Last month, citing heightened fire risk,<\/a> the Malibu City Council declared a state of emergency and directed the Los Angeles County Sheriff\u2019s Office to remove people engaged in unpermitted camping<\/a> and, if necessary, arrest them to accomplish that goal.<\/p>\n \u201cMalibu\u2019s history as it relates to fire is hugely devastating,\u201d Mayor Marianne Riggins said in an interview. \u201cWe are making every effort to limit the opportunities for that type of devastation.\u201d<\/p>\n City staff originally proposed directing sheriff officers to ensure the city was free of encampments, while also making sure those efforts did not \u201ccriminalize individuals living unhoused.\u201d<\/p>\n At the request of Councilman Bruce Silverstein, that language was removed and the arrest language added. <\/p>\n How sheriff officers will respond is unclear. At the meeting, a captain said officers are limited in what they can do, because it was the policy of the county not to criminalize homelessness.<\/a> <\/p>\n Silverstein argued since Malibu is an incorporated city that contracts with the sheriff for law enforcement services, officers should follow Malibu policy, not the county\u2019s. He pointed to the Supreme Court\u2019s Grants Pass decision last year that overturned previous precedent and allowed cities to enforce anti-camping laws.<\/p>\n The Sheriff\u2019s Office did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, whose district includes Malibu, said that \u201carresting unhoused residents, simply for being unhoused,<\/a> does not advance\u201d goals of public safety and fire prevention, but that she shares \u201cthe deep concern of Malibu residents about keeping our fire-prone communities safe.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement, Horvath said in the last week her office has worked with the city of Malibu, the Sheriff\u2019s Department and homeless service providers<\/a> to \u201cto adjust deployment and strengthen coverage in areas of greatest concern,\u201d while the local sheriff\u2019s office has received additional funding to \u201cincrease their presence and resources throughout the Santa Monica Mountains.\u201d<\/p>\n Malibu residents and officials say they have a reason to be more aggressive.<\/p>\n Last week, authorities arrested<\/a> an Uber driver, alleging he intentionally started a fire that, a week later, rekindled and became January\u2019s Palisades blaze, which killed 12 people, including four in Malibu, and destroyed 700 structures in the coastal city and thousands more in Pacific Palisades.<\/p>\n Acting U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli speaks as Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell, right, looks on during a news conference announcing the arrest of Jonathan Rinderknecht, a suspect in the Palisades fire, on Oct. 8 in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n (Christina House \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n In court documents, authorities said the man was not homeless.<\/a> But since 2021, the city said there have been more than 30 fires believed to have been started by homeless individuals.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s public safety director, Susan Due\u00f1as, told The Times she wasn\u2019t aware of any significant damage from those encampment fires.<\/p>\n But that might not be true in the future. <\/p>\n \u201cAny one of those could have become the Palisades fire,\u201d Silverstein said in an interview. <\/p>\n A few weeks before January\u2019s devastation, the Franklin fire<\/a> tore through the hills above the county courthouse in Malibu and destroyed 20 structures and damaged another 28, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The cause is still under investigation, the agency said.<\/p>\n One of the most recent fires from unpermitted camping was on Sept. 24, on private vacant land near the Malibu Racquet Club, according to the city. <\/p>\n In an online post, the city described it as a \u201csmall cooking fire\u201d that was quickly put out by firefighters, while the homeless person camping there was removed.<\/p>\n Michelle Jackson, 58, rents a home on the hill above that fire.<\/p>\n The private chef said she supports law enforcement making arrests if people don\u2019t stop camping illegally, noting that when the Santa Ana winds whip through Malibu it \u201creally doesn\u2019t take much\u201d to start a devastating blaze.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all are working hard and paying our bills to live here,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cI wish we had a better solution to homelessness, but it doesn\u2019t mean I want them in our backyard.\u201d<\/p>\n Richard Garvey, a Malibu resident of more than 40 years and head of a local volunteer emergency response program, said the concern about encampment fires is widespread and is held by Malibu residents who have differing views on how much help to provide unhoused people. <\/p>\n He said local residents grill in their backyards, but that\u2019s in a contained area with easy access to water if something goes wrong. <\/p>\n \u201cPeople who come out to this area don\u2019t realize the unique dangers that present themselves to us,\u201d Garvey said. <\/p>\n Due\u00f1as, Malibu\u2019s public safety director, said some people who are homeless in Malibu are from the city, but most are from elsewhere. <\/p>\n She said the city has had success<\/a> in housing people in recent years and reduced the homeless population from around 150 in 2021 to about 30 to 40 on any given day.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n