Malibu Joins Los Angeles County and Santa Monica Mountains Communities in Introducing the Community to the County’s New Official Disaster Response and Evacuation Zones
The City of Malibu joins Los Angeles County public safety agencies, County Board of Supervisors District 3, and the Cities of Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, and Westlake Village in introducing the community to the County’s newly established official disaster response and evacuation zones and the County’s new Zonehaven AWARE online tool.
“Being able to safely and efficiently evacuate a community during a wildfire or other disaster is crucial to ensuring public safety, especially here in Malibu, where we have very limited routes in and out,” said Mayor Paul Grisanti. “I applaud the efforts of our County partner agencies towards improving evacuation planning, and I encourage everyone in Malibu to ‘know your zone’.”
The County’s new zones in the Malibu area are the same as the City of Malibu’s Evacuation Zones that are part of the Mass Evacuation Plan that the City Council adopted February 24, 2020 following a recommendation from the Malibu Disaster Council. The Mass Evacuation Plan, an update to the City’s Emergency Operations Plan, was created by a working group convened after the 2018 Woolsey Fire to improve communication, coordination and response on wildfire evacuations in Malibu.
Using the Zonehaven AWARE platform, first responders and members of the public can now refer to the same set of zone maps used for planning and conducting evacuations during wildfires, earthquakes or other emergencies. Residents, businesses, students, employees and other community members can enter an address into the Zonehaven AWARE interactive map at https://community.zonehaven.com using the search bar in the upper left. A pop-up window will show the zone name and valuable information specific to the zone, including emergency services, real-time status updates, shelter options and more.
The system will be used during large-scale incidents that require evacuations. When Evacuations Warnings or Orders are issued, alerts and messaging from agencies such as Los Angeles County Sheriff’s and Fire Department will include zone designations in addition to major streets and intersections. The Zone map will be updated in real time, so residents should check it regularly for status information.
As part of wildfire and disaster preparedness, community members are encouraged to look up the Evacuation Zones they frequent, including their home, work, school, or homes of loved ones, and keep them in an easily visible place such as the refrigerator or next to the front door. Zones will be used in emergency alert notifications, so knowing the name of your zone is an important part of your emergency plan.
Submitted by Matt Myerhoff
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