Villanueva Softens Hard Line On Malibu Evacuations – A Bit
Written by 991KBU on July 17, 2020
Los Angeles County sheriff Alex Villanueva is changing his story on mandatory evacuations .. during brushfires.
During a public open house with Topanga Canyon residents yesterday … on the computers … the sheriff said he will work with fire department officials to reopen evacuated areas faster.
Previously … the sheriff had stood by the decision to keep western malibu closed to residents for up to 8 days after the Woolsey Fire was declared over.
Yesterday … the sheriff said the reopening needed to happen faster.
NEWSCART 75735 WOOLSEY LESSONS
“Something that would have happened differently in the Woolsey Fire …to increase the speed of the evacuation … I would have opened up Pacific Coast Highway to all lanes southbound instead of just half to get people out as quickly as possible.
“And also in the repopulation part … which I think was the biggest source of concern…
“We need to do a better job of coordinating that between fire and law enforcement.”
In an open house in Malibu last year … Villanueva had defended the lengthy roadblocks … and said Malibu residents who want to stay behind to save houses need to realize they will be on their own for food … medicine and gasoline for up to 14 days.
The sheriff also said contract cities like Malibu will not see a decrease in deputy patrols due to budget cuts imposed by the Board of Supervisors.
But he said some specialty teams .. like major crimes and homicides … have been badly hit.
