On-Air Now
On-Air Now

Malibu mayor says city striving to get back to normal, responds to criticism over Pepperdine

By

/

 Malibu is struggling to get back to normal after a devastating fire forced the evacuation of all residents.

Malibu Mayor Rick Mullen says it will take some time before residents can go home.

“We have to make sure that the appropriate security measures are in place so that everyone doesn’t go running roughshod over all the neighborhoods. I want everyone out there to know, I know they’re frustrated and I want to get them back in as quickly as possible.”

Mayor Mullen says he is aware of the complaints from residents that Pepperdine University got the lion’s share of fire-fighting resources at the outset of the fire.

“I don’t believe that was the case at all. Pepperdine is always the sort of command post for the big fires in the City of Malibu and they’re always a very good partner with the city in terms of public safety.  They have the prime helistop there. They have a lot of defensible space. Pepperdine is actually a good place to shelter … I think what happened was, somebody in Pepperdine maybe made a call to somebody, who made a call to somebody else; the story got bigger all along the way. Before we jump to conclusions, let’s find out what the actual facts of the story are.”

Mayor Mullen was a guest on McIntyre in the Morning.

By Sandy Wells

KABC News