Why this Booklet? The beauty and tranquility of Topanga Canyon owe a lot to the cloak of gray-green brush, tall eucalyptus and lush creek-side stands of poplar and California walnut. The landscape has created a home-scape of wood-sided houses, tucked into the hills among the trees, with large decks and picture windows. Alas! There is so much beauty, and so much of it so flammable! Over the past couple of decades much of Topanga has burned as a result of Santa Ana wind-driven wildfires. Living here means eventually having to confront the choice--to evacuate or to stay to defend one's home. The purpose of this booklet is not to advise you what to do, but to present the information each of us needs to make reasonable decisions about how to prepare and behave the next time a wildfire threatens our homes. Yes, there is a lot of information available elsewhere, but much of it is aimed at city and suburban communities. Some of it is contradictory and some is simply confusing by virtue of the mass of material available. We try to set out this information in a simplified yet comprehensive way--a way that highlights the responsibility of each resident to take individual action and the necessity, for safety's sake, for neighborhood and even community action. The emergency services of Los Angeles County, the Sheriff and Fire Departments, are staffed by well-trained and competent people. They will do what they can do--even at risk to themselves--to help us. But they cannot be everywhere all at once. They are not all-seeing and infallible. The safety of you, your family and your property are your responsibility before it is theirs. The decisions are yours to make before the alarms go off.