Big Tujunga Canyon has had homes within the Angeles National Forest for over 100 years.
Many are historical structures reflecting the diverse history of Los Angeles and local wilderness areas. Our group consists of canyon residents on National Forest land and private lots who have joined together to form the Big Tujunga Fire Safe Council, assessing unique community risks and making strategic plans for fire mitigation. Our mission and vision statements are drafted. We have four officers and 25-30 active participants.
“Big T” was ravaged by the Station Fire in 2009, losing over 50 homes to one of the most extreme wildfires in history to that point. Smaller fires have happened since, due in part to heavy picnic and commuter traffic. After the Station Fire, our VP built a website and email list to assist in fire recovery. Many participated in fundraising for people who lost homes and we became closer friends.
We have barbecues which are attended by the USFS fire crew from Station 13. We use a chat group to coordinate emergency calls & road closure alerts. Members do local trail work, trash pick up and have established trust with ANF leadership.
Goals & Objectives
Our goals include the following:
- Inspire a concerted & consistent effort among all homeowners to uniformly apply fire-safe defensible space & home hardening;
- Help homeowners find affordable insurance;
- Ensure that first responders have accurate information about homes, people, & water resources;
- Give crews potential secondary escape routes or turn-arounds;
- Encourage public visitors to Big T to be fire safe.
Where We Are
Members of the Big T FSC are all residents of Big Tujunga Canyon, within the Angeles National Forest.
