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Firefighters worked through the night to bring down a dangerous blaze that burned homes in Malibu and forced thousands of people from their homes.
The Franklin Fire continued to threaten the coastal city overnight, burning near some homes and bringing down some water drops by helicopter. A fire hazard warning is in place for the area until 6pm, but the winds are expected to subside after that, and firefighters hope the situation will improve.
At least seven homes were destroyed and eight others were damaged, but authorities said the number could rise as they conduct a more complete investigation. More than 3,900 acres have burned and the fire was 7% contained as of Wednesday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The fire broke out just before 11 p.m. Monday along Malibu Canyon Road in the hills north of Pepperdine University, and was fanned by strong Santa Ana winds, Cal Fire said.
More than 1,500 firefighters battled the blaze on the ground Tuesday, building containment lines as air tankers dumped water on the blaze.
By Tuesday evening, average wind speeds around the fire zone had slowed to 15 to 25 mph, National Weather Service meteorologist Rose Schoenfeld said. This is a significant drop from the maximum wind gusts of up to 65 mph recorded when the fire first started.
The Franklin Fire burns in the hills of Malibu.
(Wally Scully/Los Angeles Times)
Once you pass through the security gates of Serra Retreat, you’ll find a small enclave of luxury real estate that has been home to celebrities such as Patrick Dempsey, Dick Van Dyke, and, at one time, Mel Gibson. The first night of the fire, many in the area were taken by surprise. Residents said pets were killed and several cars and houses were burned, including one on Mariposa de Oro Street.
Van Dyke wrote on Facebook that he and his wife, Arlene Silver, were evacuated from their home.
“Arlene and I were safely evacuated with the animals, except for Bobo, who ran away when we left,” she wrote about her cat. “We pray that he is safe and that our community of Serra Retreat survives this terrible fire.”
Alec Gellis, 31, was riding his electric bike around his neighborhood inspecting homes on Tuesday afternoon. He and a friend stayed overnight Monday through Tuesday to protect property in the area. The fire broke out quickly, he said. Around 11 p.m., he was in his room when he heard people screaming and car horns outside.
“The sky was red and the whole canyon on the other side was lit up,” he said. “We were engulfed in flames. There was literally fire everywhere you looked.”
He and his friend Abel Rogers, 33, grabbed a hose connected to a machine that pumped water from the pool and began spraying water all over the house. For five hours, the pair soaked up everything they could and even ventured into a neighbor’s garden to help extinguish spot fires as firefighters were busy pushing back the flames.
Rich Leo was stranded at a gas station on Pacific Coast Highway after a fire broke out in the Malibu area Tuesday.
He had parked his SUV at a Chevron station, but was low on gas and was thinking of leaving to refuel.
“But I don’t know if I’ll be able to go home,” Leo, 79, said, standing outside a gas station without power.
Leo has been a long-term resident for over 40 years and remembers when the Woolsey Fire burned through Malibu and all the way to the coast.
“This was the worst,” he said of the Franklin fire. “Last night it just kept flying and you could see fire everywhere you looked.”
The fire had been going on for just a few hours when firefighters knocked on the door of his town home off Winter Canyon Road around 1 a.m., but he refused to leave. He was concerned about the staff at nearby Our Lady of Malibu Catholic Church and school.
He wanted to stay behind to make sure everyone was okay.
At a nearby church, a parishioner entered the school on a bicycle. The fire spread to the property line, scorching wooden fence posts and vegetation, but firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading to the property.
No staff were present as a man named Mike walked through the school grounds with the gates open and all water running.
“I just wanted to make sure everyone was safe and the school was safe,” Mike said. “My kids used to come here a lot when they were little,” he said. “My house was destroyed in the Woolsey Fire, so I know what it meant when this happened.”
He made his way around the kindergarten classrooms as a fire helicopter rattled the windows overhead. Then, a man appeared from the bushes carrying a blue bucket filled with water from the tap.
“I’m just trying to do the best I can,” said the man who extinguished the smoldering fire on the fence line. He declined to give his name, saying only that he lives on the hillside around the school.
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