Wildfire risk management expert offers advice to Malibu residents

By Judy Abel · Sat Jul 18 2026

Malibu Rebuild Task Force hosts informational community meeting offering support to residents

A dedicated community of Malibu residents who lost homes in the Palisades Fire is continuing efforts to move forward in the recovery process by banding together and providing support through shared critical information in the arduous rebuilding process. Last Saturday, the Malibu Rebuild Task Force, along with the Big Rock Property Owners Association and the Malibu Fire Defense Council hosted a Zoom meeting featuring expert advice from a wildfire risk management expert who knows the topography and weather conditions that place Malibu in a fire hazard severity zone (FHSZ). Fire Chief Dave Updike, who is now with the U.S. Forestry Service and grew up in Malibu, spoke on the steps that homeowners can take to help make their properties as safe as possible.

First, Malibu’s Assistant Community Development Director Tyler Eaton reported 85 rebuild permits have now been issued in the city with 228 planning approvals out of nearly 700 structures destroyed. Eaton touched on Malibu’s Zone Zero regulation based on a statewide fire safety law, AB 3074. It states landscaping shall not allow vegetation within 5 feet of any structure to better protect structures from wildfires. Rebuilds must submit landscaping/fuel modification plans that must be approved by the city and the Los Angeles County Fire Department. City planting requirements can be found here.

Fire Chief Dave Updike, now with the U.S. Forestry Service, grew up in Malibu and has 31 years of experience in local wildland firefighting. He too spoke on the hazards of planting vegetation too close to homes, likening such plantings ascreating a “ladder” to a fire from the outside to entering the inside of your home. “Reduce some of the fuel loading around your house. And it's not just vegetation,” Updike implored, mentioning that wooden benches, mulch wood chips, and other wooden structures, especially wood fences, can ignite from flying embers. Replace wood chips with pea gravel. Leave no receptive fuel for embers to land on. Installing 1/16th-inch wire mesh on all vents will help reduce the chance of embers entering a structure. 

And railroad ties, used frequently in local landscaping, are problematic, Updike said, explaining how embers can burrow into holes frequently found in railroad ties. Once creosote in the tie is ignited, it can take days to extinguish. “That could lead right into your structure. That will bring the fire into your structure over a matter of hours,” Updike warned.

The wildfire risk management expert also advised against defending your home during a wildfire by climbing onto your roof with a hose. The risk of falling and being injured is too great. In a widespread emergency, Updike warned, “Who’s coming if you fall? Nobody’s coming to get you.”

But for those who decide to stay and defend their homes, they may consider a pool pump with enough hose to reach other areas of their property. And those without pools should consider a SNAP tank, a portable water tank designed for wildfire suppression and emergency water storage. These tanks are collapsible, lightweight, and can be folded for transport and set up quickly. Even if you evacuate your property during a fire you can fill the tank and leave it in an area visible to firefighters to use as a water source or fill it for a precautionary measure on a red flag day.

Updike urged residents to make a fire plan, from home hardening to evacuations, and a plan B in case those evacuations are disrupted with road closures, power outages, and other snafus that invariably occur in a major emergency. And his big takeaway in being fire ready is, “No single product is going to save your structure. A layered approach within the community starts long before the wildfire.”

With neighbors advising one another and sharing important information on insurance, water shut-off valves, sprinklers, and permitting advice, you can watch the meeting in its entirety at this link here.

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