Slide at 2050 Rambla Pacifico

Just when we thought our quiet little mountain top community would be out of the news and return to "normal" ... we have a new problem to address!

 

Photo by Andy Malkhasian

I'm sure the finger pointing has already started between LA County, the company that performed the Geological survey and the general contractor.  The bottom line for our neighborhood (which has now been dubbed "Rambla Flores Peak") is that we have just lost access to one of our FEW emergency exit options!

When I first saw the excavation begin at 2050 Rambla Pacifico, my first reaction was..."Why are they moving all of that dirt around right before the rainy season."  Genius move #1!  

When I saw the huge white tarps go down before the first rain, I had the sinking feeling this wasn't going to end well.  My concerns at that point were more for the developer than our access.  Within the first few days, the wind had shredded their would-be prophylactic layer and the rain eroded the hillside!  Genius move #2!

The result of the above foresight to completely compromise the integrity of the hillside...below you can see the results!  

 

 

 

Photos by Andy Malkhasian

SO...now who gets to foot the bill to fix the mess they made....we the taxpayers?  One could argue (and I'm sure they will) that LA County issued the permits.  LA County will surely take the position that the Geological Survey was faulty or the general contractor removed more than the permits allowed.

What is clear is that we just lost access to part of our neighborhood.  Beyond the obvious safety issues, this disrupts our lives in many ways.  Those below the slide have lost easy access to the valley and those above the have only Las Flores Canyon available to get to PCH. 

Power Down in the Fire Camp 8 Neighborhood

Lightening hit a power line in our neighborhood and it's now draped across Loma Matisse (up in Saddle Peak) and dangling in a tree. Power out INDEFINITELY (SoCal Ed's word) to 350 homes on this mountain...thought I would give you a heads up...
Thx Jaclyn G

EPILOGUE

Thank you to the entire community for pulling together and ensuring our safety. We are so grateful to Camp 8; they have literally saved our lives time and time again - thank goodness they will stay with us.

There were many people who organized this effort, the very first of them being Rob and Pam Fitch. Had they not been hiking up the road one morning and chatted with one of the Camp 8 staff, the community would have NEVER known about this.

Not ones to sit on information for a moment, they immediately picked up the phone to their neighbor, Bob Karpuk. Between the three of them, only 3 hours passed before a flyer was written, printed and on the way to every mailbox they could reach. Momentous thanks go to them for igniting this effort.

When hundreds showed up on Monday evening, we were again wowed by the dynamic Maggie Karpuk. She served as an eloquent and unflappable voice; the community thanks her deeply for the courage, determination and utmost professionalism she displayed through this experience.

LA Times Report LACFD Abandons Plans for Camp 8 to House Inmates

This morning's LA Times Article reflects a dissenting voice among the Las Flores / Top of Piuma residents.  Above reflects the blog traffic from Sunday, January 17 through Tuesday, January 19, 2010.

THANK YOU!

(Content below provided by Alyson Dutch of BDPR)

It was only Friday January 15, 2010 when the community of Malibu learned of the possibility that 100 prisoners, part of the “Fire Suppression Team” program of California, would become their neighbors in a high density residential district with a school as soon as February 25.

According to neighbors who encountered a staff member of Fire Camp 8 on their daily walk, the long term incarcerated felons, displaced by the Mt. Gleason Station Fire of 2009, required living quarters and were scheduled to replace the fire crew long stationed at the facility on the top of Las Flores Canyon. The Camp 8 fire fighters were preparing to move to the San Fernando Valley.

The news spread quickly and not only inflamed a community who felt blindsided, but mobilized a voracious effort to retain their most precious local resource. After the devastating fire of 1993 and 2007 fire that miraculously stopped at Fire Camp 8, the goal of the community was to ensure their ultimate safety. The fire camp is home to one of the only two air fire crews that service Southern California and the only local first responder.

Only two working days later, while the warden of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation scouted the hilltop real estate location, the community was invited to hear the first proactive statement from the County of Los Angeles Fire Department at Station 70 from Assistant Fire Chief Gary Burden. Barely three hours had passed after the meeting culminated, when responses from Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky began to arrive in the email boxes of the hundreds of neighbors who had written complaining of this surprise prison camp installment. Yaroslavsky’s letters noted his “appreciation for the intense feeling that this proposal, and the manner in which it came to [the community’s] attention, [had] engendered.” He continued that “housing [these prisoners] in or adjacent to a residential neighborhood defies common sense.” Yaroslavsky apologized on behalf of the “County family for the manner in which this issue came to the attention of the community.” Finally, Yaroslavsky said, “The Fire Department will pursue other alternatives to the Camp 8 site.”

An attached memo from County of Los Angeles Fire Department Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman stated that he had conversations (that) morning with “Director Robert Taylor of the Probation Department regarding the placement of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation” and that he has “directed the Fire Department staff to cease the assessment of Camp 8 as a possible site for these crews.”

The community of Malibu would like to thank the Los Angeles County Department of Fire, Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, Assistant Fire Chief Gary Burden, and Community Services Representative Maria Grycan for their extraordinarily quick response to the community and ultimate decision to retain one of its most precious resources.

CONCLUSIONS

ThisWeekInMalibu issues this update: "Plans to Consider Malibu Fire Camp 8 in Las Flores Canyon as a Site for an Inmate Fire Camp Have Been Suspended".

In a statement issued late this afternoon, the Supervisor said, “In the Last two days I have spoken to L.A. County Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman and asked him to reconsider this proposal. Late this morning, Chief Freeman advised me that he has directed Fire Department staff to cease their assessment of Camp 8 as a possible site for the Department of Corrections crews. The Fire Department will pursue other alternatives to the Camp 8 site”.

Yaroslavsky added,”While these fire crews perform an important public safety service, housing them in or adjacent to a residential neighborhood defies common sense.”

News of the possible relocation of up to 80 convicted felons to this quiet residential neighborhood resulted in a firestorm of protest this past weekend. Some information, which is now being refuted by County sources, indicated that the plan to move prisoners into this Malibu neighborhood was a ‘done deal’ and that dates for the transition had already been set. Rumors swirled throughout the MKL Day holiday weekend and on Monday night approximately 200 local homeowners packed a meeting at a local residence to begin organizing resistance to the proposal.

The Supervisor was appparently caught by surprise by the release of information saying, “…let me apologize on behalf of the County family for the manner in which this issue came to the attention of the community. A matter of this sensitivity and importance to any neighborhood should be vetted and discussed with residents and its elected representatives before getting to this point.” Yaroslavsky added, “In fact, I was not aware of this proposal until I received a call from a newspaper reporter yesterday (Monday) morning. To put it mildly, I was not a happy camper.”

In a letter sent this morning to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman confirmed his decision stating, “I have directed Fire Department staff to cease the assessment of Camp 8 as a possible site for these crews.

Freeman added his willingness to work direclty with neighborhood representatives to announce the decision and to “advise them of our willingness to meet with them to explain the background of this issue should they desire.”

CEASE FIRE!

We have received an official letter from P. Michael Freeman confirming that he has directed the Fire Department Staff to cease the assessment of Camp 8 as a possible site for the displaced inmates of Camp 16.


On behalf of all involved parties, THANK YOU -- to one and all -- for exemplifying the meaning of community.