A resilient community works together through the Corral Canyon Fire Safety Alliance to combat wildfire risks
Nearly 500 residents call Corral Canyon home, all of whom are familiar with dealing with enduring Red Flag warnings and devastating wildfires. Approximately 22 homes in Corral and Latigo canyons were lost in the Woolsey Fire in 2018 and 53 homes in Corral and Latigo Canyons were consumed by the Woolsey Fire in 2018, according to Paul Morra, who helped to establish the Corral Canyon Fire Safety Alliance, a public benefit corporation, in 2009.
The CCFSA protects residents and their properties from fires, including providing support and resources to the Corral Canyon Call Firefighter program and Engine 271, a unit owned by the CCFSA. The organization also serves as a voice for community matters so residents and various government agencies can collaborate to address public safety concerns inCorral Canyon and the Santa Monica Mountains.
An overview of the various citizen-based efforts to protect Corral Canyon from fires and other disasters
On Feb. 22, the CCFSA’s board and members met at the Malibu Library to review how the organization and canyon residents weathered the Franklin Fire in December and the Palisades Fire in January.
Quoting U.S. President Harry S Truman, Steve Breese, president of the CCFSA Board of Directors began the meeting by saying, “It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you do not care who gets the credit.” Breese and the other board members set the gathering’s cooperative and unified tone — all attendees agreed they are very grateful to live in their beautiful canyon and they concurred that a coordinated, well-prepared group of neighbors can join together and make all of their homes fire-hardened and can collectively avoid the spread of wildfires.
With that vision in mind, they discussed how various volunteer organizations coordinated and used their CCFSA radios to provide neighbors with critical information as volunteers vigilantly tried to spot fires, knock down developing fires and guarded their neighborhood by looking for potential arsonists.
CCFSA’s members used their radios to communicate
“Everybody who is a member of CCFSA has two radios and we can use them most effectively by not using them for person-to-person calls, which frees them up for volunteers to use them and communicate with residents, providing them with essential information concerning a fire and whether they need to evacuate,” Breese said. “Radio users need to be succinct with clear messages pertaining to emergencies.”
Breese’s essential message — it worked to use the radios for critically-needed communications, it didn’t work well to use them for personal messages or lengthy communications. He noted that by sometime next year, T-Mobile is going toprovide Starlink directly to subscribers’ mobile phones, which will be very helpful. In the meantime, he advised that it’sbest to ensure the radios are tested, properly programmed, and that their antennas are positioned to best get reception.
“CCFSA has an FCC license,” Richard Garvey, director of the CERT program said, displaying various radio accessories that residents could use. “Our reception capability is improved because we are connected to the Castro repeater.”
John Shafai shared information concerning how the radio system works.
“There is an antenna in a closet at my house at the top of the ridgeline, and it has backup battery generators and we have to keep a gas generator powered to supply power if and when the battery generators run out of power,” he explained.
Corral Canyon resident Stuart Halpern commended, “I am very grateful for the work of the Corral Canyon Safety Alliance — my neighbors in the group are wonderful, smart and extremely dedicated to the safety of the community.”
In December, when the Franklin Fire burst out in Malibu and during the Palisades Fire, CCFSA and other group efforts discussed in the meeting proved to be invaluable.
A terrifyingly close call
Overall, Breese and Shafai said that the radios were of immense assistance, especially when a fire was spotted in El Nido as the Palisades Fire raged.
“We hit that fire in 3.5 minutes — by the time we got to it, it had grown from 3 to 4 feet in size to a full 20 to 30 feet — it did so within only three minutes!” Shafai shared. “The fire was spotted on the east side of El Nido and it was blazing toward the homes — if we had not knocked it down, it could have burned up to the upper bowl.”
That was one close call!
“There was a suspicious person located at the top of Corral at the barricades and he had a couple of knives and sophisticated fire equipment,” Shafai said. “No one witnessed him start the fire, but we understand that he was arrested by the sheriff.”
Call firefighters, Engine 271, and the planned Corral fire station
Seventeen years ago, Corral Canyon residents had a vision of forming its own fire response program. The Los Angeles County Fire Department quickly recognized the opportunity to assist by creating an effective county-sponsored program and thus, a new Call Firefighter program was created.
“If there is a fire in Corral Canyon, the Call Firefighters, a group of six people who live in Corral Canyon who work with LA County, mobilize to address it,” said Matt Haines, who was certified as a Call Firefighter after he and others in Corral Canyon voluntarily fought the 2007 blaze in his neighborhood with his own fire truck, successfully saving a block of houses.
Haines noted that the LAFD provides various levels of training for Call Firefighter program participants, offering an initial recruit academy consisting of 64 hours of intense firefighting techniques and fire safety. During the academy, the Call Firefighters study fire behavior, firefighting techniques, fire safety, and they receive hands-on training in wildland and structure fire behaviors, emergency response, and rescue and communications. Further, they complete the Apparatus Operator Academy, a 40-hour program providing extensive training in operating fire apparatus, firefighting operations, hydraulics, driving techniques, safety procedures, and communications.
Engine 271, which was donated to CCFSA by the National Park Service, which oversees nearby Solstice Canyon, is ready to respond on a 24/7 basis to emergencies and stays in Corral Canyon during red flag warnings and fire events, Haines noted.
Kelly Kincaid provided an update about the planned fire station in the bowl, where Engine 271 and a smaller brush truck will eventually be housed.
“We purchased the land for our fire station in 2019 and we have spent a considerable amount of time and money for the project — $57,241.45 has been spent on permits and engineering services,” Kincaid said. “We still have many more steps to make having our station a reality. Recently, we had to hire a new biologist.”
She added, “Once the county’s regional planning receives all necessary information, we can have structural engineers design the floor plan.” Kincaid shared that CCFSA is seeking support from elected officials to help expedite obtaining the necessary permits.
Arson Watch and the Community Brigade are integral to addressing fire hazards
“You have a great community and in a wildfire, communication is key to preserving it,” said Aron Marderosian, a member of the Malibu West Brigade. He and Tim Bigelow, another brigade member, provided attendees with an after-action report and noted that it is critical to expeditiously respond to wildfires and it is imperative that those volunteers who are actively fighting a fire as well as residents be able to communicate clearly under Red Flag conditions.
“When we are in the dark, strong winds are blowing, and we have no internet or power, the radios we use are our lifeline communications,” Marderosian said. He noted that he began volunteering in efforts to proactively address fire and other dangers by becoming a member of Arson Watch. “If a person joins Arson Watch, he or she is given a radio and training focusing on the proper procedures to follow.” Members of Arson Watch also assist in incidents such as downed power lines, trees blocking roads, and similar dangerous occurrences, he added.
Bigelow and Marderosian explained that the community brigade provides a bridge between all neighborhoods and government agencies so as to ensure a unified response to fires. “In a disaster the chain of command in every neighborhood brigade interfaces with the Malibu Community Brigade, which coordinates firefighting efforts with the Los Angeles Fire Department,” Bigelow said.
Preparing for the next fire: Home hardening is the way to go
“Home hardening is the best way to prepare for fires and ember storms and every resident needs to take responsibility for their grounds,” Marderosian emphasized, discussing how one can best protect homes and other structures against fire dangers. “Defensible spaces — areas that extend 100 feet from a structure in every direction that have no flammable materials — are of great help in reducing the risk of homes burning due to a wildfire or a subsequent ember storm.”
Marderosian and Deborah Rubenacker explained that it is imperative that homeowners maintain a 5-foot noncombustible zone around their homes and decks and that during a wildfire, residents move anything burnable such as planters, patio furniture, gas BBQ tanks, and cushions at least 30 feet away from any structure.
If you leave your home — your home is on its own
“We all know that if we leave our home, it is on its own,” Haines said, noting that fire engines often do not show up in Corral Canyon to fight a fire front or during subsequent ember storms. “I’ve lived in the Canyon for 35 years and have experienced four to five fires,” he said. “If your home is sitting without anyone protecting it, it is waiting for an ember to ignite it — there is a 60% chance that could happen between three and hours after the firewall hits.”
Haines elaborated: “If you have to leave your property, have hoses laid out with proper nozzles so that first responders can easily attach them to hydrants. Doing so is of immense help in battling a fire.”
Haines and others told Sophia Soudani-John, emergency manager deputy for LA County Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath, that they advocate a code requirement mandating that new builds have a valve and hydrant to provide first responders with critically needed water sources to battle blazes.
“It is not very hard to install the plumbing needed to support a fire hydrant,” Haines emphasized.
Home ignition zone evaluations and Firewise Community Certification
Board member Bambi Young suggested that Corral Canyon consider being certified as a Firewise Community, which she noted, “results in insurance companies possibly providing insureds with a price break.” Rubenacker noted that home ignition zone evaluations are available so that residents can assess whether they have successfully hardened their homes against wildfires. She noted that such assessments will help residents and the overall Corral Canyon community determine whether they qualify for Firewise certification.
Rubenacker advises readers to visit Malibucity.org and schedule a fire-hardening assessment online. One can also consult the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains, rcdsmm.org, and register with that organization for a home ignition zone evaluation.
Residents required to step up, get involved, and volunteer
All those presenting information concerning the various efforts that Corral Canyon residents exert to ensure the canyon neighborhoods are as prepared as possible for fires, and who diligently provide critically-needed responses during Red Flag Days and wildfires, had one central message: Volunteers are needed for all of the programs.
Simply stated, private citizens need to step up to ensure that the canyon best defends itself in disasters. Breese, Rubenacker, and Young noted that volunteers are needed to apply for grants and to support CCFSA overall.
Resources concerning getting involved
“We are always looking for volunteers for Arson Watch and the brigade,” Bigelow said. “Please go to arsonwatch.com to find out more about the program and how to apply.” The Los Angeles Emergency Preparedness Foundation oversees the community brigade program and is also seeking volunteers, he noted.
For more information concerning fire-hardening a home or other structure, go to FireSafeCouncil.org. To join Arson Watch, go to arsonwatch.com.
For more information about working as a LA County Fire Call Firefighter, contact Matt Haines at hainesmatt@aol.com and consider applying governmentjobs.com/careers/lacounty/jobs/2698364/call-fire-fighter-non-competitive as needed. To explore serving in the community brigade, visit the Los Angeles Emergency Preparedness Foundation at laepf.org. To learn more about firewise community certification, visit firewise.org.
For more information about CCFSA, readers can consult corralcanyon.org.