Victoria Principal Contributes to Technology That Will Aid in Local Fire Prevention and Reforestation

Actress, activist, and entrepreneur Victoria Principal has funded a special mobile technology project through TreePeople that would help Southern Californians to prepare and help prevent damage from what could become a devastating fire season.

“Ms. Principal is one of TreePeople’s first responders and most generous supporters when it comes to meeting urgent needs,” said TreePeople Founder and President Andy Lipkis. “Her gift tremendously magnifies our impact by giving us the tools to involve thousands more people in preventing and responding to fire danger. “

The new technology enables the public to quickly and effectively communicate with people throughout Southern California so they can volunteer and provide the donations that make TreePeople's work possible.

By texting TREE to 80888, people can donate $10 to fire prevention and restoration efforts, payable through their mobile phone billing. For those wishing to sign up as volunteers in TreePeople’s hands-on ecological restoration efforts, it’s as simple as texting TREE followed by their full name and email to 51555.

Volunteers can participate in weekend projects in the Santa Monica Mountains planting and caring for native trees and plants, and pulling out invasive, flammable weeds, to prevent fires in beautiful natural areas and parklands. They will also be on the list to help restore fire-damaged forests when the time is right for human assistance.

Within the areas surrounding the Santa Monica Mountains – from the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles to Point Mugu in Ventura County – more than half a million people are directly affected by fire danger.  And this year’s fire forecast is severe. Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby calls this “probably the most volatile fire season that’s projected based on our 100-year history.”

The organization works with hundreds of volunteers nearly every weekend in the Santa Monica Mountains to help prevent intense wildfires and protect neighborhoods by removing highly flammable invasive plant species and restoring the native ecosystem. In partnership with Mountains Restoration Trust, TreePeople’s work in the Santa Monicas is essential for preventing the frequency and intensity of fires.

TreePeople also brings volunteers to replant fire-damaged mountain forests, in partnership with the United States Forest Service, when human assistance is called for. The organization just completed a three-year project involving than 2,400 volunteers to plant 22,660 trees to help restore the areas burned by the devastating 2009 Station Fire in the Angeles National Forest. 

“Having concerned donors like Ms. Principal gives TreePeople the opportunity to get out in front of emergencies and ensure that we have both physical and financial resources to protect and restore our local forests,” said Craig Prizant, TreePeople’s Sr. Director of Development and Marketing.