> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Locals respond to Malibu - URL: https://www.smdp.com/locals-respond-to-malibu/ - Published: 2007-10-24T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T03:37:27.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: Community, Malibu, #archive-import *City helps its neighbor to the north* Agencies, businesses lend a helping hand to a city in chaos CITYWIDE Karen Donoho was riding up the coast in what would otherwise have been a beautiful scenic route up along the Pacific coast, instead she was greeted with the sight of plumes of smoke coming out of the canyons, the sky consumed with the unforgiving red and orange swirls of a fire. “Everything was quiet,” said Donoho on Tuesday, the Santa Monica Red Cross volunteer recalling her trips to Malibu as part of an emergency response team.“When (I saw) the sunset, it almost looked like the sun was on fire.” Donoho has had about three hours of sleep since she was called to respond to the fire at 3 p.m. on Sunday, just hours after the blaze broke out in the Malibu canyon. The volunteer has been staffing the American Red Cross canteen at the Malibu Civic Center, keeping firefighters refreshed with beverages and food. “It was eerie to say the least,” Donoho said of the trip. The Santa Monica chapter of the American Red Cross is one of several local agencies and businesses lending a helping hand to firefighters and the thousands of Malibu residents that have fled their homes in the wake of a fire that has claimed more than 15 homes, several businesses, the Malibu Presbyterian Church and Hodge Castle. The Santa Monica Fire Department deployed two fire engines to the Malibu fire and one to the Santa Clarita blaze. Roughly 10 firefighters in Malibu and four in Santa Clarita are working 12-hour shifts, said Santa Monica Fire Capt. Scott Ziegert. The department has backfilled all of the stations in Santa Monica with overtime staff to ensure the city is still protected in the case of an emergency. “Santa Monica will always be our number one priority,” Ziegert said. Santa Monica is part of the Region A mutual aid group that includes L.A. City, L.A. County, Culver City and Beverly Hills fire d e p a r t m e n t s. Santa Monica Fire Department has been called out several times this year to provide assistance throughout Region A, including the first Malibu fire earlier this year and the blaze in Griffith Park. The local police department was also on standby with 12 officers and two sergeants on Sunday and Monday, though those officers were not called upon, said Lt. Alex Padilla of the Santa Monica Police Department. The Santa Monica American Red Cross deployed two to four staff and volunteers to the Malibu Civic Center where a staging area has been set for firefighters in need of a break. Every volunteer has been working in eight to 10 hour shifts, said Mark Solnick, the director of preparedness and response for the Santa Monica chapter. “We’ve seen this stuff before, even as we get new volunteers in, they get inoculated quickly,”Solnick said.“It’s business as usual, but on the other hand, it’s hard to ignore the mood of the evacuees.” More than 1,500 residents evacuated their homes and several dozen maintained a temporary residence in Santa Monica hotels that offered discounts. The local hospitality industry, from the high-end Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel to the Travelodge on Ocean Avenue, opened their rooms to fire victims at a lower rate than usual. The Loews hotel booked rooms at a discounted rate of $125 a night on Sunday and Monday to more than 40 guests from Malibu after the hotel’s regional vice president, who lives in Malibu, received some inquiries from his neighbors back home, said Rosalind Napoli, the hotel spokeswoman. The rooms normally average in the range of several hundred dollars a night. The offer was good only until Tuesday because all the rooms were already prebooked for the American Film Market, which is set to hit Santa Monica next week, Napoli said. Crews and conference organizers had booked the rooms for the days leading up to the conference, she said. “Most of them were trying to find another hotel or they were able to go back to their homes,” she said. Michael Farzam, who owns the Ocean View Hotel, the Pacific Sands Motel, Santa Monica Hotel and the Travelodge, cut the rate for all four locations, with emergency room rates ranging from $69 at the Santa Monica Hotel on Lincoln Boulevard to $129 a night at the Travelodge on Ocean Avenue. As of Tuesday afternoon, there were about 40 Malibu residents that had checked into the hotels. “The majority of people are still here and awaiting response from the fire authorities as to when they could return to their homes,” Farzam said. “Many of the people thought they were staying only one night (but are now) staying about three days.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/102407-02_orig_007.jpg) (Photo: Photo courtesy) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 24, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/102407.pdf?ref=smdp.com)