MALIBU—On Tuesday, September 16, the city of Malibu announced a cooking fire transpired at Legacy Park.
A park patron reported a cooking fire at Malibu’s Legacy Park during the week of September 2. Any fires are highly concerning, even more so as fire conditions are growing more hazardous, leading into fall and winter peak fire season.
The city immediately requested help from the LA County Sherriff’s Department and coordinated with the Community Services and Public Safety Departments. Cooking items were found and confiscated, but no suspects were located.
Deputies spoke with other individuals at Legacy Park to gain information about who it was and inform them of the rules prohibiting open flames. Deputies are on high alert and monitoring for any cooking or warming fires, BBQs, or fire items as fire season conditions are steadily growing more hazardous.
Malibu removes encampments to address public safety and wildfire concerns. Working alongside the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the city of Malibu cleared 44 encampments in 2024, up from 29 in 2023.
During Red Flag fire conditions, the city expedites encampment removals to reduce wildfire risk. Since implementing stricter fire prevention measures, the number of fires originating from encampments has remained low, with seven incidents reported in 2024.
The city has aimed to balance between providing outreach and services to homeless individuals into housing and services with protecting public safety, public health, the environment and quality of life of the community. This approach resulted in a decline in the number of people experiencing homelessness in Malibu (33 in 2025, 69 in 2024, 71 in 2023, 81 in 2022, 157 in 2021). The City’s Homeless Outreach Team placed 72 individuals into housing in 2024, which is the highest number since services started in 2017.
For more details visit www.malibucity.org/homelessness.
