Hazardous Fire Conditions Forecast Through the Weekend

By Samantha Bravo · Thu Nov 09 2023

The National Weather Service (NWS) forecasts that Strong Santa Ana winds and very low humidity will create hazardous wildfire conditions through the weekend. The City of Malibu is encouraging residents to be prepared for potential fires, evacuations, and power and traffic signal outages. Residents should monitor weather and emergency updates on local news and the NWS LA/Oxnard website.

Santa Ana winds are bringing critical fire weather and red flag conditions to LA County Thursday through Sunday. Palm tree located at Zuma Beach. Photo by Samantha Bravo/TMT.

The City is coordinating on preparedness with the LA County Fire and Sheriff’s Departments, Caltrans and LA County Public Works. The Public Safety Team is coordinating with the Sheriff’s Host Team and Malibu Homeless Outreach Team to engage with people experiencing homelessness in Malibu about fire prevention and being prepared for potential evacuations. The Public Works Team will be patrolling the roads monitoring for road hazards, debris, and downed power lines. The City and Malibu CERT Team volunteers are coordinating to be prepared to use radio repeaters and handheld radios and set up the Emergency Information Station to be able to communicate and share information with the community in case of widespread power outage. The City and KBUU 99.1 FM are coordinating to post emergency information in the local radio broadcast.

PREPAREDNESS TIPS

Be prepared for potential power outages, fire, evacuations, hazardous road conditions due to branches in the road and malfunctioning traffic signals. Under CA law, come to a complete stop at any malfunctioning traffic signal.
Move flammable furniture and materials away from your house, secure furniture.
Check on elderly or disabled neighbors. Seniors, people who rely on wheelchairs, medical devices, or are otherwise not mobile, and owners of horses and large animals should consider leaving the area early.
Make sure you know how to open garage doors and electric gates when the power is out. For garage doors, see the video instructions. For electric gates, look up instructions on the website of your gate manufacturer or call the manufacturer, as there are many different systems.
Check your emergency supplies for expiration dates on batteries, food and medications, review emergency plans (don't forget your pets).
Keep your vehicle's gas tank full.
Know your Los Angeles County and City of Malibu Evacuation Zones (MAL-C111 - MAL-C114, the same as Zones 11-14 that the City adopted) by searching for your home or work address on Los Angeles County’s new Genasys website,which the County will use to post evacuation information based on the zones. Plan your evacuation routes and reunification locations. Find more evacuation information on the City website.
Monitor local AM and FM radio (which will work with hand crank, solar, battery-powered and car radios if the power is out) and follow weather information from the National Weather Service website.
The City will send out emergency alerts as needed and post all emergency information on the website. All current City alerts are posted on the alerts webpage. Sign up for City alerts (scroll down to “Alert Center”). Sign up for LA County emergency alerts.