The juxtaposition in last week’s Times of Joe Edmiston unveiled threats to reinstate expanded overnight camping in Malibu and the photos and story of the five young men responsible for the Corral Canyon fire begs the question of who is really culpable for the devastation last month in our community. I doubt society gains much by incarcerating these men whose lives will never be the same and who, according to their attorney, thought they had extinguished their illegal campfire. While certainly guilty of stupidity for lighting any fire in a Santa Ana windstorm (not to mention littering the evidence that led to their arrests), isn’t their plight a direct result of the failure of SMMC and Director Edmiston to eliminate this attractive nuisance? Maybe the young men should volunteer for community service in to help clean up fire debris-or maybe in Iraq while serving their country in the U.S. Marines. But what about Joe?
Increasingly I’m hearing comments from Malibu neighbors about criminal negligence and a co-conspiratorial role aimed at Mr. Edmiston for his failure to police the notorious partying that led to the devastation in Corral Canyon. As many have said, it was only a matter of time … I doubt such accusations against the head of the SMMC have much validity nor do they serve a positive purpose. This is more a measure of pent up frustration by those of us who live in the canyons of Malibu and our sister communities-who have faced years of living with bad neighbors as SMMC and State Parks blatantly ignore brush clearance regulations and fail to shepherd their own properties to the detriment of those around them (the January fire on Malibu Road).
If there is some legal responsibility by Mr. Edmiston it will be sorted out in civil litigation by those in Corral Canyon whose lives will never be restored by insurance companies.
Frankly our City Council was right in initially approving the limited number of overnight campsites requested by SMMC. Campfires in a park with onsite supervision and on non-red flag days are not the problem. But there needs to be a major change in how our parks are administered. Areas such as the parking lot at the top of Corral should be monitored 24/7 with an Internet video link to a single office where one employee can direct the limited staff to the many mini parks in the Santa Monica Mountains. Brush clearance must become a priority — not just to protect nearby homes but the animals and streams that all suffer from these huge fires.
So grant permits for overnight camping-once Mr. Edmiston comes up with a plan to promote fire safety at the facilities he already has.
Scott Dietrich