On a day of high winds in Los Angeles County, a wildfire on the Malibu coast spread to about 50 acres near an oceanfront home.
The widespread fire broke out around 9 a.m. and firefighters described it as having a moderate fuel burn. The fire burned about 50 acres near Malibu Canyon and the Pacific Coast Highway between Webb Way and Coral Canyon.
At least two water cannon helicopters were called to the scene. I could see smoke floating around.
The city of Malibu warned residents in a statement to prepare for possible evacuations and power outages, but firefighters stepped up efforts and by midday, containment had increased to 15%.
Video showed at least one house on fire. According to the fire department, two buildings were damaged by the fire.
Details about how the fire started were not immediately available. There were no reports of injuries.
The fire broke out on a windy day in Southern California, with dry brush conditions allowing the fire to spread quickly.
At about the same time, another wildfire broke out in the Moorpark area of Ventura County.
The latest information on California’s statewide wildfires shows a staggering increase in the number of acres burned compared to last year. As of Monday, Cal Fire reported more than 1 million acres had been burned since the beginning of the year. At this time last year, just 308,000 acres had burned.
The average for the five years ending Nov. 4 was 1.2 million acres.
