Malibu West Plans to Create Fire Safety
Council
• Homeowners Take a Proactive Stance
in an Area that Has Not Burned in 30 Years
Malibu West homeowners and their
association indicate they are taking fire safety and disaster
preparations to a new level given the three wildfires of 2007.
The neighborhood of tract homes located in
Trancas Canyon is considered a close-knit community of 237
residences, but is nearly surrounded by undeveloped wildlands
that become tinder in a wildfire.
Homes which were built in the 1960s are
sited among old growth creekside trees and plants. There is one
road in and the same one road out for the residents and
firefighters in the box canyon.
The last fire burned in 1978 and many
residents know only too well the rugged hillsides and wildlands
above and behind them will once again explode into a fiery
conflagration.
Designated as a community at risk and
knowing a wildfire that engulfed the canyon bottom neighborhood
could take out almost a half-billon dollars in real estate,
many homeowners insist now is the time to take action.
The Malibu fires of 2007 are described as a
“wake up call” for fire safety in the west end
community.
First and foremost, residents believe
they need to maintain a defensible space around Malibu West.
The goal emphasized in a position paper
written about the neighborhood’s ambitions is “to
reduce vulnerability of wildfire loss by organizing,
training, and coordinating community-wide disaster
preparedness and emergency response and
implementing preventive fire measures. We will utilize
many tools in the fire safety tool box; brush
clearance in ways appropriate to the vegetation
and terrain, including utilizing goats, promoting
fire-smart building and landscaping, proactive equipping and
educating homeowners in emergency preparedness including using
gel and creating a community map for responding agencies and
CERT teams to locate water sources and Go Kits stocked with
emergency supplies and to know where there are home-bound
residents or others who would need help in an emergency or
evacuation.”
In addition to the major grant for funding
that was announced by the group last week, the
neighborhood has received a donation of a used truck that
carries 2000 gallons of water. The group hopes to
coordinate with the Los Angeles County Fire
Department to use the truck as a mobile source of
water for the area.
To get the word out and encourage
homeowners, forum and educational workshops are planned and
public information events are also being considered to
attract widespread media exposure.
The HOA also pledged $50,000 from its
budget for funding fire hazard reduction efforts.
