KBUU Newswire Wed Jan 22 – Parents Furious Of Loss Of 90% Of School Days This Year: Where Are The Generators? – Burn-out Inspections Start In Eastern Bu – LA Fire Adds Staffing This Wind Event, After Fiasco 2 Weeks Ago – Moonshadows Asks For HELP FOR WORKERS – PCH SAFETY Study Shelved Indefinitely

Written by on January 22, 2025

HEADLINES:

=. Malibu parents are furious at 9 days of cancelled classes.

=. Why no generators in Malibu, parents demand of Santa Monica school board.

=. Malibu will get a mild, hit-and-miss Santa Ana wind today and tomorrow. 

=. Winds are blowing up to 41 mph this morning at the higher mountains above Malibu.

=. 25 mile per hour gusts on the ridge just above Malibu High School … but calm at the beach.

=. Southern California Edison is again warning … it may turn off the power intentionally today or tomorrow.

=. The forecast is up to 50 mph gusts tonight and tomorrow morning.

=. Hot winds today, up to 79 degrees. But much cooler and rain Friday night. 

=. KBUU photos of PCH show vaporized wood, twisted beams and cracked 100-year-old concrete retaining walls.

=. Caltrans is not taking any visible steps to prepare PCH for mud or rockslides in the fire area.

=.  Dirt and rocks already flowing onto pavement as rain approaches. 

=.  Officials are unable to disclose what their plan is to prevent landslides.  =.  SCE erecting new poles in Malibu, lines going up now. 

=. But LADWP opts for metal poles in Palisades. 

=. Residents in part of burned out Malibu can get escorted in.

=. City passing out protective suits and goggles at checkpoint. 

Light to moderate Santa Ana winds will continue through Wednesday afternoon across Ventura and Los Angeles Counties. There will be another increase in northeast winds tonight into Thursday.

Malibu Kids Had One Day In Classroom Since Xmas, Parents Demand Generators

School began yesterday at Webster Elementary School, and it’s scheduled to resume today at the other three schools administered by the Santa Monica Malibu School District.

Kids in western Malibu have had one day in the classrooms since the Christmas break.  That’s nine days of cancelled classes. 

But enough is enough.

PTA leaders at one Malibu school say that the devastation from the recent fires is real, and so is the devastation from Southern California Edison’s intentional power outages.

For nine days  … intentional blackouts inflicted by Southern California Edison have caused schools to be cancelled … in Malibu, but not in Santa Monica.

And parents in Malibu are furious.

The Malibu elementary school PTA plans to pressure the school board when it meets tomorrow night in Santa Monica.

Lee Rafael is president of the Malibu Elementary School PTA … on Point Dume.

GENERATORS LEE RAFAEL  70848

“This is horrible. I’m a working parent. I have a disabled wife so basically I am the only person taking care of my daughter. And you get these notice as a couple hours before school is supposed to start that school is not going to be opening because the power is not on.

“I don’t understand why they can have school when the power turns off in the middle of the day, but they can’t have school if the power turns off before school starts saying it’s some sort of safety issue when it’s not some sort of safety issue the other way.

“It’s terrible for me for the children and for all the parents. It’s ridiculous.”

Tha Malibu Elementary PTA says it has been requesting backup power from the district since last year.

The PTA says their emails have been largely ignored, or countered with misinformation.

Which leads to the obvious question … does the Malibu PTA think these power outages would be happening if the cancelled schools were in Santa Monica?

Again … PTA president Lee Raphael.

MALIBU GENS RAPHAEL  70852

“Heh heh heh heh. Not at all,  That’s where their focus is.  They’re ignoring Malibu.

“That’s not where their focus is

“I mean, that is where their focus is. The schools in the valley I’ll have solar power and back up batteries.

“You know when their power goes out they don’t cancel their schools.

“We have these four schools here in Malibu and they’re just not being represented..”

The school board meets Thursday night … of course it will be in Santa Monica … which is now a 47 mile drive from Malibu High School.

The meeting will be on Zoom … saving Malibu residents a 100 mile roundtrip to district headquarters. 

The meeting starts at 6.

Home And Business Owners Get Escorts Into Fire Damage In Eastern Malibu War Zone

Burned houses and businesses in eastern Malibu were opened up for inspection yesterday.

Sheriffs deputies and firefighters escorted people down Pacific Coast Highway… To begin to sift through the damage.

We watched as a fire department from the Seattle area, helped a businessman tried to recover anything he could find that may have survived the destruction… At his medical clinic near the old Malibu courthouse.

The city of Malibu notes that the evacuation zones are open for resident only access… And businesses… Between 6 AM and 6 PM.

The times are subject to change depending on the availability of law enforcement staff.

Escorts will be arranged ay the Malibu Pier Parking Lot.

Only principal parties are allowed.

Specifically … insurance representatives, contractors, and debris removal contractors are NOT allowed in.

This area has active hazards and is only available to public safety officials and immediately affected parties.

And the evacuated area remains under nighttime curfew… Starting at 6 PM and ending at six in the morning.

The City will be providing portable handwash stations and portable toilets for residents returning home. The City will service these stations on a regular basis.

This are called FreshWave Stations.

They will be put out at Las Flores Creek Park … and along PCH at Rambla Vista, Carbon Mesa Road and Carbon Beach Terrace.

And also at Coal Canyon. 

Red Flags and Possible Power Cutoff Warnings Return To Weary Malibu

Red Flag Warning area back up … extended to Thursday midday.

Here in Malibu … there are 5175 personnel assigned to the Palisades Fire as of yesterday. 

Many of them are sleeping at Zuma Beach during their down time.

Up the coast … in Ventura County  … fire engineer Andrew Dowd says the new winds are causing the Ventura County Fire Department to upstaff.

VCFD DOWD 70849

“we upstaffed two full strike teams of engines: five engines each.  “We upstaged additional hand crews, dozers water tenders, as well as incident operation overhead people that can respond to help manage an emergency if a fire breaks out.”

Down the coast … the city of Los Angeles firefighters are not making the same mistake twice.

LA City has this week staffed all of its available extra engines and staged 30 engines in fire risk areas.

They failed to do that before the predicted dangerous hurricane force winds blasted into Pacific Palisades two weeks ago. 

The LA  Times has found that the LAFD decided not to take those drastic measures Jan. 7, despite extraordinary warnings from the National Weather Service that a life-threatening and destructive windstorm was going to hit the region.

Two weeks after the fire … it appears that failures within the Los Angeles city fire department were a factor for the fire that swept into Malibu … 

Moonshadows Politely Asks For Help For Jobless Staff

Moonshadows restaurant is asking for help for its staff.

The company has posted a video on go fund me. 

They say they humbly ask for your support to help their dedicated team through these dark and challenging times. 

The faces that greeted you with warmth and care now face an uncertain future. Moonshadows says your donations will go directly to assisting our staff—many of whom have worked with us for years and even decades.

—as they rebuild their lives, support their families, and navigate this devastating loss. We are also profoundly grateful to the first responders who risked everything to protect our community despite impossible obstacles. Their bravery reminds us of the strength we can draw from one another

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Caltrans Delays PCH Safety Project Indefinitely – A Very Different PCH May Come Out Of Fire

Remember the PCH Safety Project in Malibu?

Th plans to shift lanes … narrow lanes … maybe eliminate parking. 

We were supposed to see there first draft of a Pacific Coast Highway Master Plan Feasibility Study last December.

The Franklin Fire broke out. 

The big unveiling was called off. 

The Round Three Community Workshop … planned for December 2024 … continue to be postponed.

The 45 day comment period … on hold.

It is a much different pacific Coast Highway now. 

Caltrans or the public from outside Malibu may not be so forgiving … about private encroachment on state right of way.

Looking at the internet … there are many people who are very loud about rebuilding Malibu … 

Caltrans will undoubtedly face great public pressure to reclaim public land for public use.

Last November … Caltrans official told us they were no longer looking at widening the sidewalks onto state land next to the highway … 

But that land is vacant now. 

At Caltrans … they say they are  actively collaborating with the City of Malibu to determine the most appropriate time to restart the Study’s engagement activities. 

But the project may become very different now – perhaps.

Stay tuned. 

SCE Installing Wooden Power Poles On PCH, DWP Opts For Metal Poles

One thing we noted on our survey in the fire area.

SCE is installing new wooden poles along the coast road.

In Los Angeles, the LA DWP is installing metal poles along the coast road.

1 Of 2 Closed Post Offices Reopens, At PCH/Webb Way

The Malibu main post office has reopened today.

This would be the one next to the Ralphs supermarket … at Webb Way. 

The post office at Las Flores Canyon appears undamaged … none of that little shopping center burned. 

Te Point Dume post office is far outside the fire zone.

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