The Problem
When the Palisades Fire tore through our coastal communities in January 2025, we watched in horror as homes burned. But what happened next was a slow motion disaster that continues today: toxic debris from thousands of burned homes, cars, and electronics sat on oceanfront properties for months, washing into Santa Monica Bay with every tide and every rainstorm.

This was preventable. The technology exists to contain fire debris. Debris booms, sediment socks, and catch basin filters are all proven, commercially available tools. But our government agencies waited days and weeks to deploy them. Oceanfront debris sat exposed to high tides. Storm drains flushed contaminated ash directly into the ocean. And our kelp forests, marine mammals, endangered fish, and public beaches paid the price.

Peer reviewed science tells us how bad this is. Research from NASA and UCLA found that after the 2018 Woolsey Fire, sediment plumes were ten times larger than normal, and bacteria levels stayed dangerously elevated for six months instead of the usual day or two. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife had to emergency rescue over 200 endangered steelhead trout from Topanga Creek and 750 tidewater gobies from Topanga Lagoon because the debris would have killed them.

Our kelp forests, which scientists say generate $500 billion in global ecosystem services annually, are suffocating under sediment. The fish we eat, the waves we surf, the beaches where our children play are all being poisoned by heavy metals, dioxins, PFAS "forever chemicals," and microplastics from burned homes.

Beaches and coastal waters are held in trust for everyone. Pollution does not stop at city boundaries. When fire debris enters the ocean, it spreads across the entire coastline, affecting wildlife, water quality, recreation, tourism, and public health.

With climate-driven fires becoming more frequent, cities must treat post-fire debris as an active pollution emergency, not a future cleanup issue.

Fast action prevents long-term damage.
Waiting guarantees it.

Our Ask

We urge city leaders to:

• Adopt a Coastal Fire Debris Emergency Response Ordinance (which we have researched and drafted)

• To Read the ordinance, please visit TheCoastalAlliance.org

• Act immediately after future fires, not months later
• Protect beaches, ocean waters, and public health
• Lead with science, urgency, and transparency

What This Ordinance Would Do

✔ Declare a coastal environmental emergency when fire debris threatens beaches and ocean waters
✔ Require rapid containment of debris before storms spread it
✔ Intercept debris at storm drains and shoreline outfalls
✔ Authorize emergency beach cleanup before debris fragments into micro-pollution
✔ Require environmental testing and public disclosure
✔ Issue precautionary public health advisories when needed
✔ Ensure private fire debris does not become a permanent public pollution problem
✔ Align city action with the California Coastal Act and Local Coastal Programs

This is not about blame.
It is about preparedness, protection, and public trust.

What We Are Demanding
We demand that coastal cities adopt the Coastal Fire Debris Emergency Response and Marine Ecosystem Protection Ordinance, which would require:

1. Priority Cleanup of Shoreline Properties. Burned properties on or near the ocean must be cleaned up first, not last. Debris cannot be allowed to sit in the tidal zone for months while agencies shuffle paperwork. Property owners must receive abatement orders within 48 hours, not weeks.

2. No More Flushing Debris to the Ocean. When ash and debris collect in storm drains, it must be physically removed and properly disposed of. Under no circumstances should we allow contaminated material to wash into the ocean with the next storm. This means deploying debris booms at outfalls within 48 hours of a fire, installing sediment socks at drain inlets, and clearing accumulated debris before every forecasted rain.

3. Protect Sensitive Areas from Cleanup Damage. Heavy equipment should not be driven across our beaches, through our wetlands, or into our creek channels except when absolutely necessary. Hand removal should be required in sensitive areas. Wildlife surveys should be conducted before cleanup begins. Buffer zones should protect marine mammals and nesting birds.

4. Protect Our Right to Know. Water quality testing should begin immediately after a fire, not weeks later. Results should be posted publicly within 24 hours. When our beaches are unsafe for swimming, we have a right to know.

5. Accountability. Clear timelines, designated responsible officials, and real consequences for failure. No more finger pointing between agencies while our ocean pays the price.

Why This Matters
Climate change means more fires. Santa Ana winds, drought, and expanding development in fire prone areas guarantee that coastal fires will happen again. The question is whether we will be ready.

Right now, we are not. After the Palisades Fire, debris booms were not deployed for days. Oceanfront debris sat exposed for weeks. The first major storm on January 26 washed tons of toxic material into the bay with minimal interception. Testing began late and results were not immediately shared with the public. Six months later, fragments of burned homes were still washing up on beaches from Malibu to Redondo Beach.

This is not acceptable. We have the technology. We have the science. We have the legal authority. What we have lacked is the political will to treat our ocean as an emergency zone from minute one.

The ocean does not wait for bureaucracy. Neither should we.

Who We Are
We are surfers, swimmers, divers, and fishers. We are parents who take our kids to the beach. We are marine biologists, environmental scientists, and community advocates. We are residents of Santa Monica, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, and coastal communities throughout Los Angeles County. We love our ocean, and we refuse to watch it be poisoned by preventable government failure.

What Your Signature Does
Every signature sends a message to our elected officials: we are watching, and we expect action. When we reach 13,000 signatures, we will present this petition to the Santa Monica City Council. At 15,000 signatures, we will bring it to the Malibu City Council and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. At 20,000 signatures, we will demand a hearing before the California Coastal Commission.

Our coast belongs to all of us. Sign this petition and help us protect it.