Sylmar LAFD Station Planned Since 2006 Receives $850,000 Toward its Construction

When completed, Station 31 will be only the second fire station in Sylmar

by Gabriel Arizon, San Fernando Valley Sun/El Sol

May 13, 2026

For six decades, Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Station 91 has been the only station located in Sylmar, a neighborhood approximately 12 square miles and home to more than 80,000 residents, and continues to grow. Located at the corner of Sylmar Park, the station is equipped with a single fire engine, paramedic ambulance, emergency medical tech ambulance and a truck, and has to cover one of the largest areas in the San Fernando Valley.

Kurt Cabrera-Miller, president of the Sylmar Neighborhood Council, at LAFD Station 91, stressing the need for a second fire station, May 8. (SFVS/el Sol Photo/Gabriel Arizon)

Sylmar, surrounded by hillsides and bordered by the San Gabriel Mountains, has steep terrains that include Lopez and Kagel canyons. It is a high-risk area for fires.

For years, residents and community members have been calling for a second station, especially as the neighborhood is no stranger to large fires, including the devastating Sayre Fire in 2008, the Saddleridge Fire in 2019 and last year’s Hurst Fire.

The Hurst Fire, which broke out on West Yarnell Street behind Olive View Medical Center, the same day as the Eaton Fire in Altadena and the Palisades Fire, burned nearly 800 acres and forced 3,000 evacuations.

The Saddleridge fire burned over 8,000 acres, destroying dozens of homes and structures.

The Sayre Fire burned more than 11,000 acres and destroyed 480 of the 600 manufactured homes in the gated Oakridge Mobile Home Park. Even homes undamaged by the flames were left uninhabitable due to toxicity and the lack of utility services. LA County issued a formal health hazard declaration, and the city of LA took responsibility for cleaning up the highly hazardous debris.

Burned manufactured homes are especially dangerous because they are constructed from synthetic materials that create highly toxic ash and debris, which can contaminate the air, soil, and water, posing long-term health risks that require cautious cleanup.

It was a year and a half before the first residents were allowed to move back. Fire companies came from surrounding areas to help Sylmar firefighters battle the dangerous flames.

Plans to build a second station, LAFD Station 31, have been in the works for decades. A groundbreaking event was held in November 2006, but the prior owner of the land, a residential developer, failed to honor commitments to build the station as part of the obligation to complete 500 dwelling units. However, only about a third of the units were built before various land-use entitlements had expired. Since then, the project has continued to stall and the station was never built.

But there is some renewed hope for residents, as the project recently received $850,000 in federal funding toward its construction. The funds were secured by Congresswoman Luz Rivas for the purchase of building materials and ensuring that first responders have the resources and support they need. This is on top of the approximately $4 million in design funds secured by LA City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez.

The construction budget for the station is estimated to be $20.5 million.

Station 31 is planned to be constructed at 16300 Foothill Boulevard, near Filbert Street. The project is currently in the planning and design phase. As of yet, there is no firm projected timeline for completion, but it’s estimated to be realized in 3 to 4 years.

On May 8, during National Wildfire Awareness Month, Rivas presented a ceremonial check to the LAFD at Station 91.

Rivas spoke of the impact on Sylmar having to make do with just one LAFD station for 60 years, while cities in LA of similar size and population have several. In Burbank, there are six stations for an area of around 17 square miles and more than 100,000 residents. In Santa Monica, which is about 8 square miles and has approximately 92,000 residents, there are five stations.

“Currently, response times are between approximately eight and nine minutes,” Rivas said. “LAFD Station 31 will reduce response times by over half to three to four minutes. When you consider that families often have only minutes to evacuate, as we have seen in the major fires that have affected Sylmar, that time saved is huge.

“The question is not if the next wildfire is going to happen, but unfortunately, the question is when,” Rivas continued. “This is why we need to start preparing now before the next disaster strikes.”

LAFD Deputy Fire Chief Luis Aldana added that the new station “will not only better serve the residents of Sylmar, but also the communities throughout the valley by helping reduce the overall call volume that we face day in and day out.”

Local Response

Local community members are happy to see that some progress is being made, including Theresa Ghezzi, a resident of the Oakridge Mobile Home Park who’s all too familiar with the high risk of fires in her area.

She recalled how she was evacuated from her home during the Hurst Fire and seeing the large flames through her back door.

Fortunately, the fire wasn’t close enough to damage her home, and thanks to the efforts of firefighters, only two mobile homes were damaged in the Hurst Fire before it was extinguished, sparing the area the same fate that befell it in 2008.

In total, approximately 800 acres were burned in the Hurst Fire. Around 44,000 were forced to evacuate, but there were no reports of injuries or fatalities as a direct result of the fire.

Ghezzi was able to return three days after being evacuated, and a new water system was installed in the park to combat fires. While Ghezzi said that the trauma from the disaster remains, she is glad to know that a second LAFD station is making progress.

“I’m very relieved that it’s going to happen because … they [first responders] can be out on a medical emergency, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a fire,” Ghezzi said. “A lot of people are moving here. They’re just discovering some … pockets of affordable housing. It’s a great place to live, so I’m very relieved that we’re finally getting another station.”

Kurt Cabrera-Miller, president of the Sylmar Neighborhood Council, described how this project has been a long time coming for the community. Ever since the original plans to build the station fell apart, it’s been the goal of the council to get the project off the ground.

Cabrera-Miller recounted that around four years ago, during an event for National Fire Service Day, he invited several officials to Sylmar, including Mayor Karen Bass, State Sen. Caroline Menjivar, Rodriguez and Rivas.

The event was used not only to give thanks to their local firefighters, Cabrera-Miller said, but to raise awareness of the failed project and how elected officials hadn’t done anything to secure Sylmar a second fire station.

The effort seemed to pay off, as Rodriguez went through the yearlong process of getting the land re-approved for the station, and former Congressman Tony Cárdenas worked to secure funds before he left office.

Cabrera-Miller is hopeful that when the new station is built, it will cut down response times. During an event at El Cariso Community Regional Park, a board member on the Sylmar Neighborhood Council suffered a heart attack. It took first responders around nine minutes to arrive.

“Of course, that’s not the fault of Station 91 in any aspect, but being here, surrounded by the mountains and highways and everything, anything that’s going to help [reduce] the call times to get out here is going to be a win,” Cabrera-Miller said. “Sylmar … has the 5, 14 and the 405 interstates [nearby], as well as the train tracks that go through the area, so anything that’s going to assist on those kinds of calls is going to make a big difference.”

Although there are signs of renewed momentum, Cabrera-Miller said in the community, there’s still a lot of frustration and doubt. He agrees that it shouldn’t have taken 20 years for progress to be made on a second station with the number of elected officials they’ve had in that amount of time.

“I’m looking forward to … when we open the doors of the new fire station, not necessarily the ground-breaking,” he said. “I want it to be completed, … staffed and then ready to go, to start helping our community members for a safer neighborhood.”

Editor Diana Martinez contributed to this article.

Full article link - https://sanfernandosun.com/2026/05/13/sylmar-lafd-station-planned-since-2006-receives-850000-toward-its-construction/

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