During and after a disaster, communication is king. When you can get updates on what is happening in your area, you’ll make better decisions and be less likely to panic. It’s helpful to have several alternate ways of getting updates in case one or more channels are down.
TCEP volunteers post verified information updates to our Emergency Status page during incidents such as fires, earthquakes, floods and Southern California Edison Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS). Information includes timestamped incident status updates, electrical circuits on the PSPS watch list and circuits that have been shut off, evacuation orders by Zone, major road closures, school closures and shelter locations, as applicable.
Other websites to bookmark include:
This mass notification telephone system calls LA County residents and plays a recorded message during emergencies. You must register all phones, including landlines and cell phones, plus emails and texts.
During smaller incidents, call our telephone Hotline (310-455-3000) to hear updated recorded messages that mirror information on the Emergency Status Page. When our Emergency Operations Center is activated in larger incidents, the Hotline will be answered by trained operators.
The PulsePoint app is tied to the LA County Fire dispatch system and can notify you of nearby vegetation and structure fires. Download our step-by-step guide to set up PulsePoint on your phone.
Watch Duty can alert you of nearby wildfires and firefighting efforts. Within the app, set your notifications for Los Angeles County.
FEMA and the Red Cross offer free apps with disaster safety tips and emergency shelter locations. These apps don’t provide real time disaster updates for Topanga.
Google “How to turn your smartphone into an emergency kit” to find more apps.
Social media is one way to get updates on what’s happening locally and around the world. TCEP posts emergency updates on X because that platform can push notifications to your mobile device (you must set up this preference) and it does not use algorithms to filter out any of the posts (unlike some other social platforms like Facebook). Consider setting up an X account and follow @TCEP90290 as part of your emergency kit.
Other X accounts to follow include:
@lacofd_div7 (LA County Fire for Topanga and surrounding areas)
@LACoFDPIO (LA County Fire Public Information Officer)
@CaltransDist7 (info on Topanga Canyon Blvd and PCH)
We also regularly post news and emergency planning tips on Facebook, Threads and Instagram .
If landline phones, cell phones, TV, cable, and internet communications go down for an extended period of time (Topanga is quite vulnerable to this kind of total communications collapse), ham radio may be the only way to communicate. TCEP's Disaster Radio Team can help you get on the air.
