Malibu declares fire emergency as brush dries out Play

The City of Malibu has again declared an emergency due to the tinder-dry brush in the Santa Monica Mountains.

The local news media are making a big deal out of this. Don't panic — this happens every summer. It's a bureaucratic move.

State law allows the city to declare an emergency when the live fuel moisture in the brush drops below 65 percent. And where there is a state of emergency, like this, the laws change.

Sheriff's deputies can move onto private property within minutes after getting a report of a homeless encampment. Usually it takes 3 to 4 days of bureaucracy to arrange for an encampment to be cleared.

Almost always, the homeless people are taken to shelter in Santa Monica or Los Angeles. Arrests are made only if the person has outstanding warrants or becomes violent.

Before the state of emergency law changed a few years ago, Malibu would experience a rash of fires caused by homeless people trying to stay warm or cook as cold weather rolls in. In one year, more than 20 fires were caused by homeless fires — most of them in eastern Malibu.

The live fuel moisture content this week dropped below the magic 65 percent — to 63. And that does inch Malibu into critical fire conditions.