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What LA’s Plan for the Big One Means for You, and Your Neighbors

Earthquake & Retrofit October 5, 2026 · By Harrison Tran, General Contractor

I read a USA TODAY article this week about how Los Angeles County plans to respond to the next major earthquake. I work on seismic retrofits every week, and it still taught me a few things. Here is what stood out, and a simple plan you can start this month.

Help will be stretched thin

• The services we rely on every day will be “significantly degraded,” says the county’s emergency management director. Even getting gas is hard when the pumps have no power.
• Broken gas lines start fires. Seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones said the official scenario has 1,600 ignitions and about 200 million square feet burned, and that is on a calm, cool day.
• The Sheriff’s Department expects demand to exceed its deputies, so its planning emphasizes self-sufficiency. Ours should too, for the first few days.

Help will come. Just not to every street at once.

Three basics officials ask of you

1. Make a family plan: where you meet, and who you call.
2. Sign up for emergency alerts, and get the MyShake app.
3. Put together a basic kit. Start small: even a few supplies in your car count.

The part that surprised me: neighbors

Dr. Jones worries that LA is a “freeway culture”: we drive past a million people to see the one we want, and never meet the family next door. But since the Eaton Fire, she has seen that her own neighborhood has “kept together as a community” more than she thought it would.

Research after Hurricane Katrina found the same thing. The communities that came back were the ones where people knew each other.

Six steps to a neighborhood network

1. Gather 5 to 10 nearby households. Start a group chat and a printed contact sheet.
2. Meet once, about 90 minutes. Note who needs extra help.
3. Map skills, equipment, and every home’s gas, water and electric shut-offs.
4. Assign roles, each with a backup.
5. Pick a meeting spot, and write the plan on paper.
6. Practice once or twice a year.

Make it social. A block potluck does more than a sign-up sheet.

You don’t have to invent it: free CERT training (LAFD and LA County Fire) and Ready Your LA Neighborhood have it all laid out. The Great ShakeOut is Thursday, October 15, at 10:15 a.m. Practice with your neighbors.

And the house itself

If your home is older, especially a wood-frame house on a raised foundation, a seismic retrofit is the single biggest thing you can do for the house. We work closely with the Earthquake Brace + Bolt program. If you, your family or your clients need an expert evaluation, call us.

Source: “This is how LA will respond to the Big One,” Paris Barraza, USA TODAY, Oct. 1, 2026.

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