Amid fire danger, Malibu declares emergency to clear homeless encampments — fast

As Southern California enters peak fire season, Malibu has declared a local emergency that gives the city power to clear homeless encampments within a day.

Citing dangerously dry brush conditions, the City Council approved the declaration this week to reduce the risk of fires associated with homeless individuals cooking outdoors or using fire to keep warm at night.

The fear is that a spark from an encampment could be whipped by winds and quickly turn into a devastating blaze across Malibu’s fire-prone hills. The emergency order applies to all unpermitted campsites in areas classified as “Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones” — which is the entire city of Malibu.

Under California law, agencies must typically provide at least 48 to 72 hours of advance written notice before clearing a homeless encampment. The emergency order allows providing notice to take place the same day as an encampment is cleared.

For those who make a living in tourism, the Timber fire marks nature’s latest blow to Big Sur, a beloved, yet often plagued, coastal locale.

Since 2021, there have been 41 fires in Malibu believed to have been started by individuals experiencing homelessness, according to a city spokesperson.

About 23 of those fires took place in 2021 when there were 157 people experiencing homelessness in Malibu, according to city data.

Since then, the number of annual encampment fires and the number of unhoused people have dropped considerably as the city has made dedicated efforts to remove encampments.

The 2026 Homeless Count recorded just 27 unhoused individuals in 16 dwellings, such as vehicles, tents or makeshift shelters, in Malibu.

So far in 2026, there have only been two encampment fires reported in the city, with the most recent in June, the spokesperson said.

Although small fires have been reported at encampments, a significant wildfire has not been linked to homelessness within the city this year.

Nontheless, scarred by the devastation of the 2025 Palisades fire, 2024 Franklin fire and 2018 Woolsey fire, Malibuites take fire safety seriously.

“Declaring a local emergency provides an important proactive measure to reduce wildfire risk and protects lives and homes in Malibu as fire conditions worsen as we move towards the peak fire season,” said Mayor Bruce Silverstein in a statement. “This emergency declaration enables the City to act swiftly in reducing wildfire risks while continuing our balanced approach that protects both public safety and vulnerable community members.”

Recent large wildfires in California have changed communities forever in ways difficult to predict. Rebuilding statistics tell only part of the story.