Nearly 70 people showed up for the first public community meeting of the “Disaster Response & Recovery Ad Hoc Committee” held at City Hall last week. The goal was to collect stories, ideas and insights from local residents about the Woolsey Fire to help the city better prepare for future disasters.
Led by co-chairs Mayor Pro Tem Karen Farrer and City Council Member Mikke Pierson, the meeting was loosely structured with no time limits for speakers. Committee members also plan to interview the government agencies involved in the disaster response.
“We need solutions that work for Malibu,” Farrer said.
The comments tended to focus on improving evacuation procedures, the fire department’s lack of personnel and equipment, outdated water system infrastructure and a rebuilding process that needs to be more streamlined by the city and more specifically defined by the fire department.
Evacuation
Residents said evacuations could have been done earlier, and that it never should have taken five or six hours for evacuees to get to Santa Monica. In addition, authorities failed to communicate that people could also evacuate to the north, not just the south on PCH. Residents said it should not have taken most of the day to get one or two additional southbound lanes opened, and law enforcement should have been at every intersection.
“Let’s open all the lanes and communicate better with sheriffs and the LAPD so we don’t have to sit there,” Scott Tallal said.
“We drove north at 10 a.m., and there was no problem going north,” another added.
“The sheriffs should allow in CERT people—either they should have a list, or CERT should have badges,” Planning Commissioner Kraig Hill suggested.
Firefighting response and strategies
“It seems like there’s an acceptance that fighting the fire has to happen only when the fire hits us. I don’t buy the concept that the fire needs to travel over the land all the way to Malibu,” Burt Ross said. “If we created a firewall between here and the 101, it would minimize the danger so dramatically.”
Development consultant Don Schmitz concurred that “the fuel loads are coming from outside the city.”
On behalf of the Malibu Democratic Club, Jane Albrecht described the state and county’s lack of adequate fire personnel and proposed a statewide plan for a “California Fire Reserve Corps” of 20,000, similar to the National Guard. The club’s report points out that even if fire codes and policies are changed, “If no firefighters show up, the same thing or worse will happen again.”
Former firefighter Tony Schaffer said there has to be money for more fire equipment, and that strike teams showing up in Malibu need better situational awareness.
Dr. Jeff Harris said the city should provide incoming firefighters with a downloadable map showing all swimming pools, fire hydrants and other potential sources of water.
Resident Barry Haldeman said since cell phones were not working, there needs to be a back-up plan for communication, like CB radios, and that every fire truck should have a swimming pool pump.
Rebuilding and water infrastructure improvements
“Your job is to be the lobbyists for us. You say you want us to have the right to rebuild, but it won’t mean anything if Kuehl doesn’t step up … and tell the Fire Department to be reasonable,” Ross explained to Farrer and Pierson. “In addition, most of us can’t rebuild unless someone puts pressure on the water district.”
Paul Grisanti, a member of the Public Works Commission, told the audience, “[City Manager Feldman] announced that water improvements are now going forward. That will allow most of the burned houses to have good fire flow.”
He explained that city council should vote on whether permits for new onsite water storage tanks could be fast-tracked by going straight to them, bypassing the planning commission and its two-month backlog.
Schmitz wanted more private property owners to put water storage tanks on their land—big, 20,000-gallon tanks. He distributed a detailed plan for an upgraded “Malibu Water Delivery System,” citing the changes in county and city fire codes needed to make this happen.
He also talked about Water District 29’s aging system, with some areas of Malibu having inadequate water pressure and volume, and the importance of the city, water district and LA County Board of Supervisors working together.
Harris added that District 29 needs to replace pipes, have standby generators for pumping stations and keep water tanks full.
Everyone is invited to email suggestions, preferably in a bullet-point format, to the ad hoc committee RecoveryAdHoc@MalibuCity.org. This email can only be accessed by the committee chairs.
