A wildfire spreading across Malibu, famed for its celebrity homes and stunning beaches, has displaced around 20,000 residents and continues to grow even as the worst wind conditions have passed, reports CBS News.
Celebrities like Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Julia Roberts, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Aniston and Nicholas Cage are reported as having homes that could be under “significant threat,” while singer Cher and Oscar winner Mira Sorvino have been evacuated from theirs.
Dick Van Dyke, a legendary entertainer best known for his eponymous 1960s TV show, was also forced to evacuate his home ahead of the blaze. Van Dyke, 98, told the AP that he and wife Arlene were praying “that our community in Serra Retreat will survive these terrible fires.”
Dubbed the Franklin Fire, the blaze had destroyed 1,631 hectares as of early Wednesday afternoon local time, a nearly 44 percent increase from the over 1,133 hectares recorded on Tuesday, according to a fire map provided by officials. Containment of the “stubborn fire” stood at only 7 percent.
Much of the difficulty in combating the blaze is due to the strong Santa Ana winds (sometimes called the “devil winds”) sweeping hot dry air down from the desert and rebuffing the moist ocean breezes. Some 1,500 firefighters are working to control the fire and protect structures, and managed to improve containment lines Wednesday as the flames shifted direction.
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“As of info we have now, there are no reports of significant injuries or deaths and that is a huge victory – and that is because of this work being done,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told the press on Wednesday.
The blaze erupted around 10:50 pm on Monday, quickly moving south, jumping over the Pacific Coast Highway to sweep down to the coast where it threatened large seaside homes and the historic Malibu Pier.
Pepperdine University in western Malibu issued a shelter-in-place order for some 3,000 students at 1:10 am on Tuesday as the fire moved closer. While students described conditions as “apocalyptic” to the AP, with ash and embers everywhere, a spokesperson said the Christian research university escaped any major damage. The shelter-in-place order has since been lifted.
Southern California Edison cut power to around 40,000 customers by late Monday night as it worked to mitigate the impacts of prevailing winds, which are known to damage electrical equipment and spark fires.
The 2018 Woosley Fire in Malibu, for example, was sparked by Edison equipment. Three people died and 1,600 homes were destroyed in that blaze. The source of the Franklin Fire is currently under investigation.
