Malibu, CA – UPDATED January 18, 2010 – 9:30pm
THE LATEST UPDATES: Las Flores Canyon Residents Gather to Discuss Controversial Inmate Fire Camp Proposal. Supervisor Yaroslavky’s Office Comments
Nearly 200 Las Flores Canyon area homeoweners gathered at a private residence on Monday night to learn more about a proposed county move to convert the exisiting Malibu Fire Camp 8 into an inmate fire camp facility. Reports started to circulate over the holiday weekend that the county had already made the decision to move forward on the plan, including the erection of barbed-wire fencing around the facilty, 24-hour armed guards and the move of 80-100 convicted felons into this quiet residential area within the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, ThisWeekInMalibu.com recieved a response from County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky’s office late Monday afternoon clarifying when the Superviser first learned of the proposed inmate camp and offering reassurance to the public that they will have an oppotunity to express their opinions and have input on the plan before anything is finalized. According to Susan Nissman, a spokeperson for the Supervisor, “We just learned Friday about the assesment CDC (California Department of Corrections) and Probation are doing to try and find an appropriate place to temporarily re-locate and house the 5 trained fire fighting crews (80 men) until their Camp 16 can be rebuilt.”
Nissman added “We spoke with (L.A. County Fire) Chief Freeman late Friday and he confirmed that the CDC was evaluating sites including Camp 8, but that no recommendation has been made at this time. If the CDC were to recommend Camp 8, it will still be up
to the County to make the final decision and there are many factors to consider, including community input, the setting, access, etc.”
Earlier in the day, the L.A. Times quoted Supervisor Yaroslavsky reiterating that plans are “very much in the preliminary stage”, adding “The camps need to have community suppport. If they don’t want it, other alternatives will have to be found.”
According to The Times, Los Angeles County Fire Department Officials are looking at the Malibu facility as a temporary replacement after an inmate firefighter camp atop Mt. Gleason was destroyed last summer when the largest brush fire in L.A. County history swept through.
At the community meeting meeting organizers began to form committees to address legal, communications and publicity needs on behalf of the local Las Flores area homeowners, and began to discuss action plans on how to combat any forward movement on the project. Attendeees at the meeting voiced anger and surprise that the proposed plan had moved forward to this point without any public awareness or input. Organizers also pointed out that other similar inmate fire camps operated by the County are not located in such close proximity to a residential neighborhood as the Las Flores plan proposes.
With county officials headed back to work on Tuesday following the three-day holiday weekend, more information about this proposed plan and the opportunty for the public to respond are expected to occur by the end of the week. Stay tuned to ThisWeekInMalibu.com for the latest on this developing local story and add your comments by following the links below.
Related Links: http://firecamp8.blogspot.com/
Register for Weekly Malibu Community Updates from ThisWeekInMalibu: http://prod.pandimedia.com/SignUp_twim.aspx
Other Resources: Places to Express Your Concerns About this Proposed Facility:
:: LA County Board of Supervisors – Zev Yaroslavsky – / 818-880-9416
zev@bos.lacounty.gov
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