At 3:58 pm FRIDAY UPDATE: Smoke from the Thomas fire blew out to sea this afternoon, hit the cold air there, and now has turned into smoky fog.
On a 24/7 basis, there is a city manager or assistant city manager at City Hall. If there is a righteous fire, they will get the first notification. They will blast out the emergency notices. We will blast out news afterward.  They are good at this – very fast. I rely on them, so should you.
Pulse Point is a repeat of calls made to 911. It is NOT verified information. Info gets verified by the first fire truck to arrive. Pulsepoint, however, does not post that.
If you suspect there is a local fire, LISTEN outdoors. If you hear choppers and sirens, there is a fire. If it’s quiet, no fire. Pulse Point is one of several sources of information. Use your head! People are going to call in requests for investigation to 911 to the FD. Those will get dispatched on PP, with a whole lot of equipment. But the “Code 4” will not appear. Code 4 = nothing here.
Do not breathe this stuff. Get indoors.
3:08 PM: Reports of a fire now in Encinal Canyon are false, per the LA sheriff. As predicted, Malibu is filling up with smoke from the Thomas fire, which is causing people to call in reports of fire. Pulsepoint is causing people to react to bad info