How the city of Santa Monica responded to the recent wildfire emergency

February 14, 2025 9:05 AM
by David White

When a city is faced with an imminent emergency, often the first action it takes is to activate an Emergency Operations Center, or EOC, to centralize response and recovery operations. Amid the recent Palisades Fire, Santa Monica teams were called to serve and started a coordinated city response immediately upon learning of the brushfire in the Palisades.

While Santa Monica was fortunate to avoid fires within our city limits and did not experience physical damage, city teams played a vital role in the fire response.

In addition to the dedicated first responders involved in planning the emergency response, fighting the fires, and protecting life and property, every city of Santa Monica department contributed.

From cleaning up our streets and parks, shuttling displaced residents to shelters, tracking expenses to request federal reimbursement, keeping the community apprised with timely and accurate information – here’s a look behind the scenes at all the moving parts that went into Santa Monica’s wildfire response and ongoing recovery efforts.

Fire Department:

Deployed several engine companies to the fire response, with deployed fire personnel working 15 days straight.
Served at the Palisades Fire Command post, assisting with initial actions, decision making and inter-agency coordination and logistical support.
Provided logistical support, including the management of a 500-person camp on 28th Street.

Police Department:

Facilitated evacuations in the northern part of the city and assigned teams of lieutenants, sergeants, officers, and professional staff in overlapping shifts to monitor the evacuations zones 24 hours a day. All sworn and professional staff were called to work daily 12.5-hour shifts for the duration of emergency.
With partners at the National Guard and neighboring police departments, secured the city and protected property in the evacuated areas throughout the emergency, arresting 48 individuals in evacuation zones who were taking advantage of the crisis to try to commit crimes.
Kept the public informed on police operations with press releases, videos, and social media messages and provided critical information about curfew orders and other tools used by officers to address increased criminal activity in the city.

Public Works Department:

Established 24/7 operations to monitor the city’s utility systems.
Monitored reservoirs and hydrant pressure for fire response readiness, and adjusted systems to keep the city’s water supply safe for human consumption.
Cleared approximately 375 tons of vegetation debris, including palm fronds and fallen branches from city streets, parking lots and beaches in response to damaging local winds.
Leveraged the closure of PCH to proactively remove overgrown vegetation from the Santa Monica bluffs to prevent future fires.

Department of Transportation (DOT):

Provided Big Blue Bus shuttles to transport residents in evacuation zones to shelters, including an overnight shuttle adjacent to the evacuation order zone.
Transported residents of senior facilities to shelters and provided shuttle services again when it was safe for folks to return home.
Lent several beach parking lots to be staging areas for emergency personnel and other agencies and provided secured parking at the BBB yard for out-of-town strike teams’ fire engines.
Issued more than 254 free 30-day preferential parking permits and 30-day overnight beach resident permits to evacuees temporarily staying in Santa Monica, as well as to residents who have evacuees stay with them.
Coordinated traffic signal timing and traffic flow, quickly making complex traffic signal changes in accordance with road closures.
Evaluated and adjusted intersections and offramps for the emergency closures, made emergency red curb adjustments, and updated signage to keep drivers informed about closures.
Transit mechanics supported fire strike teams, primarily Santa Monica’s, but also ones from other counties and cities.

Community Development Department:

Provided communications and marketing support to the Santa Monica business community to amplify city emergency messages, with special emphasis on information for employers and the hospitality industry.
Launched an ongoing marketing and support campaign for Santa Monica businesses impacted by slower earnings as a result of the fires.
Worked with Fire, Mobility, CAO, and Public Works to assist in the safe, expedited relocation of Palisades schools displaced by the fires to commercial properties in the city.
Welcomed and assisted Palisades and Malibu businesses to Santa Monica, as well as displaced Palisades market vendors to the city’s farmers markets.
Waived Santa Monica Outdoors License Fees citywide for the month of February to help support nearly 100 restaurants suffering loss in sales due to impacts of fire.

City Manager’s Office:

The Office of Emergency Management, headed by Chief Resilience Officer Lindsay Call, coordinated all emergency response efforts across the city and in coordination with regional, state and national agencies as well as local hospitals, Santa Monica-Malibu School District, Santa Monica College, and our business community leaders.
OEM Public Safety Dispatchers handled 1,846 emergency calls on the day the fire started, more than three times the amount of calls they typically handle. Emergency dispatchers also tracked Police and Fire personnel throughout the event, facilitating curfew and firefighting operations.
The 311 team responded to hundreds of inquiries, worked extra hours, coordinated with the EOC to get needed information, and were a trusted resource for the community.
Sent SMAlerts emergency text notifications and Wireless Emergency Alerts to distribute information about evacuation orders and warnings. Register here.
The Communications Team, with support from staff across departments, kept the community informed with timely and accurate information on evacuations, road closures, air quality, ways to volunteer and donate, and other resources through our website, social media, videos, email newsletters, and collaboration with city partners and local media.

Information Services Department:

Ensured that the city’s cloud infrastructure stayed secure and could handle increased user demand. During the fire emergency, the santamonica.gov site saw a 1,500% increase in traffic.
Ensured the website and 311 application were operating 24/7 to provide critical information and services.
Created critical public safety, evacuation, and life safety maps that were viewed 1.8 million times over the course of the emergency.
Created dashboards to prioritize 311 cases around debris, fire hazards and fallen trees.

City Attorney’s Office (CAO):

Collaborated with staff across departments to draft, revise, and supplement an Emergency Order that provides vital assistance for those affected by the fires, including:

Prohibiting price gouging, including in rental prices;
authorizing schools and small businesses displaced by fires to operate in Santa Monica;
suspending enforcement of short-term rental laws to allow for more temporary and short-term housing opportunities;
preventing evictions of tenants who take in families and pets displaced by fires;
and modifying parking restrictions for people displaced by fires.

Sent advisal letters to 198 Santa Monica landlords and seven online rental platforms regarding price gouging laws, investigated more than 50 complaints and tips of potential rental price gouging; and sent more than 25 cease and desist and warning letters.

Human Resources Department:

Supported staff during the fires and in recovery, setting up a website with resources and looking into programs to allow other employees to donate personal time to their impacted colleagues.

City Clerk’s Office:

Facilitated a special City Council meeting to allow for adoption of the Emergency Proclamation and ratified the Proclamation.

Housing and Human Services Department:

Extended hours at the city’s CREST, PAL and VAP programs to support families in need of childcare amid school closures. Ensured a safe environment for more than 60 youth, keeping them engaged in games, movies, painting, art and crafts, basketball and more.
Supported voucher holders and residents who had to evacuate, and upstaffed phone lines to assist people who had been displaced by the fire.
Assisted with operating the weekly food pantry at Virginia Avenue Park, which serves 80 to 100 residents weekly.

Rent Control Office:

Maintained in-person and telephone services throughout the wildfires, ensuring support for community members on matters related to the emergency and routine rent control issues.
In coordination with the CAO, compiled and disseminated factual, up-to-date public information related to housing and price gouging.

Finance Department:

Facilitated emergency procurement of key resources in the emergency response, including website support services. • Monitored staff time and costs to pursue federal reimbursement.

Santa Monica Public Library:

Worked with the EOC and other departments to adapt policy to provide space accommodations for groups and families displaced or affected by the fires. • Created an information resource guide so that staff all had the same accurate and timely information to respond to inquiries from the public.

Recreation and Arts Department:

Facilitated disaster relief, community cleanup and outreach and parks and recreational facilities. • Provided rental space, swim space and sports facilities for displaced community members and athletics and aquatics groups.

Our work is still just beginning.

City teams are working to support displaced schools, businesses and residents. We are figuring out ways to support our employees who have lost their homes.

And many local businesses, in particular our restaurants, took a big financial hit from evacuations, road closures, and air quality concerns, and need support from the city, including in getting out the word they Santa Monica is safe, open for business, and ready to welcome everyone in our town.

For more information on Santa Monica’s response to the Palisades Fire, visit santamonica.gov/topic-explainers/palisades-fire.

And remember, being prepared and responding to disaster takes the whole community. To learn more about preparing for any emergency, visit santamonica.gov - Emergency Preparedness.

Authored By

David White
City Manager

Authored By

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