Ventura County sheriff's and fire officials will discuss crime and wildfire preparedness in a livestreamed forum at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19.

Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin announced the event on X, saying it will feature Commander Jeremy Paris of the Ventura County Sheriff's Office and Division Chief Guillermo de la Rosa of the Ventura County Fire Department. The forum will cover recent crime trends, public safety priorities, wildfire outlook and home hardening strategies.

The discussion will stream on Irwin's official Assembly website and her Facebook page. No in-person venue was listed in the announcement.

Fire weather ahead of forum

The forum lands days after the National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning for Ventura County running from 6 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, through 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16. The season's first Santa Ana wind event is expected to bring sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph, with isolated gusts of 50 to 60 mph possible in the hills, according to the Sacramento Bee. Humidity could drop as low as 5%.

"There's a high risk for any new fires to grow really fast," NWS meteorologist Ryan Kittell told the Los Angeles Times.

Vegetation conditions add to the concern. The Ventura County Fire Department reported that the county's average vegetation moisture level was 58% as of Sept. 30, below the 60% threshold the department considers critical for fire suppression, according to the Ventura County Star.

That matters here.

Ventura County Supervisor Jeff Gorell noted on X that Southern California Edison is monitoring 70 circuits across Ventura County for potential Public Safety Power Shutoffs beginning Thursday, Oct. 15.

Speakers and access

Paris, a commander with the Ventura County Sheriff's Office in the Thousand Oaks area, will discuss local crime trends, according to Irwin's announcement. De la Rosa, a division chief who serves as a duty chief for the fire department, will cover wildfire preparedness and home hardening, the practice of making homes more fire-resistant.

Irwin's office indicated residents could submit questions in advance through her Assembly website, though the specific submission page was not accessible as of Wednesday, Oct. 14.

The forum streams on irwin.asmdc.org and Irwin's Facebook page.