Get in touch with us at palisadesforestry@gmail.com
Resources
Fire Resources: Trees & Plants
This list, compiled by Palisades Forestry Committee, is for residents to find trees for home yards, schools, and parks (not for parkway street trees).
No tree is perfect. They are living creatures like the rest of us.
Tree selection is a compromise and a search for the right tree for the right place!
Fire Tolerant Tree List compiled by Palisades Forestry Committee. Some trees may not be suitable for your specific climate zone, growing space, proximity to hardscape and structures, or water requirements. Plant the right tree for the right place!
Reference created by the Britton Fund, who support arborists with research and education. Written in part by our local Registered Consulting Arborists Carl Mellinger and Lisa Smith.
Tree Waiver Option Now Available for Property Owners Enrolled in Federally Funded Debris Removal. Sign up now!
StreetsLA Urban Forestry Division rebuild process on trees and what to do.
The Right of Entry (ROE) and Debris Removal Process from the Army Corps of Engineers.
Altadena Green is an organization helping property owners of the Altadena area with resources on how to save their trees.
Fire Resistant Plants, by Sustainable Defensible Space.
SoCal Fires: Past, Present and Future-Adaptations, Brentwood HOA presentation by Jon Keeley, 2-19-25.
“A California-Friendly Guide to Native and Drought Tolerant Gardens”, by Farah Snider. See page 54 for a list of fire-resistant plants.
“Brush Clearance Requirements”, by LAFD – Los Angeles City Fire Department.
Recommended Books
-
Firescaping Your Home: A Manual for Readiness in Wildfire Country, by Adrienne Edwards and Rachel Schleiger.
-
Firescaping: Protecting Your Home with a Fire-Resistant Landscape, by Douglas Kent.
-
Fire, Chaparral, and Survival in Southern California, by Richard W. Halsey.
Tree Resources
SelecTree: A tree selection guide from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo that describes trees in detail and with photos. Trees can be searched by their various characteristics, by site conditions, or by flowers & fruit. It also offers various tree lists for specific areas or purposes. The website comes from the university’s Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute.
~~~
Street Tree Spacing Guidelines, from Urban Forestry Division of StreetsLA:
-
Click HERE
~~~
StreetsLA, Bureau of Street Services, City of LA:
-
StreetsLA home page HERE
-
Report a Tree Emergency HERE
-
Report a Street Tree Violation HERE
-
Request a Tree-Related Permit HERE (scroll down for specific permit types) or email ufd-firerecoverypermits@lacity.org for tree-related permit assistance related to Palisades Fire recovery and rebuilding.
-
View the Tree Removal Notification List HERE
-
View all StreetsLA tree policies and guidelines HERE
Photographic Guide to City of Los Angeles Protected Trees & Shrubs
-
Click HERE
Tree Inventory Map
-
StreetsLA contracted Davey Resource Group to conduct the first inventory of the Los Angeles tree canopy in decades. Licensed arborists visited and assessed each street tree, stump and vacant planting location. This assessment that will help the city strategically manage its urban forest, identify planting opportunities, and calculate tree-related benefits.
-
Click HERE to view the tree inventory map. Move the map and zoom in to your area of interest (map may refresh slowly). You can click on individual trees (or empty tree sites) represented by colored squares or circles on the map. This brings up tree details including species and location. For further details (including photos if available) click on "View Site" (green button).
~~~
Urban Forest Manual 2024 Update, by Recreation and Parks Department, City of Los Angeles. The most up to date manual of best practices, including a long list of trees in “Appendix J. Recreation and Parks Department Tree Planting, Selection, and Maintenance Guidelines” at pp. 91-141. The Manual appears in the link after a 5 page Report to the RAP Board of Commissioners, which approved the Manual on February 6, 2025.
https://www.laparks.org/sites/default/files/pdf/commissioner/2025/feb06/25-005.pdf
~~~
Neighborhood Council Sustainability Alliance – NCSA:
-
NCSA Tree Committee: www.ncsa.la/trees
With links to:
-
Tree Removal Notices
-
Protected Tree Ordinance
-
Planting a Tree in Your Parkway? Here’s What You Need to Know
Public parkway tree was removed. Did the owner and contractor have a permit from the city’s Urban Forestry Div., StreetsLA?
Resilient Palisades:
Water Sages Team - Useful information on water usage and native/drought-tolerant landscapes: https://www.resilientpalisades.org/water-harvesting
~~~
Fire-Resilient Bioremediation & Landscape Recovery Consortium:
This Consortium working on soil bioremediation and fire-resilient landscape recovery in both the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire areas, is led by Resilient Palisades, Eaton Fire Residents United, and Centre for Applied Ecological Remediation.
Information on the Consortium website (click here) is updated regularly.
For questions, click here to email the Consortium.
~~~
TreePeople:
-
How to keep trees alive: https://treepeople.org/resource/how-to-keep-trees-alive/
-
What to do when a tree is at risk of being cut down:
https://treepeople.org/2024/10/08/what-to-do-if-you-think-a-tree-is-going-to-be-cut-down/
~~~
“Why Aren’t We Saving the Urban Forests?” OpEd in New York Times on April 22, 2024, by Margaret Renkl.
~~~
“Thelma Hansen Research Symposium – Trees to the Rescue: Solutions for Climate Change”, May 15, 2024.
~~~
Chaparral Wisdom article about Zone Zero
Government to Mom - Clear those Damn Azaleas!, January 2026
~~~
Cooling Urban Heat Islands Through Sustainable Landscapes
Research shows the cooling effects of sustainable landscapes - A summary of key findings (with link to the full research paper) is here.