Monthly Program Zoom Only: Rethinking Urban Fire Risk with Dr. Francisco Escobedo

Monthly Program Meeting held via Zoom ONLY.

Earlier Start– 7 pm

Date: Thursday, July 23, 2026   
Time: 7:00-9:00 pm: Program, Speaker will present via Zoom.   
 Location: ZOOM only: Special lecture on fire safety research  

Rethinking Urban Fire Risk 

What new research reveals about vegetation, defensible space, urban form and community vulnerability in the January 2025 Los Angeles Fires.  

Program description: The 2025 Eaton and Palisades fires exposed the limits of treating urban fire as simply a vegetation problem. Dr. Francisco Escobedo will discuss new research examining how vegetation, defensible space, urban tree cover, building density, structure proximity, and socio-ecological conditions shaped patterns of home loss in Los Angeles. 

The talk will explore why urban fire risk cannot be understood through one-size-fits-all vegetation reduction policies, and what these findings may mean for fire safety, landscape management, and urban resilience in Southern California. 

Dr Francisco Escobedo is a Research Scientist with the USDA Forest Service. With over 250 scientific publications to his credit, Dr. Escobedo is studying environmental sustainability and resilience of socio-ecological systems such as urban and community forests, the Wildland-Urban Interface, wildfire vulnerable communities and other ecosystems. “ 

Have questions for Dr. Escobedo?  Send them to sgm.newsletter@cnps.org ahead of time and we’ll pass them along.  

To Join via Zoom:

https://cnps-org.zoom.us/j/86854467070?pwd=UPcO4bABC5mlRCJS7vqBuqaFYT3415.1

Or go to https://zoom.us and enter meeting ID: 868 5446 7070
Passcode: 216326

Or by telephone: +1 720 707 2699
meeting ID: 868 5446 7070
Passcode: 216326

Note: We endeavor to record all programs when the speaker allows; however, due to possible unforeseen circumstances, we cannot guarantee it. Recordings of past programs are available via YouTube from our website recorded meetings page, Generally it takes roughly one week for new programs to be posted.