Build With Strength Calls on Los Angeles City Council to Act Amid Growing Threat of Wildfires

The Silverado and Blue Ridge fires in California have grown and spread rapidly to multiple areas of Orange County. On just the second day of activity, the Silverado fire, which is now less than 50 miles from downtown Los Angeles, has grown to nearly 12,000 acres, putting multiple communities in danger and resulting in evacuations. The Blue Ridge fire has spread to 8,000 acres and nearly 1,000 firefighters have been sent to battle the blaze. Both fires are posing a significant threat to structures and homes with a significantly low containment level.

Build With Strength, the nationwide coalition formed by NRMCA of noncombustible building product manufacturers, organized labor, community organizations, fire safety professionals, engineers, architects and industry experts committed to strengthening the nation’s building codes and ensuring greater access to secure housing, highlights the need for legislation or local measures to address this devastating problem. The coalition is proud to support the “Building A Safer Los Angeles” motion that currently sits before the Los Angeles City Council, sponsored by City Council members Bob Blumenfield and Monica Rodriguez. The motion would greatly increase the safety of multifamily housing by requiring the use of noncombustible materials for construction of mid-rise (4-7 stories) commercial and multifamily structures. While the motion was approved unanimously by the council’s Planning and Land Use Committee in December 2019, it still awaits a hearing before the Public Safety Committee and has for months now. The threat of wildfires to the Los Angeles region highlights the need for this motion to advance now.

Sadly, the fire has directly affected many in the greater Los Angeles area, but has heavily impacted one of our own coalition members.

“As someone who was recently evacuated, this hits really close to home. The threat is real and is something that the City of Los Angeles and surrounding communities should be planning for,” said Tom Tietz, executive director of the California Nevada Cement Association and Build With Strength coalition member. “The Los Angeles City Council should get ahead of this problem and pass this motion so that communities are better protected and more resilient to these fires. They are more and more devastating each year and delaying a decision will only make future impact worse.”

To learn more about Build With Strength and how NRMCA can assist in your state’s advocacy, please contact Senior Vice President, State and Local Government Affairs, John Loyer, at 703-675-7603 or jloyer@nrmca.org.