Fire scorches over 4,000 acres in Malibu; evacuations ordered

Fast winds have driven the Franklin Fire in Malibu Canyon to burn more than 4,000 acres Thursday and prompt evacuation orders, fire officials said.

Nine structures were destroyed and six damaged, but no injuries have been reported, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The fire swelled from around 2,600 acres Tuesday to an estimated 3,983 Wednesday, and early Thursday the acreage increased to 4,037, according to Cal Fire.

Containment of the blaze was 7% as of Wednesday morning and was unchanged Thursday, officials said.

The Franklin Fire was first reported around 11 p.m. Monday in a Malibu Canyon area where a large amount of dry brush enabled its rapid spread, along with a “particularly dangerous red flag warning” issued by the National Weather Service indicating strong wind gusts and very dry conditions.

Wind gusts as high as nearly 50 mph were recorded in Malibu overnight on Monday into early Tuesday, the National Weather Service reported.

A red flag warning indicating critical fire danger that had been issued for the Malibu area since Monday was set to expire at 2 p.m. Wednesday, but the NWS rescinded the warning an hour early, saying the winds had decreased sooner than forecasters expected.

“While very dry air and elevated fire weather conditions will persist into tonight, the threat of critical fire weather conditions have ended,” according to an NWS statement.

Authorities issued evacuation orders for more than 12,000 people with thousands more facing evacuation warnings. No injuries have been reported.

Cal Fire Assistant Chief Dusty Martin said Wednesday evening that 6,300 people were displaced as a result of the evacuation.

Nearly 2,000 firefighting personnel were assigned to battle the blaze, according to Cal Fire, which has assumed Unified Command of the Franklin Fire Wednesday that includes Cal Fire Incident Management Team 4, the LA County Fire Department and the sheriff’s department.

LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said Wednesday that over 100 sheriff’s department personnel have been assigned to patrol the fire-affected area. No crimes were reported in fire zone since the blaze began.

Luna said evacuations were affecting 19,980 people and 7,560 structures in the fire area. About 12,600 people were under mandatory evacuation orders in the area south of Piuma Road, east of Corral Canyon and west of Big Rock. Another 7,380 residents received evacuation warnings south in the area of Mulholland Highway, north of Pacific Coast Highway, east of Trancas and west of Coastline.

Authorities said “soft” street closures, in which only residents may enter an area, were in place at:

• Topanga Canyon Boulevard at Pacific Coast Highway;

• Topanga Canyon Boulevard at Mulholland Drive; and

• Topanga Canyon Boulevard at Mulholland Highway;

“Hard” closures, in which only emergency vehicles have access, were issued at:

• Las Virgenes at Mulholland Highway;

• Pacific Coast Highway between Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Kanan Road;

• Malibu Canyon at Civic Center;

• Malibu Canyon at Pacific Coast Highway;

• Pacific Coast Highway at Corral Canyon Road;

• Topanga at Pacific Coast Highway;

• Mulholland at Cole Canyon;

• Saddle Peak at Tuna Canyon;

• Pacific Coast Highway at Tuna Canyon;

• Pacific Coast Highway at Kanan Road; and

• Mulholland at Stunt Road.

Shortly after midnight Tuesday, several evacuation orders and warnings were issued between Trancas Canyon and Topanga Canyon Boulevard, and areas south of Mulholland Highway to Pacific Coast Highway, Luna said.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department’s mandatory evacuation order covers the area south of Piuma Road, north of the Pacific Ocean coastline, east of Puerco Canyon Road and Corral Canyon Park and west of Los Flores Canyon Road. The order is also for the area between the Pacific Ocean coastline and Tuna Canyon Park to the west of Tuna Canyon Road.

Evacuation warnings were in effect for the area east of Trancas Canyon Road and Kanan Dune Road, west of Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Surfview Drive, south of Mulholland Highway and north of the evacuation order boundary, according to Cal Fire.

Flames reportedly reached the Serra Retreat area at 1 a.m. Tuesday prompting evacuation, and the fire crossed Malibu Canyon Road.

Malibu City Hall and Pepperdine University were among the Malibu locales threatened by the nearby fire. The city temporarily moved its Emergency Operations Center to Calabasas.

Pepperdine reported power outages and required students and staff to shelter-in-place overnight in a library and cafeteria. The order was lifted around 8 a.m. Tuesday.

University officials postponed final exams and suspended school operations, with a large portion of the Pepperdine campus still without electricity.

Evacuation shelters were operating at a Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District facility at 2828 Fourth St. in Santa Monica; the Calabasas Community Center, 27040 Malibu Hills Road; and Palisades Recreation Center, 851 Alma Real Drive in Pacific Palisades.

Evacuation shelters for animals are at the Agoura Animal Care Center in Agoura Hills and for large animals Pierce College in Woodland Hills.

LA County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger signed a local emergency declaration in response to the fire early Tuesday.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state has secured a federal Fire Management Assistance Grant from the to aid with the firefight.

“Fire officials and first responders are working relentlessly to protect lives and property from the Franklin Fire,” Newsom said in a statement. “California is grateful for this federal support, which bolsters these efforts. I urge all residents in affected areas to stay alert and follow evacuation orders.”

LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, whose 3rd District includes Malibu, has helped coordinate emergency response efforts with officials from Malibu and Pepperdine and State Assembly members as well as residents from the Topanga Canyon area and neighboring communities.

“Our residents deserve all of us working together, and that is exactly what’s happening,” Horvath said Wednesday on social media. “Our emergency personnel are second-to-none, they have been excellent in addressing this fire.”

Updated information on evacuations and other fire-related topics is at fire.ca.gov/incidents/2024/12/9/franklin-fire and lacounty.gov/emergency.

Updated Dec. 12, 2024, 11:03 a.m.

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