Thousands of Southern California residents were under evacuation orders and warnings Tuesday as firefighters battled a wind-driven wildfire in Malibu that burned near beachfront mansions. , horse farms and Pepperdine University, where students watched as flames raced down hillsides and the sky turned red. .
A “minimum number” of homes burned, but the exact number was not immediately known, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone said. An Associated Press photographer saw at least one house and car engulfed in flames.
More than 8,100 homes and other structures were threatened, including more than 2,000 where residents were ordered to evacuate. Another 6,000 people were warned to be prepared to flee immediately as Santa Ana winds with storms reaching 64 km/h made for a false fire situation.
Pepperdine junior Abigail Ballhagen was in the school's library when the power went out late Monday and students started screaming. Later, the school evacuated students to the library from their dorms due to the worsening conditions.
Fire crews are trying to contain a fast-moving wildfire in Malibu, California, which has forced many residents of the area to flee, including students from a local university.
Ballhagen and Bethany Kronlund, who are resident assistants, said that it was scary to bring the other students there among the smoke of the fire and flames that were circulating.
“Ash was everywhere, there were rocks everywhere,” Kronlund said.
Ballhagen said: “It felt very apocalyptic. “
Around 3,000 students huddled in place on campus, some in a library and others, some wearing pyjamas, gathered outside on a sports field as a fire lit up the sky. night. Someone evacuating in an SUV drove past burning palm trees as the tires raised embankments.
The university later said the worst of the fire had passed the school. Pepperdine spokesman Michael Friel said parts of the campus were “singed” but there was no major damage.
Unlimited so far
It was not immediately known how the fire, known as the Franklin Fire, started. County fire officials estimated more than 10 square kilometers of trees and dry brush had burned and structures were at risk. There were no restrictions.
The firewas burned amid fire The dry, dry spells sweep out from the interior towards the coast, pushing back the moist ocean breezes.
Dick Van Dyke, one of many celebrities who own homes in Malibu, said he and his wife Arlene Silver had evacuated when the fire broke out. The actor will be 99 years old on Friday.
“Arlene and I got away safely with our animals except that Bobo escaped while we were leaving,” Van Dyke said, referring to one of their cats. “We pray that he will be okay and that our community in Serra Retreat will survive these terrible fires.”
Marrone said at least 1,000 firefighters would be scrambling to get the blaze under control by the afternoon, when the wind was expected to pick up again.
“Time is of the essence for us to get hold of the fire and start to get some containment,” the commander said at a press conference this morning.
The fire started just before 11pm local time on Monday and quickly moved south, jumping over the famous Pacific Coast Highway and extending all the way to the ocean, where large homes line the beach. and rugged interior canyons marked by fire.
At one point, flames threatened Malibu's historic pier, but the structure was spared, officials said.
Nick Smyth, 43, lives on a farm in the Serra Retreat community, a short drive inland from the pier. His wife packed evacuation bags as a precaution before they went to sleep on Monday and a few hours later they heard a neighbor running down the road shouting about a fire. With flames “hitting the mountaintops,” Smyth bundled up their two children and fled to a friend's house outside Malibu.
“My son is a little shocked, he's definitely feeling a little worried,” Smyth said Tuesday. “They woke up to an inferno outside their bedroom.”
He says he believes their house is safe, but he knows others weren't so lucky. Some of his neighbors stayed behind to stop the flames and take care of his horses.
Firefighters working in rugged terrain protected canyon homes overnight while some residents left on foot with their horses.
Wind was expected
As the sun rose on Tuesday, a heavy fog rolled in over the Pepperdine campus and the nearby mountains that drop toward the coast. A shelter-in-place order was lifted but the school suspended classes and finals on Tuesday.
“The university understands that the worst of the fire has passed Pepperdine. However, there are smaller spot fires on campus that do not threaten life or structures, and fire resources are remain on campus to address these spot fires as they occur,” Pepperdine said in a statement.
North and northeast winds were expected to increase to 48-64 km/h with gusts up to 105 km/h expected later in the day, the National Weather Service Los Angeles office posted on X.
Power was out to about 40,000 customers by Monday night, including 11,000 in L.A. County, as Southern California Edison worked to mitigate the effects of Santa Ana winds, whose gusts could strong enough to damage electrical equipment and start wildfires. Gabriela Ornelas, an Edison spokeswoman, said power was shut off to most customers in Malibu around 6 or 7 p.m. local time Monday.
The Woolsey fire that swept through Malibu in 2018, killing three people and destroying 1,600 homes, was fueled by Edison equipment.
