NEXT WHHO MEETING

WEDNESDAY, March 26, 2025 via Zoom

OUR GUEST SPEAKERS:

LAPD Senior Lead Officer, Brittany Gutierrez who will be joined by LAPD Motor Officer Parrillo.

If you are wondering why the homeless are still around and also what are the deadly facts and figures about speeding in our neighborhood, then this is the Meeting for you.

WHEN: This Coming Wednesday, March 26, 2025.

Time: 7:30 PM

Location: ZOOM

YOU CAN REGISTER HERE

Brittany Gutierrez, is the LAPD Senior Lead Officer for the area East of Topanga.

Officer Parrillo is the part of the Community Traffic Services Unit for Topanga Division, and he is station out of Valley Traffic Division

SLO Brittany Gutierrez will continue with last month’s discussion and will focus on crime stats, update on new trends being used during burglaries like cutting off electricity, removing alarm panels, etc, and crime prevention ideas. We hope she will help explain the process LAPD MUST follow to clear encampments especially in 41:18 areas (and what are hey anyway). She will also let us all know how important Neighborhood Watch is for each of us and how to start one in our neighborhood.

Officer Parrillo will discuss his role with LAPD and his assignments and will focus on Speeding in our neighborhoods and what can be done about it, Traffic fatalities and where and when are we all most venerable, the New traffic laws for 2025 and how we can keep on the right side of the law, and Statistics for the year opposed to last year.

This is an important meeting for your safety and to find out the facts and not rumors.

Come with your questions.

We look forward to seeing you there.

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THIS PAST JANUARY MEETING:

Special tanks to our Councilman Bob Blumenfield for his generous time answering questions at our January Meeting. He gave us an an update on what has happened in the Valley and what we can expect for the coming year. The Video will be posted HERE soon.

ALSO, congratulations to the WHHO 2025 Board Members. Work with them to help them work for all of us to make Woodland Hills even better.

Board Members for 2025.

• 2025 Officers
• President: John Walker
• Vice-President: Dennis DiBiase
• Vice-President: Marty Lipkin
• Treasurer: Shelly Schwartz
• Secretary: Nancy Porter
• Directors-at-Large:
• Ari Coine
• Colleen Schwab
• Scott Silverstein
•  
• These individuals work hard for our community and dedicated volunteers. They deserve your support and vote for the coming year.

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 FOR THOSE AFFECTED BY THE FIRES

Some ideas to stay safe that others are not talking about.

WHHO is always concerned about you and our neighborhood. As some of you know, I am a Civil Trial Attorney, and I handle a number of the Woolsey fire claims as their lawyer and learned a few things that the media is not sharing. Lawsuits are already being filed, and we do not want you to become a statistic.

Here are a few extra things you need to know to be prepared. Some you already know and hopefully some will help you in these trying times. Please be safe and evacuate when told to do so.

 ADPS: You should already know about the following and if you don’t have them, go to the app store and get them. They are free:

1. Watch Duty – A must have. It shows you the fire perimeters, the evacuation zones and the warning zones. It also gives you a push notice if a new fire starts up.
2. Flight radar – A must have. It will show you where each airplane and helicopter are located. This is extremely important to discover where the water dropping helicopters are focused. You can tap on a helicopter icon, and it will show you, its path. When you see them circulating an area and there is other helicopter on screen, you can be sure that is a fire area of concern. No one talks about this one but if you want to see where the action is, try it.
3. Boardcastify – This is where you can listen to the police and fire scanners. It also covers other states if you are interested.
4. Www.fire.cal.gov. – this is the main government site for the entire state showing the fires and the parameters. You need to zoom it to get a detailed picture.

 YOUR HOUSE:

Windows & Doors: close them tight.  Ash will otherwise be blowing into you house and even if it doesn’t, it will be a mess and smell like smoke and take a long time to get the smell out. It is surprising that it gets into the house through the smallest of cracks. Leave your doors unlocked so the fire department can get inside to fight inside fires. While this is controversial given the possibility of looters if the house survives, nevertheless, if you have insurance, any losses are covered.

Garage door: close it too! Embers can blow in and start in there. Be sure that it is unlatched so it can be opened when the power goes out.

Drapes & Shades: Remove all flammable window shades and curtains. Close metal shutters if you have them. If the fire gets close to you the extreme outside radiant heat can set them on fire even though they are inside the house.

Outside furniture: move it inside. If it is flammable move it to the middle of the room, away from doors and windows. Bring in ANY flammable outside materials. Any outside items even if not flammable should be moved inside. In heavy winds any object can become a missile and break windows and if large enough can put a hole in a wall and the firefighters are also n danger of being hit. In Florida hurricanes you are told to cut down any coconuts from the trees because once airborne in high winds they can do damage to buildings and people.

Inside furniture: Again, if it is flammable move it away from windows.

Gas meter: Shut off gas at the meter. That will turn off all your pilot lights so remember when you come back, they ALL need to be relit to be safe. Otherwise, those little pilot lights will leak gas into the house. If not sure how to do that, contact the gas company before turning the gas back on. If you don’t know how to shut off the valve, go to the gas company web page. Here is the one for SoCal Gas: https://www.socalgas.com/safety/emergency-information/shut-off-natural-gas

Brush & Branches: clearing leaves, bushes fallen branches around the house and cutting trees growing near the home’s roof line.

Propane tanks for Barbeques: Turn them off and move them away from the house.

Lights Inside: Leave your lights on for firefighters to see your house through the smoke. You will be surprised how dark the heavy smoke makes it becomes like night. The lights help them see where your house is located.

Sprinklers: Some say leave them on but it might drop the water pressure for the firemen. Some say leave them on it helps with the area around the house. There are stories from the Woolsey Fire that some put sprinklers on their roofs and their homes were sparred.

Keys to the House: Leave a spare outside if you are leaving the house before an evacuation is called. If you are away, and an evacuation is called you cannot get back in. You may need to call a neighbor who is still there (or even the police or fire department) to go and get your pets or medication etc. They will need your keys.

HELP THE FIRE FIGHTERS:

Garden Hoses: attach outside garden hoses to outside taps for firefighter use.

Buckets: fill with water and leave them in a conspectus place for use if needed. Put them in assorted areas where they might be needed.

Ladders: Leave out any ladders and if appropriate put them up for access to the roof.

HELP YOURSELF:

Eyes and breathing: The smoke will sting your eyes and affect your breathing. Be sure to use some goggles like your ski goggles. Be sure to carry eye drops with you and a N95 mask is critical.

Clothing: Wear cotton and be sure all skin is covered. If you get stuck in an area where there are embers you do not want them getting on your skin. Watch rubber sole sneakers. They melt if you are trying to stomp out embers.

Pets: Don’t forget their food and any medications. If you have a cat, don’t forget the cat box – or make one from a cardboard box and DON’T FORGET THE SCOOPER.

TIPS ON MAKING A CLAIM IF YOU SUSTAIN A LOSS.

1. Take a video (or pictures) of everything. Do this before you leave. The best is for you to take your phone camera and videotape everything. Just keep the camera running and go through each room and open every drawer and door and move things around if needed. Fell free to make any comments that evidence the value of the items. Do every room and then do the outside of the house. Use a wide angle for most of it and be sure it is in focus. You should also document any damage after you return.
2. Clams: You MUST get your claim in early. Imagine with thousands of claims that will be made and if you wait, you can expect to be at the end of the line. Be pleasant in your discussions with the agents. They will assign you to an experienced catastrophic claims adjuster – some that they bring in from other states. These are experts in handling these types of claims. Feel free to ask about their experience. They will be helpful in getting you advance payments even before the full claim is known especially for the ALE (additional living expense) which is covered under your homeowner’s policy.

WHAT IF THE ELECTRICITY GOES OFF

Outside Solar Lights: Don’t forget you can use those outside portable solar lights you use to light up your plants and walkways. Bring them inside for some light.

Inverters: These are a good idea to have around. They connect to a 12-volt car type battery and “invert” the voltage from the 12 volts DC to 110 volts AC like in your house. You can get a small inverter that you can run off your car battery to power small appliances like your TV or cable box. A 400 watt will work for that. If you want to power your refrigerator you will need a bigger one like 1000 or even 3000 watts. A “pure sine wave” unit is better for electronic equipment but increases the price. It all depends on your needs. Be aware that your refrigerator will become warmer each day it is off. Open the doors sparingly and as the refrigerator get warmer move the food to the freezer compartment. Usually, you are good for the first 24 hours then watch it after that. As for the battery to connect the inverter to, a car battery is needed – the bigger the better so it will last longer. Use what you have. You can connect the inverter directly to your car battery while it is still in the car. Most have clips like on jumper cables. Start your car periodically to charge the battery so you can continue using it without draining the car battery. Obviously, it is better to have a self-dedicated battery. Costco has a combination unit (battery and inverter) with 200 watts for about $100. It can also jump a dead batter in your car and bump up your tires if needed.

Radios: You should take a small portable battery powered AM/FM radio with you. You phone may not work the way you expect. You can stay in touch with the needed information like at KNX 1070 AM.

We recognize that this is a small effort to help, but if all of us do what we can hopefully to protect ourselves, our homes and neighborhoods, it will make a difference.

There are many more ideas that you will have. The focus must always be on saving your lives. Evacuate when told to do so.

Be safe, be Blessed and may the source of all hope fill you completely with an abundance of joy and peace.

John

President, WHHO

www.WHHO.com

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Again a special thanks to our December speaker LAUSD District 3 Board Member, Scott Schmerelson

We had a great discussion about the Good, Bad, and Ugly issues inside the school system. We all wish him well as he begins a new elected term as and a Board Member for LAUSD.

Register for the Meeting by clicking HERE.

We hope to see you then.

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October Speaker  – Tanks again to Captain Lopez.

LAPD Captain Rudy Lopez, Commanding Officer Topanga Station,

He gave us some interesting insights to safety issues in the Valley including the recent Mall Smash and Grab, safety of our schools in light of the rise in antisemitism, what to look for during the holiday shopping season to be safe, and how we can harden our homes and neighborhoods to prevent crime.

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