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Past the security gates of Malibu’s Serra Retreat area is a small enclave of luxury homes, many of which are gated or walled.
The area is home to celebrities such as Patrick Dempsey and, at one time, Mel Gibson.
The Franklin Fire caused damage in the area, but the extent of the damage remains unknown. The house with the pool was about to be demolished. The other was nothing more than a chimney and a pile of smoldering rubble.
Residents said some cars were also damaged and several animals died in the fire.
Alec Gellis, 31, who was checking houses on his electric bike, said he and another friend, Abel Rogers, 33, stayed behind to protect their home and protect their neighbors.
Gellis said he was resting in his room around 11 p.m. when he started hearing people screaming and honking. He said he went outside to see what the commotion was about.
“I could smell smoke,” he said. “The sky was red and the whole canyon on the other side was lit up. … We were engulfed in flames.
“There were literally fires everywhere you looked,” he said.
He and Gellis immediately jumped into action, grabbed a hose connected to a machine that pumped water from the pool, and began soaking everything.
“Everything was soaked, the bushes and everything around us,” Gellis said. “Monsoon Style”
He said he went into a neighbor’s yard to help extinguish the spot fire and said firefighters responded quickly but were also busy pushing back the flames.
For five hours, Gellis and Rogers said they extinguished the flames and repeatedly soaked everything that could catch fire.
Jill said embers were flying everywhere. He wore glasses to protect his eyes.
This was the second time he had to be left behind during a fire. The first time, he said, was during the Woolsey Fire. That fire in 2018 was also a wind-blown hell. 1,600 structures were destroyed from Westlake Village to Malibu.
The Franklin Fire was reported just before 11 p.m. Monday along Malibu Canyon Road in the hills north of Pepperdine University. Fueled by strong Santa Ana winds, the blaze moved at a ferocious pace and had exploded to more than 2,700 acres as of Tuesday afternoon, but could not be contained.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Malone said at a news conference Tuesday morning that he did not have an exact number of damaged buildings, but said “minimal” homes were destroyed. He urged residents to limit the use of lawn sprinklers to maintain water pressure for firefighters.
Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.
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