Only 10 House Owners Fail To Specify Which Way They Will Clear Beaches, As Homeowners Get June 1 Deadline – Army Is Not Clearing Debris In Surf, ‘There’s A Bathtub Down There Washing Around’ –

Last night was the deadline for the owners of burned down houses to either sign up for the Army to remove their wreckage … or commit to clear their land themselves.

And by the end of the day … only 10 beachfront property owners had failed to decide.

Those houses may get bulldozed anyway … as a result of a county Board of Supervisors order.

For the small percentage of people who rejected the Army and plan to clear their land themselves. … they have just been given a June First deadline.

Most of the beach at La Costa has been cleared of debris by the Army.

Some residents have grouped together to save costs … and have hired an engineering company that is already conducting test drilling to measure the geological conditions … which are fairly uniform along that stretch of beach.

Of the more than 300 burned oceanfront structures … 197 owners have contacted the city to get started one rebuilding plans.

14 plans are being processed for compliance with city planning rules.

Six house plans have been approved … and sent to the plan check office to make sure the blueprints comply with building codes.

And one house … on Carbon Beach …is about to submit completed structure and engineering plans … according to the city.

‘4-1/2 Aircraft Carriers Worth Of Debris’ Has Already Been Hauled Off

The Army Corps of Engineers is still ramping up bulldozer operation … truck loading and haul out from the Malibu fire disaster.

Army Lieutenant Colonel Nate Weander … from New Orleans … says that as of today … 16 hundred houses have been cleared … of about 5 thousand that signed up for the government clearing effort.

Waender has 97 crews working for him.

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“With those 97 crews working through the impact area we are averaging 40 properties a day. That’s 1,200 a month.

“Why do I tell you that? I would argue the next two months are going to be crucial.

“The next 60 days we are going to add tempo … which will have massive impacts.

“More importantly to this community, it accordance with the request of the governor, we will clear all the PCH properties by the end of May.

“And that will allow the state to have the additional lanes to reopen the highway.”

But even into the summer… trucks will be hauling out the remaining 40 percent of debris from inland houses … particularly from the thousands of destroyed houses in thePacific Palisades.

And that will mean heavy trucks hauling out of the Palisades and continued traffic jams on PCH … mixed in with summer traffic.

Lt Col Weander says a huge mountain of debris has already been removed …with lots more to go.

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“Currently, we have 97 debris removal crews, operating across the 37 square-mile impact area of the Palisades and Malibu fire.

“To date, we have removed 450,000 tons of fire ash and debris.

“To put that into context: that is 4-1/2 aircraft carriers. Now I don’t see aircraft carriers every day, but maybe you do.

“So to put that into something little more reasonable I like to talk about Ford F-150 pick up tracks. If you had an equivalent of number of F-150 pick up trucks and you parked them bumper-to-bumper starting right here, they would stretch to Santa Fe, New Mexico in an unbroken line.”

The Army officer said fencing is being installed along PCH when they clear out.

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“The general rule is that if theres a 2 foot drop or more, there is a potential safety violation, just to protect people from falling onto your property.”

Installing fences between the coast highway and the beach … that used to be a problem for the California Coastal Commission … even on private property.

The governor has ordered the commission to suspend permitting requirements for property owners in fire-stricken area.

Does that mean the fences are coastal violations?

Not a question right now … but watch what happens as the months go by.

No One Is Removing Pilings Or Other Debris From Surf Line, Officials Confirm, Despite City Pleas For Help

The city held a public meeting with beachfront residents last night.

And problem after problem came up … with the debris removal.

Like this man … who wants to know when the burned poles and other debris on the water will be removed.

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“It was a good job cleaning up my property, but there’s a bathtub floating in front of the house, there’s beams, there all kinds of things. So I’m just curious if there’s a plan for the next phase?”

The Army’s Lt Col Weander:

“I can talk about the federal effort. So we’re here by the governor of California and the authorization of the President of the United States through FEMA.

“And my authority ends at the structural footprint of the property.

“That’s where we end. Anything beyond that would be out of scope for the federal government.

The city’s building official, Yolanda Bundy:

“So far as the city, we are continuing monitoring.

“We have brought this issue to the state level, to the governor’s office.

“We are working with LA county public works.

“So yes, we know that that needs to be addressed.”

And another issue.

Caltrans.

The state road agency is now saying that a retaining wall may need to be installed along Pacific Coast Highway … next to the road … to prevent it from sliding down onto the beach.

Caltrans is now actively reviewing Army debris removal plans for land below PCH … to make sure that the footing for the roadbed is not damaged.

Assistant City Manager Alexis Brown says the state highway engineers have yet to specify exactly what steps need to be taken by landowners to keep the road from sliding down onto their land.

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“We do know, it’s top of mind for Caltrans, especially with all the work that is happening with the Army Corps and now what the governors declaration over the weekend did and try to expedite that.

“So before we open PCH at the end of May – it’s my understanding that’s the goal – we do have to make sure it’s safe for all the wheels on  the road, as well as the properties, to be able to be rebuilt right.

“So I’m just saying, that in short order, Caltrans should be having a plan as to what that’s going to look like, and we are very much a part of those conversations.”

And to add complications … 70 of the oceanfront landowners have opted out of Army cleanups … and have hired their own crews to do the work.

Their deadline … all debris must be removed by June 1st.

Ocean Views May Be Blocked By Homes Raised To Meet Federal Flood Maps

Many of those new houses will have to be placed on higher platforms … to comply with new federal flood maps.

City planner Tyler Eaton says the people across the street may find their views of the ocean blocked.

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“We’ve heard some of the concerns from those directly on the land slide.

“If your home … your previous use … becomes impacted from development on the beach … a thing you can do as part of your 10% if you are allowqed to go up 10%  in height … is put on a rooftop deck on.

“And they can hopefully put back some views that they’ve lost from some of the FEMA challenges, FEMA incrrewase that are allowed to soke of thebeachfront properties.

Some Malibu Families Sue City Of Los Angeles For Burning Down Malibu Homes

The lack of water in a key reservoir in Pacific Palisades … which was down for repairs for more than a year … may have led to the destruction of 700 house in Malibu.

That’s among several contentions in a lawsuit filed against the City of Los Angeles by several Malibu families yesterday.

The big Santa Ynez Reservoir off of Sunset Boulevard had been empty for months.

More than 1,000 fire hydrants in LA were in need of repair.

And the city fire chief failed to bring in extra firefighters or trucks as weather forecasts for more than a week had predicted hurricane force desert winds.

One of the plaintiffs is 75 year old Ken Peterson of Malibu.

He was undergoing treatment for cancer at the time and lost everything in the fire.

A neighbor saved the his dog.

The lawsuit … from several Malibu residents … does not name the City of Malibu as a defendant.

Malibu is a separate city from Los Angeles … and the LA Department of Water and Power’s inaction before the fire broke out helped the inferno spread into the neighboring city.

One lawyer says the “The city of LA’s conscious decisions to leave its reservoir dry and its power on are simply unforgivable.”

Caltrans Plans Another Listening Session Over PCH Plans

The controversial plans to add bike lanes through Malibu go up for more public comment tonight.

Caltrans is weighing two sets of plans at the same time.

One … to repave the road in two chunks…. including installing painted bike lanes in the western part of the city.

The second plan is a long range master plan that may result in installing sidewalks and bike lanes in the eastern half of Malibu.

Some options … install traffic circles … pedestrian crossings with bumps … maybe install a landscaped median in the pier area to slow traffic down.

The state has already said … new laws require the installation of bike lanes and sidewalks along PCH … and that either a parking lane or the center turn lane will have to be eliminated to make room.

Some residents vociferously object to the loss of the center left turn lane … which they say it is essential for fire trucks.

Others say converting PCH from a highway to a boulevard is essential for safety.

If a parking lane is removed … the coastal commission is very concerned about the loss of beach and inland trail access.

Tonight’s public hearing is from 6 to 8 on the computers.   

We have a link posted.

· 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 16

· Meeting link: Cisco Webex Meetings

· Call-in Number: 1-408-418-9388

· Access Code: 2499 288 6764

· Password: PCHMasterPlan04 (72462783 when dialing from a phone or video system)

Beach Olympic Volleyball Gets Booted To Long Beach, But 3 Olympic Sports Will Be Held In Venice

Olympic events will take place on the westside of Los Angeles … but not in Santa Monica and certainly not in Malibu.

Officials at the LA 28 organizing committee yesterday said beach volleyball has found a home… Moved from Santa Monica down to Alamitos Bay in Long Beach.

Santa Monica is broke … the municipal budget could not afford the $1.5 million estimated cost to host the beach volleyball games at the Santa Monica pier.

That would have probably paralyzed into an out of Malibu and the palisades over the next three years… during the construction of a temporary stadium and the actual games themselves.

Olympic events will be held not far from Malibu.

The Triathlon, the road bicycle race start and the marathon will start in Venice.

3×3 basketball and the modern pentathlon will be in the Sepulveda Basin Recreation area in the San Fernando Valley.

And the Olympic Village for athletes will be in the dorms at UCLA … just like in 1984.

The Olympics surfing competitions will be held at Lower Trestles in San Clemente.

Janet Evans is the chief athletics officer for LA 28.

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“Bringing the excitement of the Olympic game“bringing the excitement of the Olympic Games communities and cities across the region was very important to us because this is the Los Angeles games… It’s also the county and regions games… Is also the states and countries games… So we’re very excited about that.”

Janet Evans spoke with NBC4.

Elon Musk Plans Rocket Launch Around Coachella Festival, Another Company Also On Launch Pad This Weekend

Two private rocket companies plan to launch rockets this weekend … possibly timed to be seen from the Coachella festival.

Firefly Aerospace planes to launch a satellite into low earth orbit sometime no earlier than Friday.

And sometime no earlier than Saturday … SpaceX plans to launch a constellation of secret military spy satellites… also from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

If the weather s clear … both should be visible from Malibu.

What could be more Elon Musk than planning a space launch to be visible from Coachella.

Marine Layer, Drizzle and ‘Reverse Clearing’ Possible Today

The marine layer is so thick over Southern California that we might see actually see light showers tonight.

That may trigger something called “reverse clearing” … when it gets  sunny at the beach but stays cloudy ion the valleys.

And that triggers a little instability in the atmosphere … enough to bring a slight chance of thunderstorms over the inland mountains.

Clearing and warmer for the weekend.