Concerning the newly proposed “Overnight Camping” and its subsequent infrastructure in the City of Malibu, I am alarmed by the irresponsibility of such a plan, especially up into Corral Canyon!
As a resident of Malibu for over 30 years and a current resident of Corral Canyon for the last 10 years, I find it hard to believe that a campground would not increase the risks of a brush fire in the area just below our neighborhood.
I am just now recovering after rebuilding my house that was burnt from the 2007 firestorm that was caused by careless idiots up the road at the Rave Cave. We were able to escape that fire down our one and only road in, and our only road out to PCH. Luckily we made it down without the road being cut off because of the fire, but had the fire started below near where the proposed campground is planned we may not have faired so well. We could have all been trapped and perished along with all our children, pets and horses.
It would be insane to put Corral residents at further risk to a catastrophic disaster by risking a likely ignition point across our only means of escape. Our lives and property are at risk by promoting camping use in a canyon that is steep with heavy fuel vegetation. I doubt that there would be enough resources to fund the necessary supervision to prevent every drunken camper from throwing a cigarette onto the ground or from starting a campfire or cook stove. There is a trail that allows people to enjoy the natural beauty of the lower Corral watershed that exists starting from the Malibu Seafood. A day use picnic area or hiking trail is fine but no overnight camping!
Please support our efforts to prevent this campground from becoming a source of a future disaster as the last disaster was to my poor neighbors who are struggling to rebuild and to those who will never recover. Anyone with a conscience has to oppose this terrible plan. A Coastal Commission meeting concerning these camping facilities is slated for June 10 in Marina Del Rey with a bus leaving City Hall a 8:45 a.m. If you cannot attend write letters in protest.
Steve Woods