MALIBU—On Wednesday, October 9, it was announced that as part of Malibu’s wildfire preparedness efforts, the Malibu City Council will be asked to adopt a Resolution declaring the existence of a local emergency and initiating a program for reducing the risk of fires associated with individuals engaged in unpermitted camping at the October 14 Council meeting.
On June 24, the Malibu City Council adopted a Resolution that established criteria for declaring the existence of a local emergency and initiating a program for decreasing the risk of fires associated with individuals engaged in unpermitted camping in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (VHFHSZ) and establishing criteria for when to terminate the local emergency.
The criteria for declaring the existence of a local emergency was set at a Live Fuel Moisture (LFM) of 65 percent or less as determined by the Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) Forestry Division for Santa Monica Mountains Chamise. On September 27, the Los Angeles County Fire Department Forestry Division posted an LFM of 65 percent for Santa Monica Mountains Chamise.
The LFM is the percentage of water content to dry matter in live vegetation. LFM can be as high as 300 percent and is considered critical at 60 percent. It should be noted that large fire growth may still occur with LFM levels as high as 80% if we have substantial wind and lower humidities.
The LACoFD Forestry Division conducts sampling throughout the county approximately every two weeks and posts the results on its website: https://fire.lacounty.gov/fire-weather-danger.
By Trevor