MALIBU (CelebrityAccess) — Veteran artist manager Jeff Jampol executed a daring sea rescue to save people trapped by the devastating Woolsey fire that burned through the Malibu region.
According to Billboard, Jampol, who heads Los Angeles-based Jampol Artist Management, took his 75-foot yacht Mojo Risin’ to Malibu’s Point Dume in a bid to ferry fire refugees to safety.
“We thought— ha, ha, ha— that we would get in and out by sunset and we ended up out there way past midnight. It was a little hairy going in,” Jampol told the publication. “You have no idea what you’re going to encounter.”
The rescue effort started after Jampol offered to help a friend discover if his Malibu home was still standing by taking him nearby on the Mojo Risin’. Then, realizing other people might need similar assistance, he posted on social media that he was making the run.
To anyone stuck in Malibu, we’ll have a boat available to take you in from Marina Del Rey, or out from Point Dume late afternoon/early evening today. You may have to get wet making it past surfline to vessel, so *very* limited luggage, if any…. Let Mace know!
Mace, 323-707-5919— Jeff Jampol (@JJampol) November 11, 2018
Jampol told Billboard that the response was overwhelming.
“We left Catalina early to get fuel and by the time I got back to my slip, there were 12-14 people waiting there, first responders and supplies, people freaked out who had no idea what was happening with their houses and [we heard] of other people stranded on the beach [in Malibu] who couldn’t get out, so we decided to run a little operation,” he said.
Jampol then says he heard reports of other people stranded on beaches near the fire so he decided to try to help the trapped people evacuate. Jampol, and two friends and 12 people who had previously evacuated returned to Point Dume but were unable to approach the beach. Instead, they loaded aboard a 14-foot tender and tied an inflatable paddle board behind it for the supplies and headed to shore.
“We had to take little breaks. The tender almost capsized with people on it,” Jampol told Billboard “We knew there was a red flag warning and reports of bad weather. It would go from calm to 30 mile-per-hour winds and right in the middle of it, the winds go to 40 miles per hour out of nowhere and it whips ups the sea. We’re bobbing and bobbing and trying to get people out in the pitch black. You had to pull them on the paddle board by hand and make sure no one’s falling off with all these supplies.”
In all Jampol and his team rescued 10 people from Malibu in a series of five to six trips, Billboard reported.
The Woolsey Fire, which broke out on Nov. 8th, has consumed more than 430 structures and nearly 134 square miles and was only 10%-15% contained as of Monday night. So far, at least two people have died in the blaze.
