Council Looks at Camp 8 Issue

• County Capitulates to Localized Outcry

BY BILL KOENEKER

Some Malibu City Council members had strong words for the residents who protested initial reports that the California Department of Corrections was considering use of Fire Camp 8 to house inmates trained in firefighting.
The facility is currently used by the Los Angeles County Fire Department to assign fly crews. A helicopter is stationed at the camp located high in the hills above Las Flores Canyon.
“That is not going to happen,” said fire department spokesperson, Maria Grycan, Nearby residents had organized opposition to the plan that fire officials said was still in the early assessment stage.
Fire officials now say their initial assessment has ruled out the camp for inmates because of the residential component.
Councilmember John Sibert chastised the protesting neighbors, who he said jumped the gun.
“The concern I have is the Chicken Little approach. We ended up looking foolish,” he said.
Sibert said he began getting e-mails on Thursday, made a few calls, contacted the city manager and by Monday fire officials had already withdrawn the site.
“These are programs that save people’s lives. This instant panic bothers me,” he added.
Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich said she thought it ironic that when she attended the community Wildfire planning meetings, there were only three people in attendance.
“I hope the people activated by the Camp 8 [proposal] keep more informed and involved,” she said. “I hope the people who shouted the loudest on Camp 8 don’t stop. They need to be vigilant.”
Ironically, the history of the camp shows it got its start as a place for wards of the court to learn wilderness firefighting techniques.
Current inmate firefighting facilities in Malibu include Camp 13 on Encinal Canyon Road and Camp 16 in Malibu Canyon, according to the LACOFD website.
In 1981, Camp 13 was the first of four fire suppression camps to open jointly with the CDC, combining state manpower and resources within county facilities and county overhead, according to the website.
In a program that predates most residents, Camp 8 was one of seven camps in the 1940s when the county staffed the facilities with wards of the court.