It’s been one year since the devastating Corral Fire claimed 53 homes, 5,000 acres of land and disrupted the lives of more than 100 people. Since then, citizen patrols and recovery groups have been created to prevent another firestorm and to help rebuild lives.
By Nora Fleming / Special to The Malibu Times
It’s nearing dusk Saturday in Malibu, but one can still see the blackened branches poking out from the ground where lush vegetation once was on state parkland in Corral Canyon. Scrub grass has started to emerge, creating a contrast of black, green and brown.
The park sits at the end of Corral Canyon Road and contains hiking and equestrian trails, in addition to caves, one of which was the site where one year ago the Corral Canyon fire that claimed nearly 5,000 acres and destroyed 53 homes, damaging another 33, started.
As local resident Lori Jacobus, who is giving a tour of the starting point of that firestorm, exits the park, two groups of young people enter. (Though it now gets dark at 5 p.m., the park does not close until 9 p.m.) All appear to be 18 to 20 years of age. One group carries a case of Heineken beer and heads directly to the same cave where the fire started. One young man is already drinking a beer, which is illegal to do on state parkland. The other group, all appearing to be in their teens, is not carrying alcohol, but one person is smoking a joint of marijuana. A fuming Jacobus walks over and warns him of park patrol and the fire danger, and asks him to put out the joint. As he bends down and lightly taps it to the ground, she walks over and stomps it out for him.
It is these actions witnessed that often make it difficult for her to sleep at night, Jacobus said, worrying that another group of people will start a fire in one of the caves that will threaten her family and her home. It is this same fear that inspired Jacobus and many of her neighbors, some of whom lost their homes in that November fire, and some, including Jacobus, who did not, to band together to personally patrol the canyon.
Jacobus now helps run a volunteer group that schedules shifts from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. every day to drive along Corral Canyon Road and to the park to make sure no illegal loitering, smoking, drinking, or, in some cases, camping takes place. In the past year since the fire, Jacobus said, though there are signs posted, her group has found at least five people a week in the park after hours, sometimes many more. Every time, information is logged and authorities are notified.
Authorities’ presence lacking
The fire was allegedly started by two men and maintained by three more. Strong Santa Ana winds caused the fire to go out of control and spread throughout the canyon at around 3 a.m. that Saturday morning last year. The five men, who did not inform authorities about the fire, are now facing felony charges.
“[They] don’t even know what they robbed people of,” Jacobus said. “But people need to know that things have changed in our canyon and we are not lackadaisical anymore. I feel relief knowing that we’ve taken some control and that people will know you don’t party at Corral Canyon anymore.”
Many residents have tried to get state and local officials more active in lowering the risk of fire in the park.
Paul Morra had barely lived in his home for a year when the fire hit, and while his home survived, many of the neighbors directly behind him lost their homes. After the fire, Morra volunteered on a committee called the Corral Canyon Working Group, made up of 10 residents and area officials, including Sheriff’s Captain Tom Martin and Susan Nissman, deputy for County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavksy’s office, to see what could be done to avoid/combat future blazes.
Morra said the biggest recommendation was for California State Parks to put up a gate at the end of Corral Canyon Road, blocking visitors to the park after hours, but they received no response.
“Corral Canyon is a dead end road. Why can’t they shut off access to the park?” Morra asked. “We’re essentially doing what State Parks should be doing and taking matters into our own hands. They’ve been negligent to protect us.”
Craig Sapp, Public Safety superintendent for State Parks said, “We have always provided regular patrol in the area, but it takes a long time to get up there and we don’t have the resources to have a ranger sit there 24 hours a day. We hope to continue the relationship with the residents who have organized themselves and [have] been hypervigilant and helped us pinpoint enforcement. [But] We can’t catch everything. We do the best we can, with the resources we have.”
Last month, 96 Corral Canyon residents filed a lawsuit against State Parks for allegedly ignoring their complaints about the late-night parties and bonfires taking place at the park.
Recovery a long road
Carri Karuhn, who was overseas when the fire hit, came home to find just a driveway. Her two dogs and a cat, which were being cared for by a pet sitter, were lost along with her home. She is now in legal wrangling with her insurance company regarding her home being underinsured. Karuhn said the recovery process is also hard because of people who were interested in taking advantage of victims.
“It’s very, very important for people who lose their homes to beware of looters and scammers because they do appear,” Karuhn said, whose pet headstones she placed post fire, were stolen. Karuhn said she also knew of some neighbors who had their copper pipes stolen from the foundation and rubble of their homes.
Beverly Taki, an El Nido resident and real estate broker, started receiving desperate calls and e-mails following the fires for help in dealing with the insurance and rebuilding process. Taki started meeting in a group setting with neighbors, victims and volunteers, and formed a support group called Operation Recovery Justice in December following the fire.
It is now the goal of Taki and many of the 150 members of her group to see some restitution for the victims who lost their homes, particularly that the five men charged with starting and maintaining the fire be brought to justice, Taki said.
“People need to be held accountable for actions that cause harm,” Taki said. “They’re more culpable because they were aware of the fire and neglected it. They never even called 911.”
One year later, as many of the destroyed and damaged homes sit in a state of disrepair, some residents, like Karuhn, are unsure if they will come back to Corral Canyon.
“It’s not an easy road, fighting insurance companies, finding out where to live and literally putting your life back together, starting from scratch,” Karuhn said. “Unfortunately, when something like this happens, in three months the community forgets about it, but we’re all still living it every day.”
