This is KBUU News – Day 440 – the Wednesday Headlines – Ventura County Fire Defends Its Woolsey Defense

• =   Ventura County firefighters defend their role in the early stages of the Woolsey Fire.
• =  They say Woolsey would have gone out of control even if Ventura wasn’t tied up fighting another fire.
• =   Santa Monica officials say it’s racist to say Latino voters favorite Latino candidates.
• =   Gunfire yesterday near Malibou Lake.
• =   And if you think natural gas is clean fuel … turns out it’s not.

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Malibu’s Only Local Daily News from Radio Malibu  …. F-M 99 point 1 K B U U. Good morning … I’m Hans Laetz reporting.

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Ventura County firefighters say the Woolsey Fire would have exploded out of control … even if their attention was focussed that day on a different fire … 20 miles away.

That was the message delivered to the Ventura County Board Of Supervisors  Tuesday night …. as the Ventura County response to the Hill and Woolsey fires was examined.

According to the account in the Ventura County Star … firefighters may not have been able to stop Woolsey from spreading even without Hill Fire burning at the same time,, Ventura County fire chief Mark Lorenzen said.

Quote … “To have all the resources dedicated to the Woolsey Fire certainly would have been more helpful. I don’t know if the outcome would have been different.”

The rule of the Ventura county fire in western Malibu’s distraction has not been examined by any outside agencies.

The Woolsey fire broke out in Ventura County … in an isolated area that is much closer to fire stations operated by Los Angeles county and the city of Los Angeles.

The three fire agencies having agreement on unified response to fires that breakout in that section of Ventura County.

But the fire roared over the hill into the Oak Park Area … the subdivisions along Cannon Road north of the 101 freeway.

“If you request the evacuations too early, there’s no smoke in the air, no one sees firetrucks, no one sees law enforcement vehicles (and) the compliance rate goes down quite a bit,” he said. “We have to hit that sweet spot without jeopardizing safety.”

Complicating the fire fight north of Malibu was that flames burned both in east-west and north-south directions, he said.  

By the time the fire reached the 101 … it was impossible to stop … as it leaped the freeway and headed towards Malibu.

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Santa Monica officials say assuming that Latino voters prefer candidates with Latino last names is racial stereotyping.

They are reacting a a lawsuit filed by Malibu resident Kevin Shenkman … whose law associate has also filed a demand that Malibu switch from citywide council voting … to district voting. 

Many Malibu residents are furious that Shenkman and his law associate are going up and down the state … collecting state-mandated payouts for filing demands for voting changes.

The changes are designed to improve Latino representation on local boards and city councils … by instituting district voting … which can increase minority influence if there is a concentration of minority voters in any one neighborhood.

Such a claim has been made in Malibu … despite the fact that there is no concentration of Latino voters anywhere in the city.

Many Malibu residents are furious at what they see as a shakedown by Shenkman and his associate.

Santa Monica has lost the first round in court … where a judge found that the 35 percent or so of Santa Monica residents are Latino … and are being discriminated against.

Malibu has 6 percent Latino residents.

Santa Monica has filed an appeal …. which says that the last 10 elections there show that the candidates who were favored by Latino voters … won.

And Santa Monica argues that it is racist stereotyping to assume Latino voters prefer Latino candidates.

A decision is expected this summer.

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L A County sheriff’s deputies were called to a report of gunfire near Malibou Lake yesterday.

Deputies were sent to South Lake Shore Drive in the unincorporated area near Agoura Hills about 4 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The death is being classified as a suicide.

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California’s electric utilities are on the hook for billions of dollars in damages caused by wildfire … maybe one billion dollars in the Malibu area alone.

The power company that serves the northern part of the state has run to bankruptcy court … partly in order to protect its shareholders money.

And what happens up north to Pacific Gas and Electric … may happen down south to Southern California Edison.

California governor Gavin Newsom is threatening to take over P G and E … to make it a state-owned utility.

Yesterday … the governor rejected P G and E’s plan to emerge from bankruptcy.

The governor threatened yesterday to withhold billions of dollars in a state bailout … aimed at pressuring P G and E to fully pay off the damages claims filed by people who lost their homes … livelihoods or in some cases their loved ones due to electric company negligence… in causing the big fires.

Malibu homeowners with claims against Southern California Edison may be affected by all the intrigue surrounding P G and E.

Stay tuned.

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The Australian summer of fire continues.

Now today comes word that an American air tanker crashed today … killing three people on board.

The C-130 tanker was operated by a Portland Oregon company …. which flew the plane down under under contract to the Australian government.

It is one of several very large tankers … some of which have flown over Malibu … that have been sent to Australia.

The death toll there is now 31 people.

40 million acres of land have burned.

And some estimates say more than one billion animals have been killed.

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Here is a conundrum … a problem.

Many Malibu residents are taking note of frequent electrical outages … and installing standby generators that run on natural gas.

But environmentalists say that natural gas is a potent greenhouse gas … and the California Public Utilities Commission plans to transition California away from natural gas-fueled technologies.

Natural gas is not green.

Methane …. which is marketed as natural gas … is a fossil fuel that in some cases is worse than burning coal for generating electricity.

That’s because the state’s natural gas delivery system is leaky … it releases huge amounts of methane into the air.

Natural gas is the largest source of energy for California …  about 30% of the electricity on the state’s grid.

And millions of Californians use methane for heating and cooking.

Some cities in California are banning new natural gas connections … and may ban natural gas use.

And the state worries that  … as customers replace natural gas with clean power … those remaining hooked up to gas will have to pay more and more to keep the delivery system functioning,

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Traffic … in 65 seconds … first …

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Weather for the Malibu ….

((((  Sunny   )))) … highs  ((((  71    )))) beaches … ((((   74   )))) mountains and canyons.

Downcoast winds …  (((   15   )))) miles per hour this afternoon.

Sunset tonight is at   ((((     5:13   )))).

After that … (((  partly cloudy   )))) tonight … low (((( 58   )))) beaches …  ((((    40   )))) mountains and canyons.

Tomorrow should be   ((((    much the same    )))).

No rain in the forecast next 7 days.

Right now here at the KBUU studios in Trancas … it’s  ((((       )))) degrees.

Leo Carrillo beach … (((    ))).

Paradise Cove … (((    ))).

Big Rock … (((    ))).

In upper Malibu Canyon … (((    ))).

Calabasas … (((    ))).

And Civic Center L-A … (((    ))).

In the ocean … it’s ((((       )))) degrees in the water at Zuma Beach.

Mo says the waves at Surfrider Beach today are   ((((    )))) feet high ….

Those are ((((  fair )))) surfing conditions …. according to Mo.

(((((   tide is at     

ide is at  .))))

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