Greater LA
Could ‘community brigades’ be a new model for fighting wildfires?
A couple of dozen Malibu neighbors have been developing “community brigades” since the 2018 Woolsey Fire. The brigades are meant to fill in the resource gap when firefighters are stretched too thin.
By Steve Chiotakis • • 25m ListenA couple of dozen Malibu neighbors have been developing “community brigades” since the 2018 Woolsey Fire. The brigades are meant to fill in the resource gap when firefighters are stretched too thin. This model relies on training volunteers and coordinating with local agencies. It requires a lot less training and a smaller time commitment, and offers more roles than other volunteer firefighting programs. It also takes an “all hazards” approach that can be used in any natural disaster.
A posthumously published memoir explains how Trader Joe’s founder Joe Coulombe built a quirky grocery empire by exploiting legal loopholes and product discontinuities. And the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments today in a class action lawsuit filed against the FBI by three Muslim men from Orange County who say they were spied on, due to their faith, after 9/11.
