The City Council Tuesday authorized the use of $125,000 for fire-readiness measures that are expected to benefit communities in northeast Los Angeles.
In a unanimous vote, council members approved two separate but related motions introduced by Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez to provide the Los Angeles Fire Department with $50,000 and a nonprofit with $75,000 for the development of a disaster resiliency plan.
The funds will come from specific accounts designated for Hernandez’s First District, which encompasses neighborhoods such as Glassell Park, Highland Park, Chinatown, Echo Park, Westlake and Pico Union, among others.
The LAFD is expected to use the $50,000 to expand its Community Emergency Response Team program to reach more residents of CD1. The disaster preparedness training is designed to teach residents and families how to respond to major disasters, according to the councilwoman’s motion.
With several northeast LA neighborhoods located in very high fire hazard severity zones, the councilwoman aims to establish a multilingual in-person and virtual CERT program for her constituents.
Hernandez intends to use the $75,000 to bolster the work of MySafe:LA, a nonprofit organization that delivers fire prevention and disaster readiness programming.
The nonprofit is a formal partner of the LAFD and has previously partnered with the First District council office on wildfire safety fairs.