Rebuilding, replacing or adding a fence in Malibu, from Trancas and Broad Beach through Point Dume and Paradise Cove to Big Rock and Las Flores? Rancho Oxnard Fence plans and builds fences and gates across the city. Malibu sits about 27 miles from Oxnard along Pacific Coast Highway, at the far southeast corner of the area we serve, and it’s the one town where fire, salt and the coastal zone all hit your fence at once.
Fire covers almost the whole city
CAL FIRE maps about 11,551 acres of Malibu’s local responsibility area as Very High fire hazard, out of roughly 12,702 acres. That’s nearly all of it. The record shows why. The 2018 Woolsey Fire destroyed about 1,500 structures in Malibu, the 2024 Franklin Fire destroyed 19, and the 2025 Palisades Fire took almost all of the beachfront homes in the eastern part of the city.
State law already requires defensible space in these zones, and draft Board of Forestry Zone 0 rules would keep new combustible fencing out of the first 5 ft around your home, including where the fence attaches. In Malibu we go further by default: metal for every fence line near the house and along any edge that faces brush, with nothing stored against it. A wood fence that runs up to your wall carries fire straight to it.
Salt, fog and steel
A USDA sample in the city shows a Cropley coastal and urban land complex on slopes up to 30 percent, well drained, rated high for steel corrosion and low for concrete. Add constant salt in the air near the beach and on the bluffs, and steel fails fast unless it’s protected.
We build with powder-coated aluminum, galvanized steel with a powder coat over it, stainless or hot-dip fasteners and concrete collars that shed water. Rinsing salt off your fence a few times a year adds years. Ask us to fit hinges and latches you can reach with a hose, and keep sprinklers off the posts so salt and water don’t sit at the base. See coastal fence materials.
Does your fence need coastal review?
Much of Malibu lies in the coastal zone, and the California Coastal Commission wrote the city’s Local Coastal Program. The City of Malibu sets fence heights and decides how each fence is reviewed under that program, and we confirm the answer for your address before layout. On a beach, bluff or canyon lot, we build the review into your schedule from day one.
Rebuilding or replacing a Malibu fence?
Send the address and a photo. We plan the metal, the hardware and the city review together.
Getting a fence back after a fire
Many Malibu lots are rebuilding, and a fence is often one of the first things you want back for security. We can close an opening first with a temporary fix, priced separately, while the permanent fence is planned with the house. The permanent fence is noncombustible near the house and along open edges, and laid out so firefighters can still get in through a gate. See emergency fence repair and fence replacement.
Point Dume, the beaches and the bluffs
Lots on Point Dume and along Carbon, Broad and Zuma beaches face the strongest salt. Open aluminum fencing keeps your ocean view and won’t rust; where you need privacy, coated steel frames with noncombustible infill hold up better than wood. See aluminum fences.
Narrow beach lots in the east
Along Big Rock and Las Flores, many homes sit on narrow lots between Pacific Coast Highway and the sand, and many are being rebuilt after the Palisades Fire. Footings there go into sand and fill, so we set them deeper and wider, with gravel at the base for drainage.
Side fences between close neighbors work best in metal with noncombustible infill, which keeps fire from jumping house to house along a wooden line. On the highway side, your gate has to let a car pull fully off the road before it opens.
Gates on a canyon drive
Homes up Malibu Canyon Road, Kanan Dume Road and the smaller canyons often have long, steep driveways. A rolling gate suits a slope or a short approach; a swing gate needs level ground and room to open. Either way we set it back so you can pull fully off the road before it opens, and lay conduit for an opener at the start. See driveway gates and swing vs sliding gates.
Wind down the canyons
Santa Ana winds drove the Woolsey and Palisades fires down the canyons to the coast. Fences on exposed ridges and bluffs take that wind broadside, and open metal designs let it pass. Embers ride the same wind, so a gap-free metal line at your house matters more than height. See wind loads on fences.
How your Malibu job runs
At the visit we walk the line, measure slope and access, and note salt exposure and what faces the back of your lot. Your written estimate itemizes metal sections, hardware grade, gates and removal, and we start the city review before ordering materials. DigAlert marks come at least two working days before we dig. We set and cure posts, add panels, and hang gates last. See gate installation.
What does a Malibu fence cost?
Our typical range for ornamental aluminum and steel is about $35 to $100 per foot installed, and Malibu work tends toward the top of it. Steep access, hand carrying, marine-grade coatings, stainless hardware and the review process are the local additions. See the cost guide.