Westlake Village residents can weigh in on the city's wildfire evacuation planning at a free public open house on Sept. 22 at City Hall.

The event runs from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Large Community Room at 31200 Oak Crest Drive. It will focus on the city's ongoing Safety Element Update and Evacuation Assessment, according to a city notice. City staff plan to walk residents through the evacuation study, explain why it is being conducted and describe how the city is modeling evacuation conditions under different emergency scenarios.

The study aims to identify how quickly residents could evacuate under various conditions, pinpoint potential congestion points and measure how future development might affect evacuation capacity.

$250,000 study approved in January

The City Council voted 5-0 on Jan. 28 to hire Civic Solutions, Inc. to lead the project, approving a $250,000 budget amendment to cover the cost, according to council meeting minutes. Planning Director Kristen Asp presented the contract to the council.

The consultant team includes Fehr & Peers, which is handling traffic and evacuation modeling, and Atlas Planning Solutions, which is preparing the Hazards Chapter update to meet state legal requirements. State law now requires more detailed hazard analysis than when the city last updated its Safety Element, including updated wildfire mapping and a more rigorous evaluation of evacuation routes.

Aug. 2 fire prompted evacuations near Westlake Village

The study comes as wildfire risk remains a pressing concern. On Aug. 2, the Kanan Fire broke out near the city. Ventura County Supervisor Jeff Gorell posted about the incident on X:

@vcd2sup: "Fire alert. #KananFire near Westlake Village. VCFD shutting down Westlake Blvd. Residents on Featherwood rd. sent evac order."

The council has taken other recent steps on emergency preparedness. A July 22 council agenda included appointing community members Julie Newsome, Gabriel Albarian and Michael Dyer to a new Community Wildfire Protection Plan Committee and adopting the city's 2026 Emergency Operations Plan.

The event is free. Residents can attend at City Hall, 31200 Oak Crest Drive, from 5 to 7 p.m.