Resources
Fire Resources (Trees & Plants)
Trees for Pacific Palisades
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 Trees
This incomplete Fire-Tolerant Tree List was compiled by the Palisades Forestry Committee. Some trees may not suit your specific climate zone, growing space, proximity to hardscape and structures, or water needs. Plant the right tree for the right place!
Trees Damaged by Fire – What Not to Do and What to Do
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.
Find an ISA Certified Arborist with TRAQ Credentials
TRAQ (Tree Risk Assessment Qualified) through TressAreGood.org
Find an ISA Certified Arborist with RCA Credentials
RCA (Registered Consulting Arborist) through ASCA Consultants
A California-Friendly Guide to Native and Drought Tolerant Gardens
By Farah Snider. See page 54 for a list of fire-resistant plants.
Altadena Green Website Resources
Altadena Green is an organization helping property owners of the Altadena area with resources on how to save their trees.
Streets LA Urban Forestry Streamlined Rebuild Overview
StreetsLA Urban Forestry Division rebuild process on trees and what to do.
SoCal Fires: Past, Present, & Future Adaptations Document
SoCal Fires: Past, Present and Future-Adaptations, Brentwood HOA presentation by Jon Keeley, 2-19-25.
Zone Zero
By Chaparral Wisdom, California Institute "Government to Mom – Clear Those Damn Azaleas" – January 21, 2026
Summary of Draft Zone 0 Regulation Language - August 2026
Draft approved by the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection at its August meeting.
My house didn’t burn but ash from the L.A. fires fell in my yard Can I eat from my garden? Is my soil safe?
Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times
Fire-Resilient Bioremediation & Landscape Recovery Consortium
This Consortium working on soil bioremediation and fire-resilient landscape recovery.
Recommended Firescaping 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
Learn the Essentials of Creating Beautiful, Fire-Resistant Properties, by Douglas Kent.
Tree Resources
SelecTree
A tree selection guide from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo that describes trees in detail and with photos.
Photographic Guide to City of Los Angeles Protected Trees & Shrubs
The City of Los Angeles has designated some species of trees as protected within its jurisdiction through the passage of two ordinances.
Request a Tree-Related Permit
From the Bureau of Street Services (Streets LA) Urban Forestry Division
StreetsLA
StreetsLA's Urban Forestry Division oversees the City of Los Angeles' robust tree canopy of 660,000 street trees, and is on hand to assist with all tree issues. Need help? We've got you covered.
Neighborhood Council Sustainability Alliance – NCSA
The Neighborhood Council Sustainability Alliance Trees Committee came together in July 2016 at an NCSA open space forum and continues to meet regularly by teleconference.
Resilient Palisades
Water Sages Team - Useful information on water usage and native/drought-tolerant landscapes
Cooling Urban Heat Islands Through Sustainable Landscapes
Research shows the cooling effects of sustainable landscapes - A summary of key findings.
Santa Monica Mosaic - A Cultural Landscape: The Treasured Trees of Pacific Palisades
Talks on our tree history, Will Roger's Park trees, and the future of trees after the fire.
Thelma Hansen Research Symposium – Trees to the Rescue: Solutions for Climate Change
Video from the University of California
Recommended Tree Books
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants
By Robin Wall Kimmerer
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How they Communicate - Discoveries from a Secret World
By Peter Wohlleben, et al.
