New resource to assist Malibu area homeowners in wildfire preparedness
As wildfire danger continues to shape life in the Santa Monica Mountains, a relatively new nonprofit organization is stepping into a critical role, helping residents prepare for, withstand, and recover from the growing threat of catastrophic fires.
Founded in 2023, the Santa Monica Mountains Fire Safe Council (SMMFSC) was created to fill a gap in regional wildfire preparedness. While Malibu and surrounding communities have neighborhood-based fire safe councils, there had never been a regional organization to connect them, support their work and provide professional continuity.
“We looked around at places like Ventura and Santa Barbara and saw that they had larger, regional fire safe councils with full-time staff,” said Pauline Allen, executive director of SMMFSC. “In the Santa Monica Mountains, there are a handful of smaller fire safe councils, but no regional one — and that’s a huge fire risk area. We saw that as a big gap.”
Fire safe councils are grassroots, community-led organizations that help residents reduce wildfire risk through education, home assessments and neighborhood projects. The Santa Monica Mountains council was created to act as a connector among communities and to serve residents who don’t live within an existing neighborhood council.
One of the council’s board members is Jerry Vandermeulen, a former fire safety liaison for the City of Malibu with 35 years of service with the Ventura County Fire Department.
Vandermeulen was Malibu’s first full-time fire safety liaison beginning in 2019 and later returned in a part-time role. He joined the SMMFSC’s executive board at its inception and is now president.
“This organization brings together experience, funding and community energy,” Vandermeulen said. “It supports the work Malibu is already doing and expands what’s possible.”
Malibu already has a robust fire safety program, including home ignition zone inspections and fire-wise community support. The SMMFSC works closely with the city’s fire safety staff, including current liaison Brad Yokum, who also serves on the council’s board.
“We see ourselves as supplemental,” Allen said. “Malibu has a great program, so we work behind the scenes to support it, share resources and help expand what’s available to residents.”
One of the council’s most important services, as is also available in Malibu, is free home ignition zone evaluations, which assess a property’s vulnerability to embers and provides recommendations for home hardening and defensible space. The council also helps fund home hardening projects, including installing ember-resistant vent screens.
“We’re currently fully funding vent retrofits for a number of residents, including several in Malibu,” Allen said. “That means installing one-16th-inch mesh on vents, which keeps embers out while still allowing airflow.”
Another major focus is supporting Firewise communities — neighborhood-level wildfire safety groups that work together to reduce risk. These micro-grassroots groups are run by volunteers and are not incorporated, meaning they cannot apply for grants on their own.
“That’s where we come in,” Vandermeulen explained. “As a nonprofit, we can apply for grants and use that funding to support Firewise communities.”
The council hosts a monthly virtual networking call on the fourth Wednesday of each month at noon for Firewise leaders and residents interested in forming new groups. The calls allow neighbors to share challenges, successes, and ideas for reaching more residents.
SMMFSC also organizes community work days, where neighbors come together to remove vegetation, clear defensible space, and learn hands-on mitigation skills.
Last June, SMMFSC coordinated a work day in Topanga’s Glenview neighborhood, where volunteers removed woody vegetation, filled a donated dumpster and learned how to retrofit vents.
“Firewise communities need to log mitigation hours every year to maintain recognition,” Allen said. “Work days help them meet that requirement and get more done together.”
SMMFSC has also supported larger community-driven projects, including a successful fuel-reduction and native-planting effort in the Entrada Encina neighborhood of Topanga, which borders Topanga State Park.
Concerned residents obtained permission from the state to clear brush on park land closest to their homes. With the council’s help, they raised funds for a contractor, then planted native oak trees to create a long-term ember-resistant buffer.
“That project was such a success we’re now receiving a grant to do similar work this year,” according to Allen.
In addition to physical mitigation, the Fire Safe Council is addressing the emotional toll of wildfire.
Later this month, the organization will host its first Wildfire Café, modeled after climate cafés — facilitated, judgment-free conversations where people can reflect on the long-term impacts of fire.
A virtual café will be held Jan. 29 from 6 to 8 p.m., followed by an in-person gathering at the Getty Villa on February 7 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Registration is required through SMMFSC’s website.
The Fire Safe Council’s work has already earned recognition. The organization will receive Environmental Program of the Year from Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin’s office later this month.
The council is also actively seeking donations and corporate sponsors to expand its programs and continue funding mitigation projects for residents.
“We’re a nonprofit, and community support is essential,” Allen said. “There’s a donate button on our website, and anyone interested in sponsorship can reach out directly. Prepared homes, connected neighborhoods, and a community that’s ready — that’s how we protect lives and property.”
For more information, residents can visit smmfsc.org or follow the council on Instagram at @smmfsc.
