Malibu's Aftermath

Well, I survived my final on Tuesday night and flew to LA on Wednesday morning for a 3-day business trip. From LAX, I drove up PCH through Malibu on the way to my destination and had a chance to see first-hand a charred and scorched Malibu. Two things really struck me as I drove and looked up at the blackened hillsides from the fires last month.

First, I was amazed at how many homes appeared undamaged in these burned areas. I know a lot of people lost homes, and I don't want to minimize those losses. But, all I can say is that the firefighters did a tremendous job at protecting as many homes as they did.

Second, I was also amazed at how close the fire came to Pepperdine. The campus is beautiful, sitting just up from PCH in rolling green hills. It looks like the fire burned right down to the road going into the campus from PCH. Perhaps the road was used as a fireline, but thankfully the campus itself appeared untouched. I also passed a couple of spots where the fire jumped PCH and burned on the beach side of the highway.

I drive back to LAX tomorrow afternoon, so I'll have a chance to see Malibu from the other direction as well. In general, I think the people of Malibu were very lucky that the winds died down when they did. And, they are even more fortunate to have firefighters who will do anything they can to save homes. I know this isn't the first fire Malibu has seen, and it won't be the last. But I think they dodged a bullet big time...