Malibu Fires

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Homes built among the wild brush were perfect prey to
wildfires. Initially, wildfires were put out immediately and people were barred
from setting fires in open spaces. Due to the policy of fire suppression, only
one percent of all wildfires escaped early control. The land was safe from
fires temporarily, but this set the stage for catastrophe as the brush grew more
dense.
There have been more than 20 catastrophic wildfires in Los Angeles
County since the beginning of organized fire protection. The first "big one"
happened in December of 1927. The fire started in the La Crescenta Valley,
climbed over the Verdugo Mountain range and destroyed more than 100 homes.
In addition to the damage caused in 1927, fires have profoundly affected
the Southern California environment. Almost every square mile of chaparral land
in Los Angeles county has been burned at least once, since 1919. There are
basically two large fire breeding grounds in Los Angeles county: the ...

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last time Topanga Canyon had seen a
damaging fire was December 30, 1956, when 74 homes were destroyed (Wildfire sec.
3 p.1). Another painful memory for Topanga Canyon occurred between 1938 and
1943, during which time three fires destroyed more than 600 structures.
1993 featured one of Malibu's most devastating firestorms. When
traveling through Malibu's scenic landscape, it is almost impossible to imagine
that this beautiful environment could foster such a deadly fire. Lovely ocean-
view homes are nestled within the lush vegetation of the mountainous landscape.
In fact, it was Malibu's beauty that originally lured people to settle there.
Unfortunately, Malibu has the ultimate ...

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