Malibu emerges unscathed in the big storm.
But just 55 miles up the coast … 15 people are dead in flash flooding … most caught in t heir houses.
The 101 is closed into tomorrow … out past Ventura.
Ferry service is started between Ventura and santa Barbara … to avoid the 270 mile detour.
This is Malibu’s only local daily news.
It’s the (((( Wednesay ))) edition … from Radio Malibu …. 99 point 1 K B U U.
Good morning Malibu! I’m Hans Laetz reporting.
Santa Barbara Reels With 15 Dead, Many Missing
The death toll is now 15 in Montecito … and the 1-0-1 Freeway remains closed past Ventura this morning.
The flash flood that swept down from the mountains yesterday.
National Guard trucks are evacuating people.
Even this morning … cellphone requests for evacuation are coming in from people trapped in their houses …. by mud.
A large number of L-A county search and rescue workers are now searching for any survivors … or more bodies.
Caltrans crews continue to remove mud and rocks and debris and destroyed cars from the 1-0-1 Freeway … which may be closed thru tomorrow.
Amtrak and California Amtrak service is out too.
300 people are stuck in their homes in Romero Canyon … above Montecito … with mud and rocks blocking their access.
This is 50 miles up the coast from Malibu.
Closer to Malibu … Ventura County escaped major problems from the storm.
At Topanga Canyon … a cliffside that burned a year ago continues to be a problem.
Once again … mud and rocks buried Topanga Canyon Boulevard … one and a quarter miles up from PCH.
It may be three days … before Topanga Canyon Boulevard can be dug out and repaired.
Malibu Has Few Problems in Storm
And in Malibu itself … no major damage from the storm.
A small tree fell at Las Flores Canyon Park … in front of the Malibu Times office.
And at 5:25 this morning … a tree fell on a car on Troutdale Road …
Rainfall totals of about 2 point 6 inches in the Lechusa area .. above Decker Canyon.
1 point 8 inches here at KBUU in Trancas.
2 and a half inches of rain in Agoura Hills.
White House Caves To GOP Pressure On Florida Drilling
In Washington … the Trump White House has reversed itself … on offshore oil drilling.
At least … off the coast of Republican Florida.
The Trump administration set yesterday it would not allow oil drilling off the coast of Florida after all … abruptly reversing its course under pressure from Republican Gov. Rick Scott.
The change of policy comes just five days after the White House announced offshore oil drilling plans for Florida … and the entire Atlantic … Gulf and Pacific coasts … including California and Alaska.
The White House plan to resume new oil drilling off the California coast is regarded as dead on arrival … a mere gambling card in the high-stakes issue oil drilling in Alaska.
The change of White House policy on Florida is a political reality check … as the government recognizes the importance of Florida as a potential swing state.
But all this is not an esoteric political discussion.
The coast 3 miles off Malibu is prized by oil companies as a potential bonanza … and the political situation in Washington is hardly stable.
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You are listening to the latest news from Radio Malibu … 99 point 1 K B U U. ((( time ))))
Fire Maps Will Now Be 8-1/2 Years In The Making
It’s been 10 years since the Malibu Canyon fire swept down from an overloaded power pole … and 8 years since the California Public Utilities Commission promised stricter rules for power poles in wildfire danger areas.
8 years.
Now comes word that implementin those regulations might be pusged back another six motnhs.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the map of areas where there are fire dangers isn’t quite finished.
It’s taken the CPUC 8 years to draw a map of fire danger areas … and th enew map is substanitally identical to maps that were existing 8 years ago.
The California Public Utilities Commission adopted the new fire safety rules for areas like Malibu in December.
But the CPUC will vote tomorrow on extending until July the deadline for completing the actual map.
The one that took 8 years to draw.
State Senator Jerry Hill … a frequent critic of the CPUC … says “the CPUC continues to blow through deadlines,”
He told the San francisco Chronicle that this latest delay means that the map may not be adopted until July … and that means we’ll miss another fire season,.
Auteur of `Phantom Thread’ To Speak at Malibu Film Society
The Malibu Film Society is screening “Phantom Thread” on Thursday.
Now comes word that the film’s writer-producer-director-cinematographer … Paul Thomas Anderson … will be there for a Q&A at the screening.
It’s a period piece … set in the 1950s London.
the movie is set amidst the glamour of London in the 1950s ….. the world of the royal family, film stars, heiresses, socialites, debutantes, and dames with the distinctive style of The House of Woodcock.
It’s also Daniel Day Lewis’s last appearance.
Tickets are still available at the Malibu Film Society.
Dr. Lucy Jones Tonight At 6:30 At Malibu
A reminder … the danger of earthquakes to Malibu is different … somewhat … from the rest of L-A.
Dr Lucy Jones will describe that issue tonight at the city council meeting.
It’s at 6:30 p-m at Malibu City Hall … and it will be streamed on the internet.
How To Get To Santa Barbara Today, If You Can’t SUP There
Back up the coast … the closure of the 101 freeway means workers in Ventura cannot get to their jobs in Santa Barbara.
Two Santa Barbara boating companies are offering ferry service from Santa Barbara Harbor to Ventura Harbor.
The Condor Express whale watching boat … and the Island Packers ferry service … are both taking passengers around the 1-0-1 mudslides.
The freeway may be closed several days.
The only detour … a 270 mile drive over the Grapevine into the San Joaquin Valley … then on a 2-lane road to Santa Maria and then back south.
About 1 in 6 people who work in Santa Barbara live in Oxnard or Ventura … according to some big employers.
The National Weather Service has issued a HIGH SURF ADVISORY … it REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 THIS AFTERNOON…
A large westerly swell will impact the coastal waters through this afternoon.
Surf will be 5 to 8 ft this morning, slowly subsiding through the afternoon.
The highest surf will occur at west and northwest facing beaches.
But it could mean parallel currents along Malibu’s south facing beaches.
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Traffic …
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Weather for the Malibu ….
It will be (((( Sunny, with a high near 63 )))) today … on the beach … (((( 64 )))) in the mountains above Malibu.
Winds will be gentle.
Downcoast winds will be ((( 10 )))) miles per hour this afternoon.
Sunset tonight is at (((( 5:02 )))).
After that … expect it to be ((( mostly clear )))) tonight … a low of (((( 57 )))) on the beach … down to (((( 47 )))) in the mountains.
Tomorrow should be (((( much the same …. no rain in the forecast for the next 8 days. )))).
Right now … at Trancas it’s (((( 51 )))) degrees.
In upper Malibu Canyon … (((( 48 )))) .
And at Civic Center Los Angeles … (((( 49 )))).
In the ocean … it’s (((( 56 )))) degrees in the water at Zuma Beach.
The lifeguards say the waves today are (((( 5 to 6 )))) feet high ….
(((( A west swell mix … and breezy west winds. ))))
Those are (((( sloppy )))) surfing conditions …. according to the lifeguards.
((((( Low tide is at 11:49 AM.
A 3.2 foot high tide is at 5:45 PM.
Another low tide is at 10:46 tonight. ))))
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The KBU Newswire is posted midmornings … at RadioMalibu.net and at the MalibuTimes.com .
Remember… breaking news goes first to the radio … at 99 point 1 in all of Malibu….
Our web player is simple …. you can hear Radio Malibu in your phone or stream it to your car.
Navigate to k-b-u dot f-m. … and we’re streaming in your ear anywhere in the world.
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Malibu’s Only Local Daily News – On the radio: FM 99 point 1 in all of Malibu – Streaming at www.radiomalibu.net anywhere else