Thousands of Southern California residents received evacuation orders and warnings Tuesday as firefighters battled a wind-swept wildfire in Malibu near celebrity waterfront mansions, horse farms and Pepperdine University, where students watched flames race up hillsides and the sky turned a deep red. .
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone said a “small number” of homes burned, but the exact number was not immediately known. An Associated Press photographer saw at least one house and a car go up in flames.
More than 8,100 homes and other buildings were threatened, including more than 2,000 whose residents were ordered to evacuate. Another 6,000 people were warned to be ready to flee at any moment with Santa Ana winds gusting up to 64 km/h creating erratic fire conditions.
Abigail Balhagen, a student at Pepperdine School, was in the school library when the power went out late Monday and students began screaming. Later, the school evacuated the students from their residences to the library due to poor conditions.
Fire crews are trying to contain a fast-moving wildfire in Malibu, California, forcing many area residents to flee, including students from a local university.
Bringing other students there amid the smoke of the fire and creeping flames was terrifying, said Balhagen and Bethany Kronlund, two resident assistants.
“There was ash everywhere, embers were everywhere,” Kronlund said.
“It was absolutely horrific,” Balhagen added.
Nearly 3,000 students took shelter on campus, some in a library while others, some wearing pajamas, gathered outside on a sports field as fire lit up the night sky. Someone in an SUV sped past the burning palm trees as the tires spewed embers.
The university later said the worst of the fire had passed beyond the school. Michael Friel, Pepperdine’s spokesman, said parts of the campus “burned” but no major damage occurred.
There is no containment yet
It was not immediately known how the fire, which was named the Franklin Fire, broke out. Provincial fire officials estimated that more than 10 square kilometers of trees and dry brush had burned and that buildings were threatened. There was no containment.
The fire burned amid dangerous fire conditions due to the notorious Santa Ana winds expected to continue through Wednesday. Dry, withering winds blow inland toward the coast, pushing back moist ocean breezes.
Dick Van Dyke, one of many celebrities with homes in Malibu, said he and his wife, Arlene Silver, were evacuated as the fire broke out. The actor turns 99 on Friday.
“Arlene and I were evacuated safely with our animals except for Bobo, who escaped while we were leaving,” Van Dyke said, referring to one of their cats. “We pray that he is well and that our community at Serra Retreat survives these terrible fires.”
Maroun said that at least 1,000 firefighters would rush to control the blaze before the afternoon, when the winds were expected to regain strength.
“Time is of the essence for us to get the fire under control and begin some containment,” the president said at a morning news conference.
The fire broke out just before 11 p.m. local time Monday and quickly moved south, jumping the famous Pacific Coast Highway and extending all the way to the ocean, where large homes line the beach and rugged inland valleys are vulnerable to fires.
The fire at one point threatened the historic Malibu Pier, but the structure was protected, officials said.
Nick Smith, 43, lives on a farm in the Serra Retreat community, a short distance from the pier. His wife packed escape bags as a precaution before they went to bed Monday and a few hours later they heard a neighbor running down the road screaming about a fire. As the flames swept through the mountaintops, Smith gathered his two children and fled to a friend’s house outside Malibu.
“My son was in a little shock, and he’s definitely feeling a little anxious,” Smith said Tuesday. “They woke up to an inferno outside their bedroom.”
He says he thinks their home is safe, but he knows others haven’t been so lucky. Some of his neighbors stayed behind to ward off the flames and take care of the horses.
Firefighters working in the rugged terrain protected valley homes throughout the night while some residents were evacuated on foot and with their horses.
Winds are expected to pick up
As the sun rose Tuesday, thick smoke billowed over Pepperdine University’s campus and the surrounding mountains that jutted toward the coast. The shelter-in-place order has been lifted but the school has canceled classes and finals for Tuesday.
“The university recognizes that the worst of the fire is behind Pepperdine,” Pepperdine said. “However, there are smaller spot fires on campus that do not threaten lives or buildings, and fire resources remain on campus to address these spot fires when they occur.” statement.
North to northeast winds are expected to increase to 48-64 km/h with gusts up to 105 km/h later in the day, the National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office posted on X.
About 40,000 customers were without power by Monday night, including 11,000 in Los Angeles County, as Southern California Edison worked to mitigate the effects of Santa Ana winds, whose strong gusts can damage electrical equipment and spark wildfires. . Gabriela Ornelas, an Edison spokeswoman, said service power was lost to most customers in Malibu around 6 or 7 p.m. local time Monday.
The Woolsey Fire that broke out in Malibu in 2018, killing three people and destroying 1,600 homes, was sparked by Edison equipment.
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