Malibu fires live: Franklin wildfire burns 4,000 acres; officials warn it will take ‘number of days’ to contain

A fast-moving wildfire has scorched more than 4,000 acres in Malibu, forcing 20,000 residents to flee as flames race towards homes, horse farms and Pepperdine University.

The Franklin Fire, another late-year wildfire fanned by fierce Santa Ana winds, has left a trail of destruction as officials confirmed nine structures were destroyed and six damaged. Fire officials say it will take a “number of days” to put out the blaze, according to NBC Los Angeles. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The strongest winds in the area have passed and meteorologists said high fire dangers have decreased, which should aid efforts to contain the fire. Evacuations have displaced thousands of residents, including celebrities Dick Van Dyke and Cher.

Malibu mayor Doug Stewart called it a “traumatic 20 hours” for the city, as emergency operations relocated to Calabasas after the city hall was threatened. He said: “It burns, it grows back, and we’re resilient.”

More than 1,500 firefighters are battling the blaze with many roads closed and others under security patrols. At Pepperdine University, 3,000 students sheltered in place as smoke and embers engulfed the campus. “Ash was everywhere, embers were everywhere,” said a student, Bethany Kronlund.

Franklin fire latest news

• Franklin fire grows to more than 4,000 acres

• Red flag warning expires on the Malibu coast

• Malibu wildfires mapped: Map shows how far the fire has spread

• Dick Van Dyke, Cher were evacuated from their homes

Los Angeles County Mayor says city will ‘get through this together’

15:31 , Julia Musto

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 citizens 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.

Southern California Edison says power has been restored to customers

15:14 , Julia Musto

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.

Red flag warnings have ended but hazards remain across Southern California

14:36 , Julia Musto

Red flag warnings were ended over the area affected by the Franklin Fire, but forecasters said that elevated to brief critical conditions are lingering through the evening for the southwest Santa Barbara County and the San Gabriel Mountains.

A beach hazards statement was in effect in the region through Sunday afternoon, including for the Malibu Coast and Los Angeles County beaches. Dangerous rip currents and breaking waves due to elevated surf of between four and six feet are forecast, as well as coastal flooding and tidal overflow.

“There is an increased risk of ocean drowning. Rip currents can pull swimmers and surfers out to sea. Waves can wash people off beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats nearshore,” the National Weather Service said.

And, a storm system off the Oregon coast will bring breezy coastal winds and light rain chances to the northern areas and mountains.

Friday is expected to be dry, but another system is being watched with impacts anticipated over the weekend.

‘It’s pretty torched all around’: Evacuated Malibu residents speak out

14:00 , James Liddell

Malibu residents whose lives have been upturned by the Franklin wildfire have spoken out.

Lonnie Vidaurri left behind his four-bedroom home in the Malibu Knolls neighborhood which was charred by raging fires. Vidaurri, his wife and two young daughters evacuated to a hotel in Santa Monica.

“It’s pretty torched all around,” Vidaurri told the Associated Press. He expects that the family’s pet bunnies did not survive the fire, and that they lost most of their things.

“My girls cried, obviously, but it could have been worse.”

Red Cross spokesperson who worked in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, Mimi Teller, said many people arrived in their pajamas and were “definitely in shock.”

“Nobody even had a backpack, it was, ‘Get out now,’” she said. “One lady didn’t even have a leash for her dog, she just scooped them up.”

Fast asleep on Tuesday morning, Shawn Smith was awoken when someone knocked on his RV at 3 a.m. Smith, along with residents from the Malibu RV Park, were evacuated.

“You could see the fires rolling in, in over the canyon,” he said. “It was like ‘Holy crap, this is real.’”

In photos: Firefighters and residents sift through Malibu’s charred remains

13:00 , James Liddell

Cool temperatures, calm winds and a chance of rain offers relief for California fire crews

12:00 , James Liddell

Changing weather conditions in Southern California may bring fire crews some much-needed respite as they continue to try and contain the blaze swapping through the region.

This week’s forecast is predicting cooler temperatures, calmer winds and a chance of rainfall is forecast to help firefighters battle a wind-driven blaze in hard-reaching terrain that’s driven thousands from their homes in Malibu.

Improving weather conditions lead to meteorologists discontinuing all red flag warnings on Wednesday.

Firefighters may have “a lot of success” despite the nearly inaccessible terrain thanks to the weather, CalFire Assistant Chief Dusty Martin said.

Containing Franklin Fire will take ‘a number of days’

11:00 , James Liddell

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said that it could take a “number of days” to put out the blaze completely.

Fire crews have made steady progress, with changing weather patterns helping the Franklin Fire to reach seven percent containment on Wednesday evening.

There does, however, remain a challenge: the Malibu Canyon.

Once firefighters can get to the hard-to-reach terrain and remote regions, they will cut down vegetation to inhibit the fire from spreading further, according to Cal Fire.

Newlywed couple in tears as fire ravages new home

10:30 , James Liddell

A newlywed Californian couple were amongst those who lost their homes and all their belongings in the wildfire.

Michelle and Blake Geffen had recently moved into a rental property in the Serra Retreat Community when they got a call from their landlord urging them to evacuate.

They grabbed their cat and passports and jumped in their car fleeing scorched Malibu.

The couple found out their home and all their possessions were destroyed while watching a news bulletin, according to NBC Los Angeles.

“We heard screaming in our neighborhood. And we just knew something was off. And we got a call from our landlord, and he just said, hey, there’s a fire, you need to go,” Michel told the news station.

Michelle added: “I just want to say thank you so much to all the really, really brave men and women out there who are doing their best to fight, you know, just really, really, they’re real heroes. It’s really brave.

“It makes me cry. It makes me grateful. It makes me want to give back.”

WATCH: Santa Ana winds fuel dangerous Franklin Fire in Southern California

10:00 , Rachel Sharp

See it: Franklin Fire Spreads Rapidly In Malibu, California

09:00 , Julia Musto

Malibu resident says he was surrounded by fire

08:00 , Julia Musto

Malibu resident Alec Gellis described the moment he was surrounded by flames from the Franklin Fire at his home.

“I thought I was going to have to drive through a ring of fire just to get out of here,” he told Newsweek.

Malibu resident says Franklin Fire hit area ‘hard’

07:00 , Julia Musto

A Malibu resident is recalling the moment he thought the Franklin Fire might not be a “big deal.”

“I was going back to check on their homes and I was actually thinking that it was going to be no big deal,” Malibu resident Fred Roberts told Reuters.

“But, after I’ve seen this one and that one there burnt, I know this is the real deal,” he said. “And it did hit here hard.”

Here are road closures to know about in Malibu

06:00 , Julia Musto

Malibu traffic lights are operational with one exception

05:00 , Julia Musto

Malibu restaurant owner recalls scary moment during Franklin Fire

04:00 , Julia Musto

A restaurant owner is speaking out after the Franklin Fire came without a quarter mile of his business early Wednesday.

Firefighters were able to prevent the fire from reaching Malibu Seafood Fresh Market and Patio Cafe.

“That still was a bit too close for comfort,” John Christensen told USA TODAY.

“This place is like a cat, it has nine lives, and is still here,” Christensen said, referring to his restaurant. “We love it here.”

Dick Van Dyke faces tragic loss amid Malibu wildfire evacuations: ‘We’re praying’

03:00 , Julia Musto

Dick Van Dyke faces tragic loss amid Malibu wildfire evacuations

Malibu resident speaks out after his home is destroyed in the Franklin Fire

02:00 , Julia Musto

A Malibu resident is speaking out after his home was destroyed in the Franklin Fire.

“It’s pretty torched all around,” Lonnie Vidaurri, 53, told The Associated Press.

His four-bedroom home was located in the Malibu Knolls neighborhood and was one of seven that had been destroyed.

Vidaurri, his wife, and two young daughters evacuated to a hotel in Santa Monica.

He expects that the family’s pet bunnies did not survive the fire, and that they lost most of their things.

“My girls cried, obviously, but it could have been worse.”

Pepperdine University shares video of wooden cross still standing on hills above campus

01:00 , Julia Musto

The 20-foot-tall wooden cross had previously been destroyed by the 2018 Woolsey Fire.

It was later replaced by brothers of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

They carried the cross in pieces up the hill in honor of Seaver College student Alaina Housley, who was killed in the shooting at the Thousand Oaks-based Borderline Bar and Grill.

Red flag warning expires on the Malibu coast

00:00 , Julia Musto

A red flag warning that was scheduled to extend into Wednesday afternoon has been canceled.

Winds decreased earlier than expected, according to KTLA.

Other red flag warnings that were scheduled to expire Wednesday evening also were canceled.

Power is restored in some areas of Malibu

Wednesday 11 December 2024 23:00 , Julia Musto

Malibu resident recalls fire moving toward RV park

Wednesday 11 December 2024 22:00 , Julia Musto

A Malibu man is recalling the moment the Franklin Fire approached the city’s RV park.

“You could see the fires rolling in, in over the canyon. It was like ‘Holy crap, this is real,’ ” Shawn Smith told The Associated Press.

Smith was asleep when someone knocked on his mobile home to wake him up.

A day, later, he returned to find that the RV park had been saved by firefighters.

“We got lucky,” he said.

Here’s how to help people affected by the fire

Wednesday 11 December 2024 21:00 , Julia Musto

Malibu’s Franklin Fire has now spread over more than 4,000 acres

Wednesday 11 December 2024 20:42 , Julia Musto

Malibu’s Franklin Fire has now spread over more than 4,000 acres, according to Cal Fire.

The 4,031-acre blaze is still 7 percent contained.

Photos show devastation of Malibu wildfire

Wednesday 11 December 2024 20:34 , Julia Musto

Here are the latest evacuation and shelter updates

Wednesday 11 December 2024 20:15 , Julia Musto

Meta social media platforms are down as the fire continues to burn

Wednesday 11 December 2024 20:00 , Julia Musto

All of Meta’s platforms – Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Threads – appear to have broken in a huge outage.

“Hi, we know there’s a technical issue impacting some people’s ability to access Instagram,” it wrote on the official Instagram page on X/Twitter. “We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible and are sorry for any inconvenience.”

The Independent’s Andrew Griffin has the latest:

The whole of Meta has broken

Malibu Library remains closed

Wednesday 11 December 2024 19:45 , Julia Musto

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors chair assures progress is being made

Wednesday 11 December 2024 19:30 , Julia Musto

Power outages in California continue to fall

Wednesday 11 December 2024 19:15 , Julia Musto

Fewer than 50,000 California customers were without power on Wednesday, according to tracker PowerOutage.US.

That tally had exceeded 60,000 on Tuesday.

Smoke advisory is extended

Wednesday 11 December 2024 19:14 , Julia Musto

Returning home after a wildfire? Here’s what to do

Wednesday 11 December 2024 19:00 , Julia Musto

Malibu resident says fireproofing helped protect her home

Wednesday 11 December 2024 18:45 , Julia Musto

Fireproofing steps helped to protect a Malibu resident’s home from the Franklin Fire.

Rosie Rains said she had recently trimmed her trees and cleared surrounding brush from her yard, according to KABC-TV.

She also put safer pre-burnt wood on her roof and built a firetruck turnaround in her yard.

“There are a lot of people up here that don’t do that,” she told the station. “You’re only as safe as what your neighbors are doing.”

Winter doesn’t prevent wildfires, Cal Fire chief says

Wednesday 11 December 2024 18:30 , Julia Musto

Nearly 200 engines are working on the Franklin Fire

Wednesday 11 December 2024 18:15 , Julia Musto

There are more than 1,500 personnel working on the Franklin Fire.

In addition, Cal Fire reported that numerous firefighting air tankers were flying fire suppression missions.

There are also 187 engines, 56 dozers, and 12 water tenders.

Malibu City Council member says his home will be ‘uninhabitable’

Wednesday 11 December 2024 18:00 , Julia Musto

A Malibu City Council member said his home was damaged in the Franklin Fire.

“The house is going to be uninhabitable,” Bruce Silverstein told The New York Times on Tuesday night. “It needs a major, major amount of work.”

He said that the fire appeared to have entered the building through the chimney, burning one side on the inside.

City of Agoura Hills encourages residents to stay prepared

Wednesday 11 December 2024 17:47 , Julia Musto

Wildfire smoke advisory remains in place through Wednesday afternoon

Wednesday 11 December 2024 17:30 , Julia Musto

The South Coast Air Quality Management District has issued a wildfire smoke advisory around Los Angeles County and the site of the Franklin Fire on Wednesday.

The advisory is valid until 5 p.m. PST.

Here are the new road closures, evacuation areas

Wednesday 11 December 2024 17:15 , Julia Musto

Pepperdine University says its power has been restored

Wednesday 11 December 2024 17:00 , Julia Musto

As 19K residents are affected by Franklin Fire, its cause remains under investigation

Wednesday 11 December 2024 16:43 , Julia Musto

The cause of the Franklin Fire remained under investigation on Wednesday.

The nearly 4,000-acre blaze has forced thousands of Malibu residents from their neighborhoods.

There have been no reports of significant injuries or deaths, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said at a morning news briefing. Luna said that was a “huge victory” and a testament to residents’ excellent cooperation.

“Our priority continues to be the safety of our residents,” he said.

Luna, urging people to remain alert, said that no crimes had been reported in places that were threatened by the wildfire. He also announced additional road closures in the area.

There are 19,982 people and 7,560 structures in the affected area. In addition, 12,600 people are under evacuation orders and 7,382 are under evacuation warnings

Wednesday is the last day of the severe fire weather warning, Lindsey Horvath, Chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, said.

Malibu Mayor Doug Stewart said his city was far better off this morning than before, noting that traffic signals were utilizing back-up generator power. Some traffic signals on highway on- and off-ramps were temporarily out on Tuesday.

“It’s inspiring and it’s humbling to have this level of support,” he said.

Los Angeles County officials say fire acreage increased by 39 percent overnight

Wednesday 11 December 2024 16:29 , Julia Musto

The Franklin Fire increased in acreage by 39 percent overnight, Los Angeles County officials said Wednesday morning.

As the brush fire grew along its western edge, it threatened the Malibu Beach RV park.

Thus far, nine structures have been damaged in the blaze, and seven others were destroyed.

Crews are continuing to work to establish containment lines and defense structures. More than 1,500 personnel were assigned to the incident.

While they have made some headway, the entire fire area remains under threat as long as red flag conditions continue, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone explained.

The red flag event was expected to end around 6 p.m. PST.

Fire personnel, Marrone said, would remain on the scene until the fire is contained.

“They’re all working to protect our community and we thank all of the affected residents for their cooperation and especially for their resilience,” he told reporters.

Students shelter as Franklin Fire burns meters from Pepperdine University windows

Wednesday 11 December 2024 16:15 , Julia Musto

Students shelter as Franklin Fire burns meters from Pepperdine University windows

Firefighters work to put out Franklin Fire’s flames as blaze grows

Wednesday 11 December 2024 15:45 , Julia Musto

Malibu fire map: Thousands of acres of California scorched by wildfires as 20,000 evacuate

Wednesday 11 December 2024 15:30 , Julia Musto

Malibu fire map: 3,000 acres of California scorched by wildfires

Los Angeles fire officials to hold morning press conference

Wednesday 11 December 2024 15:15 , Julia Musto

These roads are closed because of the Franklin Fire

Wednesday 11 December 2024 14:55 , Julia Musto

Pepperdine University says fire activity around campus is ‘greatly diminished’

Wednesday 11 December 2024 14:35 , Julia Musto

Nearly 4,000-acre Franklin Fire is nearly 7 percent contained

Wednesday 11 December 2024 14:12 , Julia Musto

Malibu’s Franklin Fire had spread over nearly 4,000 acres by Wednesday mroning.

The blaze scorched 3,983 acres, Cal Fire reported.

However, the agency also reported that firefighters had made some progress. The wildfire is 7 percent contained.

Photos: Destruction caused by Malibu wildfires

Wednesday 11 December 2024 13:15 , Stuti Mishra

Why Pepperdine students sheltered in place as wildfire threatened their campus

Wednesday 11 December 2024 12:15 , Stuti Mishra

The wildfire alert came in the middle of the night as some college students in Southern California were cramming for final exams and others were woken up in their dorms.

But rather than run away from the impending blaze, some 3,000 students at Pepperdine University headed toward two buildings at the heart of the 830-acre (336-hectare) campus in coastal Malibu, California, to shelter in place.

The protocol at the Christian university with picturesque views of the Pacific Ocean may seem to defy logic to those accustomed to scenes elsewhere in wildfire-prone California of thousands of residents evacuating fire zones in lengthy caravans of cars.

Read more:

When fire threatened a California university, the school says it knew what to do

Wildfires conditions to ease by the end of the week

Wednesday 11 December 2024 11:15 , Stuti Mishra

Firefighters in Southern California are continuing to battle the Franklin Fire in Malibu, which has scorched more than 3,000 acres since igniting late on Monday.

Although the powerful Santa Ana winds that fuelled the fire have begun to subside, forecasters warn that wildfire risks remain high through Wednesday due to low humidity.

Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, told the New York Times that wind speeds, which peaked at 50mph on Tuesday, are expected to drop below 20mph by midday Wednesday. However, the dry conditions could still allow new fires to spark.

By Thursday, an increase in humidity and ocean breezes are expected to reduce the risk, with forecasters predicting light rain by the end of the week, offering some relief to the fire-stricken region.

Watch: California night sky glows orange as Franklin Fire rages

Wednesday 11 December 2024 09:30 , Stuti Mishra