A Malibu neighborhood A member of the fire department who helped save nearly a dozen homes during the Palisades Fire said that while communities can work together to save property during natural disasters, more needs to be done by California officials to curb wildfires.
Matt Diamond, a local surfer, formed the brigade in his neighborhood after 2018 Woolsey fire – which scorched nearly 100,000 hectares of land, claimed three lives and forced nearly 300,000 people to evacuate – because of what he described as the need to become “self-sufficient firefighters.”
“We didn’t have any fire support for that, and it was basically all the residents of Malibu who had to work together,” Diamond told Fox News Digital. “We stayed and the city manager wouldn’t allow funds in, so we had to vote on provisions. We shipped axes, shovels, fire equipment, and food and water into Paradise Cove, and we set up a makeshift camp. fully operational and began patrolling the neighborhood, conducting fire checks and rescuing neighbors’ homes.
Now, he said, the Los Angeles Fire Department considers the brigade an essential resource in saving homes and controlling fires because firefighters sent from other locations do not know the area.
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Matt Diamond, a Malibu surfer, was part of a community fire crew that saved 10 homes during the California wildfires.
When the fires broke out Tuesday, Diamond followed fire trucks toward Sunset and Pacific Coast Highway and saw the fire simmering in the Palisades. He traveled back to Malibu and encountered the flames at Tuna Canyon, he said.
“It was dark and (the wildfire) was moving about a quarter mile every 30 minutes,” he said. “I was with the brigade and it took everything in its path.”
A beach house goes up in flames as the Palisades Fire burns along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, on January 8, 2025. (AGUSTIN PAULLIER/AFP via Getty Images)
He traveled home and packed his belongings, including some surfboards.
“I’ve been surfing big waves at a somewhat professional level, and I have a big competition coming up, so I needed these boards,” said Diamond. “I worked really hard and these are some of the best shaped boards in the world. I took them all to the beach, along with my drum kits and music equipment, and then I went home and the fire was right through my house, all around it. It was an amazing sight, talk about an immersive experience.”
Diamond began working with Santa Barbara firefighters to help protect his home and his neighborhood. He said he helped “convince” them to save his place.
The next morning everything was still ablaze. He said many of his friends from the Palisades lost their homes that night.
“All my great musician friends, in some of the biggest bands in the world, have lost all their Grammys,” he said. “The biggest producers in the world who did the biggest projects, from music to TV and film, with the most amazing memorabilia you’ve ever seen. It’s just gone. I was just looking at it. Beautiful things framed from The Beatles , the craziest 60s Woodstock-era memorabilia – all gone.”
While the brigade saved about 10 homes, Diamond said the domino effect is the most important part: Saving one home could also save the surrounding four.
The Palisades Fire burns a beachfront property in Malibu, California on Wednesday, January 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
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The city of Malibu confirmed in a statement Thursday that a resident died in the Palisades Fire.
“This is a painful reminder of the profound impact this fire is having on our community,” officials wrote. “Malibu is more than a city: we are neighbors, friends and family. Even if we don’t know someone’s name, the loss is felt by all of us. In times like these, we must come together, support each other, and demonstrate the resilience that defines our community…”
Diamond encouraged each community to contact local first responders and establish communication with officials.
Matt Diamond took photos of the damage in Malibu, California during the wildfires. (Matte Diamond)
Creating a dedicated community line of communication with walkie-talkies and satellite radio telephones can also be very helpful in times of crisis, he said.
“You get the right outfits and training, your equipment, and you’re ready to save your community,” Diamond said. “We will only have more natural disasters. It will just happen all the time. It is the evolution of the climate, and it will continue and only grow. You might as well educate yourself and be armed to help your community. It’s very empowering, and it’s necessary.”
Growing up, he remembered seeing many forest fires. He recalled that forestry and firefighting created fire lines.
Burned buildings stand in ruins as powerful winds fuel devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area forcing people to evacuate in Malibu, California, January 8, 2025. (Daniel Cole/Reuters)
While he acknowledges that prescribed burns can sometimes get out of hand, Diamond said they are necessary to protect the whole.
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“(The government is) in a sense quite reluctant to do what is really necessary,” he said. “Suppose two houses are on fire and (the government) is sued by two people, versus 1,000 houses (disappeared) because you didn’t do these controlled burns. The Governor (Gavin Newsom) needs to address this because everyone is pretty much at their mercy. Cut through the bureaucracy and just do what needs to be done.”
