Overnight, a wildfire in Malibu, California, spread to over 2,000 acres, forcing Pepperdine University to evacuate and implement a six-hour shelter-in-place policy.
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 (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.
At 3 a.m. local time, the city of Malibu reported that the fire had moved 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.
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.
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.
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.
Until the order was revoked Tuesday morning, anyone on campus at Pepperdine University was instructed to seek shelter in the campus center or library.Social media videos displayed orange flames outside school windows.
The institution stated in a post on X that the worst of the fire had moved beyond Pepperdine by 3 a.m. local time. A few hours later, school authorities issued a statement stating that while it was safe to return to on-campus housing, they strongly advised the community to stay off Malibu roads and stay on campus.
Classes and finals were canceled on Tuesday, and school operations were suspended.
Due to the wildfire risk, Southern California Edison, one of the region’s major utility providers, 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.”
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