Winners of Day of Preparedness Emergency Preparedness Competition Announced During City Council Meeting on Woolsey Anniversary
The winners of the “Best Prepared” awards in the City’s Community Emergency Preparedness Competition held to mark the Woolsey Anniversary and Annual Day of Preparedness, were announced during the City Council meeting on the anniversary, Monday, November 9.
The competition was meant to recognize those who have gone the extra mile in being ready for wildfires, earthquakes and other disasters, and to encourage everyone in the community to take steps to protect their families, homes and neighborhoods.
The City received numerous excellent submissions, showing a wide variety of measures, plans and supplies that residents can take to protect their homes and families and be ready for any disaster. Three stood out as excellent examples that are sure to inspire others to join in the effort toward making all of Malibu safer and more resilient from disasters, and they were recognized by the City Council during the Council meeting on November 9.
Best Personally Prepared - Pamela Conley Ulich
Pamela demonstrated her personal preparedness with items from her well-stocked emergency kit including solar chargers, hand-crank radio, CERT Training, CERT backpack, solar-powered flashlight, emergency food, respirator, satellite phone, work boots, first aid kit, hard hat and more.
Best Prepared for Fire Resilience - David Kramer
The Kramers have taken preparing for the next fire to another level. They replaced all the wood shingles on their home with fire-resistant cement shingles and boxed in all their eves. They have attended City-hosted preparedness trainings and have their go bags packed and ready, including evacuation plans and the City’s Emergency Survival guide.
Best Prepared Overall - Corey and Danusia Larsen
Corey and Danusia’s home was destroyed in the Woolsey Fire, and they have rebuilt with preparedness and resiliency in mind. Their new house is a steel frame construction, bolted and welded to a solid new foundation. It has steel siding, metal roof, gutters shielded against embers, fire sprinklers and minimal wood siding stained with fire retardant. They have three 420-gallon tanks for rain capture in the winter and fire fighting, along with a 1,000-gallon stainless steel drinking water tank. They have installed a 10-kW solar system with two 10 kW lithium storage batteries and they have a 10-kW portable generator. They are both members of the Malibu CERT Team. Their house is also well designed for earthquakes or other disasters.
Thank You to All Participants
The City thanks all of the people who sent in submissions, all of whom will receive a certificate of appreciation from the City: Judy Villablanca, Pat Nolan, David Hertz, Cristina Lopez, Houston Waye, Michael Burke, Tim Horton, Sharon and Doug Stewart, Jon Jon Tompkins, Juergen Cords, Jim Myers and Ted Vaill.
To learn more about the City’s emergency preparedness efforts, and download the Malibu Emergency Survival Guide, visit the Emergency Preparedness web page.