A fast-moving wildfire has scorched 4,000 acres in Malibu, forcing 20,000 residents to flee as flames advanced on homes, horse farms, and Pepperdine University.
The Franklin Fire, yet another late-year wildfire fanned by fierce Santa Ana winds, has left a trail of destruction as officials confirmed seven structures destroyed and nine damaged.
Evacuations have displaced thousands of residents, including celebrities such as Dick Van Dyke and Cher.
Malibu mayor Doug Stewart called it a “traumatic 20 hours” for the city, as emergency operations relocated to Calabasas after the city hall was threatened.
“It burns, it grows back, and we’re resilient,” Stewart said.
More than 1,500 firefighters are battling the blaze with many roads closed and others under security patrols.
At Pepperdine University, 3,000 students sheltered in place as smoke and embers engulfed the campus. “Ash was everywhere, embers were everywhere,” said a student, Bethany Kronlund.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Meteorologists warned that even though the strongest winds have passed the danger remained on Wednesday, especially in the hilly areas.
Malibu resident recalls fire moving toward RV park
A Malibu man is recalling the moment the Franklin Fire approached the city’s RV park.
“You could see the fires rolling in, in over the canyon. It was like ‘Holy crap, this is real,’ ” Shawn Smith told The Associated Press.
Smith was asleep when someone knocked on his mobile home to wake him up.
A day, later, he returned to find that the RV park had been saved by firefighters.
“We got lucky,” he said.
Julia Musto11 December 2024 22:00
Malibu’s Franklin Fire has now spread over more than 4,000 acres
Malibu’s Franklin Fire has now spread over more than 4,000 acres, according to Cal Fire.
The 4,031-acre blaze is still 7 percent contained.
Julia Musto11 December 2024 20:42
Photos show devastation of Malibu wildfire
Julia Musto11 December 2024 20:34
Meta social media platforms are down as the fire continues to burn
“Hi, we know there’s a technical issue impacting some people’s ability to access Instagram,” it wrote on the official Instagram page on X/Twitter. “We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible and are sorry for any inconvenience.”
The Independent’s Andrew Griffin has the latest:
Julia Musto11 December 2024 20:00
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors chair assures progress is being made
Julia Musto11 December 2024 19:30
Power outages in California continue to fall
Fewer than 50,000 California customers were without power on Wednesday, according to tracker PowerOutage.US.
That tally had exceeded 60,000 on Tuesday.
Julia Musto11 December 2024 19:15
