In the wake of the Palisades Fire in January, Pacific Coast Highway between L.A. and Malibu was shut down for months – except for local residents, businesses and emergency crews – due to damage from the fire and subsequent mudslides, and now that the critical stretch of coastal highway is open, those living in the area are worried about security.
Officials, however, are ensuring that all precautions are taken as more and more people travel through the area.
PCH officially reopened on Friday, ahead of schedule and just in time for Memorial Day weekend. Up to two lanes are open in each direction with a 25-mile-per-hour speed limit through active work zones, and security checkpoints along the highway have been removed as the California National Guard demobilizes from the area.
Speed limits and worker safety aren’t the only things on residents’ and officials’ minds. Burglaries and thefts in wildfire-affected areas have increased (including in the Eaton Fire burn zone in Altadena, where officials say burglaries are up ‘several hundred percent’), and now that the general public is back in the area, concerns are heightened.
One way that local leaders are looking to ease those concerns is the decision to hire a private security firm that will provide 24/7 armed patrols in neighborhoods affected by both the Palisades and Franklin fires, officials announced. Approved on May 21 by the Malibu City Council, Covered 6 was chosen since the firm has “extensive experience patrolling neighborhoods” and that they have worked with local deputies in the past.
The service will cost roughly $260,000 per month. Speaking on the price tag at the city council meeting, one resident opined that “it’s a lot of money to spend…but I think it’s a time to spend it.”
“The patrols are intended to supplement law enforcement efforts by the LASD Malibu-Lost Hills Station and ensure continuous public safety coverage during a critical recovery phase,” Malibu officials said on May 22. “Fire-damaged areas face heightened risks of burglary, vandalism, theft – particularly of construction materials – as many properties remain vacant during rebuilding.”
“Looter suppression efforts will be intensified, with zero-tolerance to crime and traffic violations,” officials added, piggybacking off Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman’s policy on wildfire looters.
During the May 21 Malibu City Council meeting, Scott Wagenseller, the founder and CEO of another private security firm, Gates Security, said that on the previous day, officers with his company found a man with a gun in the backyard of one of their clients’ homes.
Another man was found with a knife, and a “squatter issue” involving a man on a previously burned property had recently been resolved.
“These are transients walking into the environment,” Wagenseller said.
Residents are encouraged to “take an active role” in protecting their properties by filling out a Letter of Agency at the Malibu-Lost Hills LASD station; the document authorizes deputies to enforce trespassing laws on private property in the owner’s absence and officers to take action against unauthorized individuals without contacting the property owner first, the Malibu City Council said.
Property owners are also asked to secure their property by ensuring that gates, doors and windows are locked. Any suspicious activity should be reported to authorities.