Don Schmitz, local land development and permit processing consultant, spoke at the Malibu Rotary Club’s March 25 meeting about a proposed fire prevention system.
Schmitz in March 2008 founded the Coalition for Fire Safe Communities, a nonprofit seeking to obtain local and statewide support for proposed water tank in the Malibu/Santa Monica Mountains to protect homes located in high fire risk communities. The nonprofit also focuses on developing tactics to prevent wildfires.
When he built his home in the hills near Corral Canyon, Schmitz said he was told by the fire department that his home was so isolated from the main roads that they probably couldn’t help him in the case of a fire. Thus, Schmitz implemented his own water tower, sprinkler system and fire truck. During the 2007 Corral Canyon fire, the fire department used his water to help fight the blaze in the surrounding area. As he watched the fire spread, the thought occurred to him that if there was a water and sprinkler system in place along the Santa Monica Monica Mountains, fires, which seasonally threaten the Malibu area, could be thwarted before they inflict costly destruction. He then developed the idea of a virtual levee and dam system.
The proposed system, Schmitz estimated to cost $80 million, would protect homes in high-risk, fire prone areas and would cover most of the Santa Monica Mountains and the City of Malibu. The system, known as a first fire defense, is comprised of a virtual levee and dam with underground water mains on strategic ridgelines in the Santa Monica Mountains. It would be comprised of prepositioned water distribution points, supplemental water tanks and water mains to stop fires before they build momentum into the dangerous, fire-prone areas.
More information can be obtained by e-mailing info@cfsconline.org.