No one ever wants to face a natural or human-made disaster. But lessons can be learned from them. The biggest of these is learning how to prevent or limit the next such disaster. In California, a unit from the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) is seeking to do just that. Crew 4 not only battles active fires, but its members are working hard to prevent the next major blaze. Crew 4 also works to clear dry brush and invasive trees throughout local LA forests. Those materials can turn into fuel for fire embers that are blown by Southern California’s high winds. That's largely how the deadly LA wildfires of 2025 spread so quickly. The fires killed 31 people in the Altadena and Pacific Palisades communities. Thousands of homes and structures were destroyed. The crew was added because wildfires are becoming larger and deadlier than ever. California fires have increased over the past decades. The state’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment said that's mostly because of "changes in land use, fire management practices, and the impact of climate change." "We always have those high winds. We have the little fuel moisture and the very dry vegetation," LAFD Chief Adam VanGerpen told CNN. "... The fires are going to come," he noted. "But we’re here and ready to protect the citizens of LA." Added Fire Chief Jamie Moore: “The lessons from the Palisades Fire are shaping how we train, prepare, deploy resources, and how we work alongside the communities we serve.” Reflect: What do you think are some steps people could take ahead of time to help keep their community safer from disasters? Photo of California wildfire from Unsplash courtesy of Ross Stone.
