3 Years After Woolsey, Malibu 'Community Brigades' Prep For Fire

MALIBU, CA — Around 100 volunteers have joined a pilot emergency response program developed to avoid another fire like the devastating 2018 Woolsey fire, KCRW reported.

The volunteers are organized into six "neighborhood brigades" that train to help with wildfire and emergency response in Los Angeles county. The program was developed by Malibu resident Keegan Gibbs, the Los Angeles Emergency Preparedness Foundation and Malibu locals.

The model is not dissimilar from volunteer firefighters, KCRW reported, but Gibbs' brigades train more specifically for wildfires and natural disasters. The volunteers don't do any "heavy duty" firefighting, but rather do "mop-up in the community" by clearing embers, searching for combustible materials, helping with evacuations and preparing homes.

The idea for the brigades was born of Gibbs and his friends' persistent ad hoc efforts during the Woolsey fire; the group put out small fires and brought supplies to Malibu residents trapped by the fire using boats and surf boards, KCRW reported.

The Woolsey fire destroyed at least 670 structures within Malibu, 400 of which were single-family homes, according to the Los Angeles Times. The fire was the biggest in Los Angeles County history, KCRW reported.

The pilot program is waiting approval from the Los Angeles County Fire Department, though some firefighters have expressed reservations about such civilian involvement in disaster response, KCRW reported.

Read the full story from KCRW.