At least eight buildings have been destroyed and seven others have been damaged in Malibu, California, as a result of the wind-whipped wildfire that has roared through the area.
The Franklin Fire had grown to nearly 4,000 acres Wednesday afternoon with 7% containment, after it grew 600 acres Wednesday morning, the city of Malibu said in an update. No deaths or injuries have been linked to the fire. The blaze, which broke out Monday night local time, has prompted authorities to issue evacuation orders to around 20,000 people in Los Angeles County.
However, conditions were beginning to improve Wednesday, offering a respite and an opportunity to firefighters.
“Yesterday, around the Franklin Fire, we had gusts in the 35 to 50 mph range. Now, they’re down to the 10 to 20 mph range,” said Ryan Kittell, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Oxnard. He added that a weakening cold front was moving into the region with the potential to bring some light rain Thursday.
But Kittell said he expects more humid onshore winds from the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, as well, which could stir embers.
"Humidities will still be elevated, but wind kind of trumps everything," Kittell said. "It's something to keep aware of."
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said at a news conference Wednesday morning that a containment line was set Tuesday night.
“The weather has changed significantly, so we did take advantage of those higher relative humidities and the lower temperatures and the decreased winds last night. ... We’re going in the right direction,” he said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and remains under investigation.
Evacuees from Malibu include several famous figures who live in the sought-after beachside community. Actor Dick Van Dyke, who turns 99 on Friday, wrote on Facebook that he and his wife, Arlene, escaped safely on Tuesday with their animals, except a cat named Bobo.
Singer Cher also evacuated to a hotel Monday night with her pets, publicist Liz Rosenberg told The New York Times.
Students at Pepperdine University in Malibu were instructed to shelter in place in the campus library and other buildings overnight Monday and Tuesday.
"We were supposed to be taking finals this week, and with the students that I talked to, we’d much rather be taking finals than living through this experience," Rachel Flynn, a Pepperdine senior, told NBC Los Angeles.
"Tonight, it’s on Dresher Hill, which is the opposite side of campus than it was last night," she said Tuesday. "So that’s definitely concerning for me, because that’s where my dorm is located. That’s where my car is parked. I’m watching the flames expand and grow."
Flynn said some students put couches together as makeshift beds.
Michael Friel, director of communications at Pepperdine, said the sheltering students had food, water and power to charge their phones.
The university said early Wednesday on social media that fire activity surrounding the college had “greatly diminished as the Franklin Fire has burned through most of the fuel immediately surrounding campus.”
Early Wednesday, the fire stretched across roughly 4.5 miles, from the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area in the east to central Malibu and large beachside properties. More than 1,400 households are in the affected area.
More than 1,500 firefighters and multiple agencies were tackling the blaze Wednesday.
“Fire can be extremely unpredictable, and we highly encourage residents in the fire areas to be prepared, have a plan and heed our evacuation warnings and orders,” Los Angeles County Sheriff's Capt. Jennifer Seetoo said at a news conference Tuesday night.
She added that deputies would be available to patrol the areas around evacuated homes — some of which are owned by famous and wealthy residents. "We will not tolerate anyone coming to this community to re-victimize our community members," she said.
A mandatory evacuation order is in effect for areas east of Latino Canyon, west of Topanga Beach driveway and south of Baller Motorway, including the Big Rock and Las Flores communities.
All Malibu schools were closed Wednesday and will remain so Thursday, but they are expected to open Friday.
A combination of winds exceeding 60 mph and dry undergrowth has created the perfect conditions for fire in parts of Southern California. Red flag warnings covered 12 million people Tuesday and Wednesday. The warnings are set to remain through 6 p.m. local time for most valleys and mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, according to the National Weather Service office in Los Angeles.
Fall wildfires in California are often driven by the famous Santa Ana winds, which travel down mountain slopes and bring relatively hot, dry air to coastal areas. The winds occur when areas of high pressure in the desert and the Great Basin region travel west, pushing over the mountains and toward the coast.
The systems typically drive humidity levels down, and they can rapidly push any fires that start, particularly when the landscape is dry and hasn't had substantial rain.
"We get Santa Ana winds really through October to March. But as we get deeper into our winter season when we should start getting rain, the fire weather will decrease as the plants get wet," Kittell said. "Sometimes we get our first major storm — which we haven’t had yet — as early as November or as late as January or February. Sometimes, we don’t get it at all."
