2020 Wildfire Season: Labor Day Weekend Fire Conditions Outlook For Malibu

Press release from the City of Malibu:

September 4, 2020

Labor Day Weekend Fire Conditions Outlook for malibu

As part of the City’s 2020 Wildfire Season preparations, the City of Malibu’s Fire Safety Liaison monitors current and forecasted fire conditions, including wind patterns, heat, humidity and the Life Fuel Moisture levels (LFM) and reports them to the City Manager and Public Safety Manager.

Every Friday during wildfire season, the City will offer an outlook of the wildfire conditions for the coming weekend. The LFM is based on the volume of water that certain local indicator plant species are holding and is monitored continuously by the L.A. County Fire Department. Those factor are crucial in determining wildfire conditions for Malibu. When fuel moisture levels are very low, the vegetation is much more flammable, and can contribute to a brush fire growing large and dangerous to lives and homes.

The outlook for the Labor Day weekend is elevated to brief critical fire weather conditions due to high temperatures inland. As of August 24, 2020, the average LFM for the Santa Monica Mountains is 65%, down from 71% two weeks ago. We are slightly below the 39-year average, and drier than this time last year, but still above the 60% critical level for the Santa Monica Mountains. The full Los Angeles County Live Fuel Moisture summary and Daily Fire Danger Analysis are available online: https://fire.lacounty.gov/fire-weather-danger.

Learn how you can get yourself, your family and your community prepared for wildfires with the City’s Emergency Survival Guide: www.MalibuCity.org/SurvivalGuide

This press release was produced by the City of Malibu. The views expressed here are the author’s own.