More than 100 policymakers, wildfire practitioners, organizations, and community members gathered in the Crest Theater in Sacramento on March 4 to watch the documentary “Weathered: After the LA Firestorms” and explore the role of home mitigation and policy solutions in reducing wildfire risk at the home and community scale. 

Event co-hosts state Senator Ben Allen, Assemblymember Steve Bennett and state Senator Sasha Renée Pérez announced that earlier that day they had introduced some bills aimed at improving wildfire resilience. 

The documentary viewing was preceded by a panel discussion moderated by Eric Horne, California Director of Megafire Action. The panelists provided a thoughtful discussion about what support communities need to protect their homes against catastrophic wildfire. 

Yana Valachovic, UC Cooperative Extension forest advisor, shared her research-based ideas of how to protect homes from wildfire. She was joined onstage by Keegan Gibbs of the LA Community Fire Brigade, Jason Brooks of Fire Aside, and Trip Jennings, the Weathered series director. 

Valachovic was asked what deters people from hardening their homes against wildfire.

“The biggest barrier in my mind is that people don’t see the flammability of their structure,” Valachovic said. “They don’t see what the risk is and it’s hard to take action for something that you don’t understand. I think we’re sending confusing messages around what that risk is and this movie does a fantastic job of helping define that and helping see how those simple, low-cost actions can make a significant difference.”

In “Weathered: After the LA Firestorms,” host Maiya May returned a year later to document the residents’ recovery. She interviewed Gibbs along with Eaton and Palisades fire survivors. What she found shocked her: communities still navigating immense loss, bureaucratic roadblocks, and unresolved questions about what went wrong. Yet amid the challenges, she was uplifted by the determination, innovation, and solidarity taking root. Her investigation leads to an emerging, hopeful blueprint for wildfire-resilient communities — one that could reshape how cities prepare for a hotter, more fire-prone future. 

The documentary can be viewed at https://www.pbs.org/video/weathered-after-the-la-firestorm-elfmgu.