“Wildfire is the familiar but unwelcome visitor in Malibu.  In the early hours of Sunday morning, this wind-whipped brush fire took off and became a firestorm of fearsome proportion.  It was a fire that had been expected.  We just didn’t know when.  Following two years of record drought, vegetation in the Santa Monica Mountains was parched to the point that even trees that looked healthy and were green and growing had so little moisture in them that they were going to burn.

“As always, the first responders were heroic, but they were also fighting vicious winds that gusted and propelled burning embers at hurricane speeds.  I cannot say enough about our superb L.A. County Fire Department which is the lead agency in the unified command combating this fire.  Endless thanks also to the L.A. County Sheriffs, L.A. County Animal Control, and Los Angeles Police Department, as well as the firefighters from California State Parks, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, and all the other law enforcement departments and resource agencies responding in mutual aid.  Without all this combined experience and the very high level of planning, the damage could certainly have been far worse.

“In addition to the massive response from the firefighters, adequate brush clearance by vigilant homeowners was frequently cited as accounting for the minimal loss of structures in the mountain, so kudos to all the homeowners who did the critical clearance and helped save their property.

““I am committed to insuring that whatever state help Malibu and the resource agencies may need, either now while the fires are still burning, or afterward for the reconstruction, will be made fully available.  And please keep both the families who have lost their homes and the courageous firefighters spread out across Southern California in your thoughts and prayers.