In Malibu, California, a wind-whipped wildfire has rushed across the area, destroying at least eight buildings and damaging another seven.
After expanding by 600 acres this morning, the Franklin Fire has now spread to around 4,000 acres with 7% containment as of Wednesday afternoon, according to an update from the city of Malibu. There have been no documented fire-related fatalities or injuries. Authorities in Los Angeles County have ordered almost 20,000 residents to evacuate due to the fire, which started Monday night local time.
On Wednesday, though, things were starting to get better, giving firefighters a break and a chance to work.
We experienced gusts of between 35 and 50 mph yesterday near the Franklin Fire. According to Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service headquartered in Oxnard, California, they are now down to 10 to 20 mph. A weakening cold front was approaching the area, he continued, and Thursday might see some light rain.
However, Kittell added that he anticipates more humid onshore winds from the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, which may cause embers to flare.
“Humidities will still be elevated but wind kind of trumps everything,” Kittell stated. “It’s something to keep aware of.”
In a news conference Wednesday morning, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone stated that a containment line was established Tuesday evening.
We did take advantage of last night’s lower temperatures, lower winds, and higher relative humidities because the weather has shifted so much. He said, “We’re headed in the right direction.”
Investigations are still ongoing to determine the cause of the incident.
Several well-known people who reside in the coveted coastal town of Malibu are among the evacuees fleeing Malibu. Actor Dick Van Dyke, who turns 99 on Friday, said on Facebook that he and his wife Arlene, along with all of their pets—aside from a cat named Bobo—escaped safely on Tuesday.
Publicist Liz Rosenberg informed the New York Times that singer Cher and her pets were also moved to a motel on Monday night.
On Monday and Tuesday, Pepperdine University students in Malibu were told to spend the night indoors in the campus library and other buildings.
“With the students that I spoke to, we’d much rather be taking finals than going through this experience,” Rachel Flynn, a senior at Pepperdine, told NBC Los Angeles. “We were supposed to be taking finals this week.”
“Tonight, it s on Dresher Hill, which is the opposite side of campus than it was last night,” she stated on Tuesday. Given that my dorm is located there, that is undoubtedly troubling to me. I have my automobile parked there. The flames are growing and spreading, and I can see it.”
According to Flynn, some students improvised mattresses out of couches.
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