Petition Started to Ban Overnight Camping

Residents have started a petition to ban overnight camping in Corral Canyon and other high risk fire areas in Malibu.

"For any group to allow camping in known high-risk fire areas would be irresponsible from both a civic and a liability position," the petition states.

The petition, which was created by the Corral Canyon Fire Safety Alliance, was posted on change.org in the wake of plans by Joe Edmiston, executive director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (SMMC), to put overnight camping in Charmlee Wilderness Park and Ramirez Canyon. As of Tuesday night, 108 people had signed the online petition.

At a recent SMMC board meeting, Edmiston said the conservancy has dropped its plans for camping at Bluff's Park, but still has plans on the back burner for Corral Canyon.

"We're not pursuing Corral at this current time," Edmiston said. A fire in Corral Canyon in 2007 destroyed 53 homes.

The petition is addressed to the SMMC and the city of Malibu. The board of directors for the SMMC and the Malibu City Council have both voted to further persue negotiations for a land swap of Charmlee Wilderness Park for Bluff's Park.

Although it was not part of the initial negotiations, the council has asked its city attorney to see if the SMMC would be interested in including Corral and Escondido canyons in any deal.

According to the petition: "The combination of extremely dry brush conditions and strong, gusty winds creates the perfect environment for easily ignitable and fast moving wild fires as is evidenced by the 2007 Corral Canyon blaze, started by campers during the night, that destroyed 53 homes, burned 5000 acres and destroyed innumerable structures, pets and personal property."

Deborah Kramer of Malibu wrote on the petition site, "Personal safety first. Camping is a year long fire hazard in these mountains and the area is bordered by thousands of family homes."

Read the full petition and learn more at http://www.change.org.