Agreed, I noticed that too. Title is provocative 1990's clickbait.
"Malibu" is the community, not the raw elements of wind and vegetation. Letting a town burn is of course absurd.
Even if Olmsted’s proposal for a great public domain park in the Santa Monicas is a sensible idea, you still wouldn't sit back and let that burn naturally without rigorous fuel load management, thinning of tall trees etc. On that point, the right amount and spacing of tall trees (even eucalypts) are important for wind breaks and shade.
There is almost no discussion of why, or how, letting natural fire processes go unchecked would help the situation.
It may very well be the case that this would be a good idea (or not), but this article really doesn't talk much about it in any case.
But still, some detailed historical context of fires in LA...