Overnight, a wildfire in Malibu, California, spread to over 2,000 acres, forcing Pepperdine University to implement shelter-in-place procedures and evacuate its students.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department reports that the Franklin Fire started in the Malibu Canyon region at approximately 11 p.m. local time on Monday night (2 a.m. ET on Tuesday). The fire breaks out while a number of Southern California regions are under red flag warnings due to low humidity, strong Santa Ana winds, and dry vegetation that makes them vulnerable to severe wildfires.
The fire was 0% contained and had spread to 2,200 acres at 7 a.m. local time.
At 3 a.m. local time, the City of Malibu reported that the fire had expanded south down the Pacific Coast Highway (also called Highway 1) in the direction of the Malibu Pier area, a popular tourist destination for both locals and surfers.
Other buildings, including Malibu Pier, are affected. According to the city, structures on Malibu Knolls Road and Sweetwater Cyn are affected.
According to fire officials, there is a mandatory evacuation order in effect in the Serra Retreat area, south of Piuma Road, and east of Malibu Canyon Road. An evacuation center is being set up at the Palisades Recreation Center.
On Tuesday, the offices of Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the state has obtained a funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help guarantee the availability of essential resources for putting out the fire.
About 12 million people in California, from San Luis Obispo to San Diego, are impacted by the red flag alerts. According to forecasts, there is a chance of felled trees, power outages, and wind gusts of 50 to 80 mph.
“The National Weather Service said Monday when it issued the red flag warning that a strong, widespread, and long-lasting Santa Ana Event will bring widespread critical to extremely critical fire weather conditions to many areas of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties through Wednesday.”
The National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office reports that as of Tuesday morning, the greatest gusts linked to the Santa Ana winds had hit 93 mph on a trail in the San Gabriel Mountains, 77 mph in the Santa Susana Mountains, and 74 mph in the Oakridge Oil Field in Ventura County.
Due to destructive Santa Ana winds and extremely low humidity, the National Weather Service issued an unusual red flag warning for many regions, including Malibu, a seaside city north of Los Angeles that is well-known for housing many celebrities. The warning was set to expire at 2 p.m. on Tuesday and went into force at 8 p.m. local time on Monday.
The San Gabriel Mountains, the Santa Clarita Valley, Calabasas, the beaches and valleys of Ventura County, and the western San Fernando Valley are among the other regions that are under the same “particularly dangerous” alert category.
Around 1 a.m. local time on Tuesday, Pepperdine University in Malibu sent out a shelter-in-place notice to the surrounding population. Everyone on campus was told to seek cover in the library or campus center.
Social media videos revealed orange flames visible outside college windows.
The University posted on X around 3 a.m. local time, stating that “the worst of the fire has pushed past Pepperdine.”
The statement also noted that there are smaller spot fires on campus that do not pose a threat to people or property, and that fire resources are still available to put out these spot fires as they happen.
Classes and finals were canceled on Tuesday, and campus operations were suspended in Malibu.
Because of the wildfire risk, Southern California Edison, one of the region’s major utility providers, has instituted power shutoffs for public safety. More than 10,000 consumers in Los Angeles County, almost 9,000 in San Bernardino County, and more than 2,000 in Kern County are impacted by those outages. According to the mayor, a large portion of Malibu is also under shutdown.
On Tuesday, all schools in Malibu are closed.
Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, stated that her office is keeping an eye on the fire. She commented on X, “Thank you to all first responders working to battle this blaze.”
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