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Malibu surfside news | January 24, 2019 | 3
The California Wildlife Center van transports a pygymy
sperm whale, which was beached at Zuma on Friday,
Jan. 18, to the Zuma Lifeguard Headquarters garage.
Suzy Demeter/22nd Century Media
Rescuers examine
beached sperm
whale in Malibu
Mammal ultimately
euthanized
Staff Report
Officials from the California
Wildlife Center were
on scene at Zuma Beach the
morning of Friday, Jan. 18,
in response to a beached
pygymy sperm whale.
Rescuers estimated that
the adult, female whale was
approximately 9-feet long
and weighed 800 pounds.
She was transported to the
Zuma Lifeguard Headquarters
garage, where CWC’s
Dr. Stephany Lewis examined
the mammal, consulting
with veterinarians at
Sea World, San Diego and
officials at the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, and ultimately
decided to euthanize
the whale with intravenous
anesthetic drugs.
“This species of whale
does not do well in longterm
rehabilitation or captivity
and was not likely
to survive transport to San
Diego for treatment,” CWC
stated in an Instagram post.
Michael Remski, marine
mammal rehabilitation
manager for CWC, said
“something clearly was
wrong” with the mammal.
Rescuers tried to put the
whale back into the water,
and Remski said he had
a moment’s hope when it
looked like she was swimming,
but the whale again
beached itself shortly thereafter.
The whale was found to
have bilateral conjunctivitis
(or eye infections) in both
eyes, causing blindness, as
well as abrasions on her
body, a chronic wound on
her right side and bloody
discharge, CWC said.
The whale was to be
transported to the Natural
History Museum of Los
Angeles County for further
studies.
Freelance Reporter Suzy
Demeter contributed to this
report.
Malibu’s Disaster Recovery Center now closed
Assistance remains
available via phone,
web, at Agoura DRC
Lauren Coughlin, Editor
Two months after opening
its doors, Malibu’s Disaster
Recovery Center was
shuttered at 6 p.m. Friday,
Jan. 18.
The center, located at the
old Malibu courthouse, had
serviced 3,848 individuals
as of Jan. 15, according to
Maria Padron, of the Federal
Emergency Management
Agency’s Office of
External Affairs/Media
Relations. Padron added
that visits to the DRC have
“steadily decreased.”
Last week, with storms
reaching the Malibu area
and presenting troubling
road conditions, the DRC
closed early on Monday
and did not open on Thursday,
with officials instead
urging anyone in need to
seek virtual assistance.
At the centers — which
were jointly operated by
FEMA and the California
Governor’s Office of Emergency
Services — victims
of the Woolsey Fire were
able to replace lost records,
file insurance claims, apply
for FEMA disaster assistance,
and obtain information
on recovery as well as
rebuilding. Federal, State,
County and City officials
were stationed at the center,
as were representatives
of area nonprofit organizations.
Remaining assistance
options
Fire victims who still
require assistance may
call the FEMA help line
at (800) 621-3362 from 7
a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days
a week (multi-lingual operators
are available), or
visit disasterassistance.gov.
The deadline to register
for federal disaster assistance
grants with FEMA is
Thursday, Jan. 31.
The deadline for submitting
applications for home
or business loans from the
U.S. Small Business Administration
is Jan. 31. To
apply online, visit www.
disasterloan.sba.gov/ela,
email disastercustomerser
vice@sba.gov or call (800)
659-2955. Individuals who
are deaf or hard of hearing
may call (800) 877-8339.
Jan. 31 also is the deadline
for homeowners to submit
applications for debris
removal — either through a
right of entry form to join
the county and California
Department of Resources
Recycling and Recovery’s
debris removal program,
or to opt out of the county
program and instead pursue
a private process at the
homeowner’s expense. The
ROE form can be found at
lacounty.gov/lacountyre
covers.
Residents also may visit
the Debris Removal Operation
Center, located
at 26610 Agoura Road
in Calabasas, to find out
more about the debris removal
process. The center
is open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.,
Monday-Friday, and from 9
a.m.-12 p.m. Saturday.
Los Angeles County residents
who are unemployed
as a result of the fires have
until March 15 to apply for
unemployment with the
California Employment
Development Department.
FEMA also offers grants
to qualifying nonprofit organizations
and local governments
through its Public
Assistance Program; that
program’s deadline is not
until April 8.
The Agoura Hills DRC at
the Conrad Hilton Foundation
building, 30440 Agoura
Road, remains open and
can be visited from 9 a.m.-6
p.m. Monday through Saturday.
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