Yahoo News Raging Malibu Fire Causes Evacuations, Power Shutoffs
The Franklin Fire continues to rage across Malibu, burning more than 2,600 acres and causing widespread evacuations and power cutoffs.
At least one house in the exclusive Serra Retreat area has burned, while students at Pepperdine University sheltered in place as flames burned close to campus.
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Celebrities including Dick Van Dyke and Mira Sorvino evacuated during the night after the fire broke out around 11 p.m. Monday. “We evacuated in the middle of the night, kids and pets all accounted for!,” Sorvino wrote on X. Van Dyke posted on Facebook, “Arlene and I have safely evacuated with our animals except for Bobo escaped as we were leaving. We’re praying he’ll be ok and that our community in Serra Retreat will survive these terrible fires.”
The evacuation area is home to numerous entertainment industry figures.
The Santa Monica-Malibu school district closed all Malibu schools for Tuesday, and Pacific Coast Highway continues to be closed along most of the Malibu coast, from Tuna Canyon to Trancas Road.
The fire jumped the highway near the Malibu Pier and next to Malibu Colony Plaza, the L.A. Times reported.
Flames were reported on both sides of Pacific Coast Highway, with the fire jumping the road in at least two locations — the area around Malibu Pier and around Malibu Road and Webb Way, just next to Malibu Colony Plaza, where a Ralphs supermarket is located, according to the city.
Southern California Edison cut power to much of Malibu and some surrounding communities to assure residents’ safety. The city of Malibu was directing residents with small pets to an emergency shelter at Palisades Recreation Center, and residents with horses to Pierce College in Woodland Hills.
The entire area has been under a wind warning for the past few days, and the red flag warning runs until 2 p.m. Wednesday. “Critical fire weather conditions are expected until at least Wednesday,” the National Weather Service wrote in a bulletin.
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