaton Fire survivors and hearing directly from residents and community leaders about the challenges families are facing nearly two years into recovery efforts.

“We owe it to the survivors of California’s devastating wildfires, and to everyone we’ve lost, to ensure every community is protected against destruction,” said Sec. Xavier Becerra. “As Governor, I aim to make it affordable to fireproof our homes and communities against fire, bring insurance bills down, and set one standard for emergency alerts so warnings reach everyone in time. And I will support our firefighters with the resources they need and the workweek they deserve. If a fire takes your home, I will fight for you until you’re home again.”

In the last decade alone, California has seen fourteen of the twenty most destructive wildfires in its history. Over two million homes are in the state’s highest-risk areas, and 90% of them were built before modern fire safety standards were set. Making those homes fire-safe costs money working families don’t have – even as wildfire risk drives their insurance bills higher.

Today, Becerra announced a wildfire safety plan anchored by a commitment to affordability. He plans to invest in making homes and communities fire-safe – cutting fire risk and, over time, earning homeowners the insurance discounts fireproofing your home is meant to bring. The plan also sets one uniform standard for emergency alerts to reach everyone before disaster does, backs California’s firefighters, and rebuilds survivors’ communities faster.

Fire-Safe, Fire-Ready Communities Initiative

Your government asks you to protect your home against wildfire, which can be costly. As Californians face an affordability crisis, no family should have to choose between putting food on the table and protecting their home from wildfires. Fire-Safe, Fire-Ready Communities makes fireproofing communities affordable, using state resources as a force multiplier – stretching tax dollars further and providing direct grants to low-income Californians.

In addition to funding community fireproofing, Becerra’s initiative would create the first statewide plan to identify community wildfire risk and the most cost-effective ways to reduce it; and support local governments in developing mitigation plans.

Alerts That Work Initiative

Eighteen of the nineteen people who died in the Eaton Fire lived on the west side of Lake Avenue, where evacuation alerts came hours too late. In the Palisades, alerts went out after the roads were traffic-jammed, causing drivers to abandon their cars and run. Alerts That Work is Becerra’s response to a very real challenge: alerting communities at the right time, with the right message, and making sure everyone receives it.

This initiative proposes a uniform emergency alert protocol across California with standards that keep people safe: trained staff on call around the clock, alerts out within minutes, alert templates drafted long before disaster strikes with clear instructions that are written in the languages Californians speak, landmarks that people recognize, and in formats that reach everyone. Finally, the protocol standardizes a debriefing process after each incident to fix what fell short so every response is faster than the last.

Build More, Build Faster

As Governor, Becerra will sign an executive order declaring a housing emergency – to cut red tape where necessary so the Altadena and Palisades communities can build back even faster.

Supporting Our Firefighters

As Governor, Becerra will continue putting California’s best technology to work, predicting where the danger is, and where fire might grow. He will support firefighters with the resources they need and the workweek they deserve. Supporting firefighters means investing in the people who stand ready to protect Californians when we need them most, improving our firefighter retention rate, ensuring better pay and making safety a top priority.

Fighting for Californians

Donald Trump promised to “end the nightmare of delay” for Los Angeles families. Over a year later, they’re still waiting. The President is sitting on over $30 billion in aid while families drain their savings just to put their lives back together. It’s a broken promise with a price tag families are forced to pay every day. As Governor, Becerra will fight for every dollar Californians need and deserve to rebuild when disaster strikes.