Corral Fire Suspects’ Court Date  Is Rescheduled at Judge’s Request

• Resident Statements Ready for Presentation

BY ANNE SOBLE

Corral Canyon residents had finalized their impact statements for presentation and were preparing to show up at the Van Nuys Courthouse this Tuesday, when they received word late last week that the date for pleas by the two men deemed most culpable in the area’s 2007 wildfire would be rescheduled.

Judge Susan Speer’s clerk informed the parties that the judge had an unusually heavy calendar set for April 13, which was not anticipated and she wanted the lawyers to come in on Tuesday to pick a new date for the pleas and the victim impact statements.

The prosecutor on the case, Deputy DA Frances Young, has collected the statements and pictures, which will be presented at the rescheduled court date.

Residents are being led to think that the two defendants charged with causing the fire are going to enter guilty pleas for their role expanding a campfire set in the “cave” area atop Corral. They kicked embers into dry brush during hot Santa Ana winds and left the scene as flames began to rage out of control.

The Corral wildfire destroyed 53 homes, damaged 35, burned 4900 acres and forced the evacuation of several neighborhoods in central Malibu. Many pets were killed, and one man’s death is indirectly attributed to the blaze.

Beverly Taki, who heads the local fire survivors effort, told her neighbors, “I am so sorry for this delay, it’s the legal system and we must remain patient and attend on the new date.”

Many of the residents plan to be in the courtroom to watch the men, Brian Anderson and William Coppock, enter their pleas. 

A third defendant, Brian Franks, has already received probation and must do community service for his role in the fire.

Two other men, Eric Ullman and Dean Allen Lavorante, have not yet enter pleas. They started the original campfire, but were evicted from the premises before the other men built it up in size.

Meanwhile, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has filed suit against all five men for $7.7 million. The CDF says it spent more than that fighting the fire.

After the fire, the Corral Canyon residents banded together. They provide mutual support, as well as follow the legal cases related to the fire’s outbreak.

Corral residents say they are going to remain actively involved in patrolling the canyon, educating people about fire safety, and training the neighborhood for fire prevention.

They want to ensure that “fires are not deliberately and negligently started in their community again.”