As part of the City of Malibu’s effort to promote community-wide wildfire safety and to help residents protect their homes and properties from wildfires, the City is once again accepting applications for the free Hazard Tree Removal Program.
“The Hazard Tree Removal Program is a great example of the concrete steps that the City is taking to improve wildfire safety across the community in Malibu,” said Mayor Steve Uhring. “Our program empowers residents to make their homes and properties less vulnerable to wildfire, which in turn protects entire neighborhoods and the community by making it more difficult for fires to spread.”
The City was awarded $326,000 in February 2024 to continue a third round of the program, bringing the total grant funding for this highly popular service to $1 million since it launched in 2021. Work is expected to begin in early summer for this round of funding.
The goal of the program is to remove dead trees, or trees that are at risk of falling and creating a threat to life safety, property, infrastructure, and access to neighborhoods for emergency responders. Any dead trees add fuel load that can make future wildfires more powerful. By removing dead trees, the program supports the goal of creating defensible space around homes and reducing vegetation to make homes more likely to survive a wildfire and to follow the Los Angeles County Fire Code.
Residents who were still on the waiting list when the previous grant funds were exhausted will be given priority during this phase of the program.
Once a resident is registered, the property will be visited by a City Fire Safety Liaison and a licensed arborist from the contracted tree service company to ensure that the property meets the grant criteria. Properties must be in the City limits, the trees must be dead and may not be located in an environmentally sensitive area, and there must be adequate access for the equipment needed to perform the work.
For more information and to register for the program, visit www.MalibuCity.org/FireSafety, call Fire Safety Liaison Gabe Etcheverry at 424-422-8802 or email FireSafety@MalibuCity.org.