There are two ways to get to Santa Monica and the westside, and the closure of PCH leaves one.
This morning … that route was closed.
A head-on crash on the 405 Freeway at the entrance to Sepulveda Pass completely blockaded the backup route to the westside,
As KTLA reported, one person was killed as a wrong-way driver collided with oncoming traffic on the six lane freeway, southbound on the 405 Freeway through the Sherman Oak.
The biggest rainstorm off the season is barreling towards Malibu … to arrive in two days.
The National Weather Service now says they have “high confidence” in a “moderate to strong storm with a weak atmospheric river coming along for the ride.”
Last night … the NWS issued a flash flood watch.
There is the potential for life threatening and damaging flooding and debris flows in the Malibu burn scars.
The Flash Flood Watch is in effect from midday Thursday through 4 am Friday.
Rainfall 1.5 to 3 inches will be common.
Mountains may get 3 to 6 inches … as orographic rain flow will occur as clouds get pushed from over the ocean to into the mountains.
Damaging winds are also possible.
There is a chance for gale force winds along the Malibu coast … blowing storm surf up from the south and into the newly-burned Malibu waterfront.
So when will Pacific Coast Highway reopen?
KBUU News posed that exact question to the Army Corps Of Engineers… after this week’s rain … does the Army need PCH to be closed to demolish the eastern part of Malibu?
Col. Eric Swenson of the Army Corps Of Engineers is in charge.
70933 ARMY STATE
COL. ERIC SWENSON, US ARMY: “It will be critical for us to have access to that critical road in order to rapidly and safely execute private property debris removal in the Malibu and Pacific communities.
“As I said, we are in contact with those who control that road, that being Caltrans and coordination with LA city and the county, and to answer your question, we will need access to that so we can safely execute our mission.
“But the decisions on whether it should be restricted is not something that we make unilaterally, it is something that we work with Caltrans and the other agencies to make that decision.
REPORTER: “The question would be, colonel, do you need exclusive access? Do you need to close the road to get your job done?”
COL. SWENSON: “It’s not my decision whether I have exclusive access or not. If I look at other impacted areas from this community, survivors have returned home to homes that have not been impacted have been occupied. We work around the needs that we have.
SPEAKER 2: “This is Bob Fenton with FEMA. I think it’s really a decision for a Caltrans, the county and the city to make that decision.
“Obviously, along PCH, we will have to have access along there to remove the debris from those homes.
“But that’s ultimately a decision for the Caltrans ,county and city.
“And I know Dave is on from the state, Dave do you have anything?
SPEAKER 3: “Yeah, it’s David Fuchtow [PHONETIC] from the California Division of Emergency Services.
“Yeah Bob is right. It’s a joint decision and much of it is influenced by safety concerns, not only for the debris removal, but as we go along, with threats from rain, erosion, debris, mudflows.
“So there isn’t one particular one time factor that causes that, it maybe a series of things that we can reduce the risk by reducing traffic to the lowest possible traffic at one time.
“I would expect that if we see the rain event coming in that that will be evaluated in continuously to see if we need additional closures in the future as well.”
So can the city of Malibu decide to reopen the Pacific Coast Highway?
Bruce Silverstein asked that last night … at the city council meeting.
The answer from the L A County sheriff’s sergeant for Malibu … Chris Soderlund.
70940 CONTROL
SGT SODERLUND: “So Caltrans controls the roadway. Public Works controls the debris basins, and all the infrastructure surrounding the roadway.”
SILVERSTEIN: “LA County Public Works?”
SGT SODERLUND: “LA County Public Works.
“And they work in unison together to ensure the safety of the road motorists on the roadway.
“And so, based on the totality of all those factors, they decided it’s not safe for the general public to be on the roadway.”
SILVERSTEIN: “So does the City of Malibu using whatever its combined forces have the ability to cause the highway to be open if Caltrans decides to shut it?
SODERLUND: “Caltrans is the overall authority on that roadway.”
SILVERSTEIN: “And we can’t shut it if they decide they want it open.”
SODERLUND: “Correct.”
In other words … no … Malibu does not have the unilateral authority to open … or the. unilateral power to close … PCH.
One thing all members of the Malibu city council agreed on last night … to one extent or another.
The rebuilding process has to change.
Facing a roomful of fire victims … some of them angry and shouting … the city council last night tentatively decided to bring up the issue of fire rebuilding policies.
At its next meeting.
But its members voiced great unhappiness with the current management system … the cumbersome way that the city council lumbers into action on this.
First … they approved hiring more consultants to get the applications for rebuilding onto the conveyor belt.
Council member Bruce Silverstein voted for it … but says we may need to radically change gears … up ahead.
70938 SILVER POLICY
“This is the same process that didn’t work six years ago or five-six years ago.
“And I see us being in the same position.
“It’s all platitudes that we’re going to move this fast, we’re going to get this done. It’s going to be fast.
“I don’t believe it and I don’t believe that using the same people we’re going to get something done different this time.”
The issue is … how to you reconfigure a speeding jet as it is already lifting off the runway?
The immediate issue … council members said last night … who will be setting up the new fire rebuilding permits office … across the parking lot from City Hall.
And more importantly… what exactly will those people do? Malibu city councilman an mayor, Doug Stewart:
70934 STEWART POLICY
“We have to make the decision probably the next meeting what are we going to focus on?
“Is it going to be rebuilds where all the rebuilds get first and if you want to do something else you go to the back of the line?
“Or do we say if you’re developer you get to go to the back of the back of the line?
“We’re gonna be faced with people who have given up and want to just sell their lot to a builder who’s going to consolidate them.
“That’s entirely different than us trying to give the people – that are in this audience likely – they want to get in their homes and who wanna do it within their budget would what the insurance will pay.
“If we want to get those people back on track right of way.
“The longer you sit using up your housing allowance or your personal property allowances, we are not helping you get back in your house.”
Last night … the county council approved hiring consultants to begin processing the building permits for fire victims who want to rebuild.
But some council members said that was a mistake.
Haylynn Conrad said the city should use architects and expediters in Malibu … put them on the city payroll.:
70935 HAYLYNN POLICY
“We can think outside the box, use this as an opportunity.
“We have a lot of experts already in Malibu, that know Malibu.
“I’m all for extra hands, but when it comes down to expediting and getting the LCP in the process done, we kind of have everybody here.”
But that means using the existing formula … having expediters hold applicants hands and guide them thru the rebuilding process.
Bruce Silverstein also says he to go out of the box … way out of the box.
70938 SILVER BOX
“I’m trying to think out of the box and trying to figure out ways we can do this better this time.
“I would consider, for example, going to a private equity fund that is involved in the construction area, and bringing in an entire team to oversee this who are coordinated.
“And give them a financial incentive to get it done and get it done quickly.”
The council faced a roomful of opinions on that last night … more than 20 speakers.
We will have their comments … on tomorrow’s broadcast.
But then comes the question .. just who is in charge at Malibu city hall?
Some council members are voicing frustration that … during this emergency … the city council is unable to meet often enough to make quick decisions on major policy issues.
Councilman Bruce Silverstein last night suggested that the city council start … basically … a continuous city council meeting … adjourn every day.
This would let the city get around the state’s open meetings laws that require agendas to be posted for every action at every meeting.
The city’s lawyer says that’s not legal …. Very not legal.
Malibu has a city manager form of governance.
A weak mayor … basically a glorified city council member.
The city council sets policy … the city manager executes it.
Malibu’s city manager has been on leave for three months.
The city manager is the person at City Hall who is supposed to act fast … reacting to emergencies.
And Malibu is in a state of multiple emergencies due to the fires.
In the past several weeks … Malibu’s mayor and mayor pro tem have sprung into action …
Doug Stewart and Marianne Riggins … have been staring down the state on major issues.
Like when the Coastal Commission ignored the governor’s orders … and reinserted itself back into coastal development permits in the fire zone.
The governor this month made a startling order … he removed jurisdiction of coastal reconstruction permits from the jurisdiction off the Coastal Commission.
But the Coastal Commission staff ignored that …. And put out a memo telling fire victims how to apply for coastal permits.
Mayor Doug Stewart went to the governor … and the governor immediately slapped down Coastal.
But that’s not the mayor’s job.
Councilman Bruce Silverstein points out that the five member city council is supposed to make policy decisions … and the mayor is merely a ceremonial figure.
But without a city manager … and with acting city manager Joseph Towney overloaded with fire response duties … there is a vacuum as the city faces crisis after crisis.
There are serious policy questions ahead … and the city council is stuck with meeting every two weeks.
A new idea that comes up … like hiring local project managers to expedite projects inside the city government?
Or setting up a permit office to deal with fire rebuilds only … on an express basis???
The city council ends up discussing that only after the decisions are made.
Some on the city council want to change that schedule and procedure .. too try to get around the open meeting law … which requires new ideas to be put out on agendas with 72 hour notices.
That speed up concept idea it wasn’t on the agenda for last night … so even it has to wait two weeks.
Council members last night agreed to look at this cumbersome process and try to speed things up.
It will discuss its options.
In two weeks.
Also last night … the city council met behind closed doors to discuss the work performance by Malibu city manager Steve McClary … the fourth or fifth meeting on that topic … we’ve lost count.
It took no action.
Setting fires to prevent fires used to be common in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Controlled burns.
And LA County Fire Chief Drew Smith says controlled burns should resume in the Malibu area.
But some homeowners groups have killed past plans for prescribed burns.
The Las Virgenes Homeowners Federation had the ear of the former LA County supervisor Sheila Kuehl …
And before she left office … Kuehl prohibited LA County Fire from doing a planned limited burn near Big Rock.
Keuhl is gone … and the Malibu’s city council last night voiced support to bring back controlled burns to the local mountains.
Fire chief Drew Smith says he wants controlled burns to be brought to Malibu… To return to the fire department, one more tool to reduce fire load.
And chief Smith also said he wants goats … lots of goats … to munch across the mountains.
70939GOATS GRAZE
“Goats are environmentally, friendly, vegetation management strategy, that’s a fact.
They’ll graze and reduce fuel, continuity and decrease flame length, improving a homeowners defensible space.
“So if you can reduce the amount of radiant energy that is impacting homes, we have a different footprint. Remember, we are in a shelter in place kind of mode. We have not enough time to evacuate on an evacuation order or a warning.
“This gives your firefighters a different set of tactical opportunities, when you have managed lands around the homes.
“Goats just love to graze that’s all they do.”
But notice …. Smith is talking about managed lands.
Clearing the land … chopping back the weeds and the native chaparral ovegrowth.
That is very controversial.
Some people contend that the native chaparral overgrowth is an old growth forest … and it must be left untrimmed.
Smith says unmanaged land is a fire risk.
He prefers managed lands … in this order:
Prescribed burns.
Goats eating away weeds.
Or mechanical clearance … people with rakes or bulldozers.
But the fire chief told the city council. … some people in the Santa Monica Mountains do not want the area altered.
70936 SMITH OPPO
“There have been some homeowners associations there has been some strong opposition to this. So typically our projects get shut down.
[INCREDULOUS NOISES FROM CITY COUNCIL]
SMITH: “Oh yeah. They do.”
COUNCILMAN STEVE UHRING: “Opposition to goats?”
CHIEF SMITH: “Oh yeah.
“There’s actually a lot of opposition to the management of our wildlands.
“They want to keep it in a ‘wildlands’ setting.
“But the end result is what you see.”
He pointed at a picture of blackened hills.
Last night … the city council all but begged the fire chief to come back with specific plans for controlled burns … and goats … and mechanical brush removal projects … around Malibu.
Watch what happens next.
An apparently homeless woman was killed on Santa Monica Beach two nights ago…
Beach maintenance crews found her just north of the Santa Monica Pier at 7 Monday morning.
Police found the victim in a sleeping bag with visible trauma to her face, police said.
Santa Monica Fire pronounced her dead at the scene.
Police said she is believed to have been about 30 years old.
The victim’s identity has not yet been determined.
