Malibu Franklin Fire: About 20% contained, some residents can return home soon as cause remains under investigation
Roughly 20,000 face evacuations in Malibu, including some celebrities, as fire continues to rage near Los Angeles
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Your support makes all the difference.A fast-moving wildfire scorched more than 4,000 acres in Malibu, forcing 20,000 residents to flee as flames raced toward homes, horse farms and Pepperdine University.
The Franklin Fire, another late-year wildfire fanned by fierce Santa Ana winds, left a trail of destruction in its wake. Officials confirmed nine structures were destroyed and six had been damaged. Fire officials said it will take a “number of days” to put out the blaze, which was 20 percent contained early Thursday afternoon. The cause of the fire remained under investigation.
The strongest winds in the area had passed and meteorologists said high fire dangers decreased, which aided efforts to contain the fire. Evacuations in Malibu displaced thousands of residents, including celebrities Dick Van Dyke and Cher.
Mayor Doug Stewart said earlier in the week that the fire had marked a “traumatic 20 hours” for the city.
More than 1,900 personnel continued to battle the blaze, with many roads closed and others under security patrols. Some areas would reopen to residents.
“To those who are still waiting, know that every efforts is being made to ensure your safety and your return as soon as possible,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said.
Southern California Edison says power has been restored to customers
Amid improved weather conditions, utility Southern California Edison said Thursday that power has been restored to customers in the Malibu area and that traffic signals are functioning after windy weather resulted in temporary outages, MyNewsLA.com reported.
Despite restoration, the city said evacuation orders and warnings remain in place.
Just over 6,000 customers are currently without power in the state, according to PowerOutage.US.
Los Angeles County Mayor says city will ‘get through this together'
Malibu Mayor Doug Stewart assured residents that the city is with them on Wednesday night.
“Our hearts and thoughts are with our community members who have lost their homes during this disaster,” he told reporters at a news briefing.
“We will get through this together, and the city will be with you every step of the way.”
Los Angeles County officials said that approximately 20,000 residents are under evacuation orders or warnings and 6,300 people have been evacuated.
Deputy Fire Chief Albert Yanagisawa announced that nine structures had been destroyed.
“We recognize that the updates are difficult to hear,” he said.
“As we look forward in the days to come, I want to ensure that getting the citizens back into their homes is our number one priority,” said Cal Fire’s Dusty Martin. “But, to do that, we have to make sure that the area is safe before we can let folks back in.”
Martin said that there are 1,974 personnel working to fight the more than 4,000-acre blaze. The wildfire remains just 7 percent contained.
He explained that the challenging area was the west side of the fire, but that they expected the winds to possibly shift direction on Thursday.
Gusts may be up to 20 miles per hour, he said.
Dick Van Dyke faces tragic loss amid Malibu wildfire evacuations: ‘We’re praying’
Actor Dick Van Dyke said Thursday that trying to escape the Malibu Franklin Fire was “exhausting.”
“It was coming from the hill, you could see it,” the Mary Poppins star told NBC’sToday show. “And oh my God, and we got out of here. I was trying to crawl to the car, I had exhausted myself, I couldn’t get up.”
He said his neighbors “saved” him. Video from his doorbell camera showed the moment he left.
“Three neighbors came and carried me out and came back and put out a little fire in the guest house and saved me,” Van Dyke, who turns 99 on Friday, recalled.
Helicopter footage shows rapid spread of Franklin Fire in Malibu
Dick Van Dyke’s orange cat Bobo has been found
Legendary actor Dick Van Dyke and his wife Arlene were able to return to their home after evacuating from Malibu’s Franklin Fire.
The house was unharmed, and his orange cat Bobo was reported to be safe.
Bobo had escaped as the couple was fleeing the flames.
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