Sheriff expected at Malibu fire meeting
As a last-minute addition, Sheriff Lee Baca is scheduled to attend the Town Hall Meeting about fires at the Malibu Performing Arts Center this week on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Baca will join city officials and representatives from the Los Angeles County Fire Department, State Office of Emergency Management, Department of Forestry, Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky’s office, Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and the California Highway Patrol.
According to the notice on the city’s Web site, the discussion of the meeting will be “lessons learned from the 2007 brush fires” and provide information “about preparedness.” The public will have an opportunity to ask questions. There will be live demonstrations of fire protection products, and emergency supplies will be available from private vendors.
The MPAC is located at 23825 Stuart Ranch Road, behind City Hall. For more information about the meeting, contact Brad Davis, Malibu’s emergency preparedness coordinator, at 310.456.2489 ext. 260 or bdavis@ci.malibu.ca.us.
Solstice Canyon open
The Solstice Canyon section of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area opened on Friday. The area had been closed since the Corral Fire last November, when nearly all the hillside vegetation burned and a vast amount of soil and rock debris fell.
Once the rock fall stabilized, actions were taken to contain the soil and repair roads and trails damaged by erosion, according to the NPS. Also, the remnants of six historic buildings were fixed and hazardous materials were removed. Trees located near trails weakened by the fire were assessed, and some were removed. Culverts and channels were cleared to protect several bridges from high water flow.
Additionally, NPS officials are using a variety of methods to remove nonnative vegetation that has grown in the area since the fire and to encourage the regeneration of native species destroyed in the blaze.
“With its long history of human disturbance, Solstice Canyon provides an ideal location for invasive plants to grow, smothering native species,” the NPS wrote in a press release. “If left unchecked, the area could lose much of its habitat value for wildlife and not filter or clean water efficiently.”
The Solstice Canyon parking lots are open daily from 8 a.m. to dusk. For further information, call 805.370.2301.
Two fireworks shows permitted for Malibu
The Los Angeles County Fire Department has issued two permits for Fourth of July fireworks displays in Malibu. The shows are scheduled to launch at 9 p.m. from barges off Malibu Colony and the 27900 block of Pacific Coast Highway.
The city of Malibu does not sponsor any fireworks displays. They are illegal to possess in the city.
If more permits are issued by the fire department, The Malibu Times will mention them in next week’s issue and at www.malibutimes.com.
Water conservation requested
The Metropolitan Water District is requesting Malibu residents conserve water through July 2, while district officials work on a 12-mile-long section of its 96-inch-diameter Sepulveda Feeder line. The work may affect the water amount supplied to water distributors, including Waterworks District No. 29, according to a notice on the city’s Web site.
Metropolitan Water does not expect customers to experience problems unless the weather gets hot during the shutdown period, according to the city.
Those with questions should call 310.456.6621
-Jonathan Friedman