Overnight, a wildfire in Malibu, California, spread to over 2,000 acres, forcing Pepperdine University to temporarily implement a shelter-in-place strategy and evacuate its students.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department reports that the Franklin Fire started in the Malibu Canyon region just before 11 p.m. local time on Monday (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 had spread to 2,200 acres and was completely uncontrolled by Tuesday morning at around 7 a.m. local time.
The city of Malibu reports that the fire has extended across the Pacific Coast Highway, often referred to as Highway 1, in the direction of the Malibu Pier area, a popular tourist destination for both locals and surfers.
According to the city, Malibu Pier and other buildings are affected.
During a news briefing on Tuesday, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone stated that “a minimal number” of residences had been burned, although he did not specify the exact number. According to him, no fatalities or severe injuries have been recorded as of yet.
Time is of the importance as workers on the ground and in the air fight the fire on difficult and steep terrain, and the Malibu region is still in danger, Marrone continued.
According to him, the current red flag notice for strong winds and low humidity is expected to last until Wednesday night at 8 p.m.
The majority of the 8,100 buildings and 18,000 people in the impacted area are under evacuation alerts, according to local officials.
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.
According to the offices of Governor Gavin Newsom, the state received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday to assist guarantee that essential resources will be available to put out the fire.
Although he expects the fire will be mostly contained by Tuesday afternoon, Marrone warned that persistent windy weather could cause issues.
“Don’t worry, we will continue to fight this fire with a coordinated air and ground assault for however long it takes,” he stated.
Although the origin of the incident is still unknown, Marrone stated that the fire department and the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department’s arson investigators are looking into it.
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 weather service issued an unusual red flag warning for many regions, including Malibu, a coastal 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 issued a shelter-in-place advisory to the neighborhood, which was later lifted just after 7 a.m. Anyone on campus during that period was instructed to seek refuge in the library or campus center.
Social media videos displayed orange flames outside school windows.
In a declarationThe community is highly encouraged to stay on campus and off Malibu roads, according to school authorities, who stated that it was safe to return to on-campus housing at roughly 7:30 a.m. local time.
Classes and finals were canceled on Tuesday, and university operations were suspended.
Due to the wildfire risk, Southern California Edison, the region’s main utility supplier, has instituted power shutoffs for public safety. Over 10,000 consumers in Los Angeles County, almost 9,000 in San Bernardino County, and over 2,000 in Kern County are impacted by the 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.”
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!