A wildfire in Malibu spread quickly early Tuesday morning, with strong Santa Ana winds fanning the flames and triggering evacuations.
The fire, dubbed the “Franklin Fire,” broke out just before 11 p.m. on Malibu Canyon Road and Francisco Ranch Road in the mountains north of Pepperdine University. Road) north. The fire quickly spread to the east, with flames burning about 100 acres shortly before midnight, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Aerial footage from local news stations early Tuesday showed flames engulfing hills and palm trees blown down by strong winds. The National Weather Service reported sustained winds of up to 45 mph, with gusts as high as 65 mph. The cause of the fire is unclear.
Authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders for areas east of Malibu Canyon Road, south of Piuma Road and the Sierra Recreation Area. A five-mile stretch of Pacific Coast Highway east of Coral Canyon Road and west of Carbon Canyon Road was ordered closed, the city of Malibu said on social media.
At around 1 a.m. Tuesday, local news outlets reported that the fire had spread to Serra Retreat. The community is located approximately three-fifths of a mile northwest of Malibu Marina and approximately two-thirds of a mile northeast of Malibu Village Mall. The site is a Catholic retreat and conference center known for its landscaping.
Pepperdine University said in a statement that the fire did not currently affect any part of the campus, but students told KTLA overnight that dormitories were without power.
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning of “extremely hazardous conditions” for large swaths of Los Angeles and Ventura counties until Tuesday afternoon. Wind gusts may reach as high as 80 mph, extremely low relative humidity is expected, and extremely dry vegetation.
Within the Franklin Fire area, severe damaging winds from the north and northeast are expected to peak around sunrise on Tuesday and continue into late Tuesday morning, the National Weather Service said.
Just before midnight, relative humidity fell as low as 9%.
This is the second time during the fire season that the weather service has issued a red flag warning for particularly hazardous conditions. The last warning was issued on Nov. 5, one day after wildfires broke out in Ventura County and leveled more than 240 structures driven by strong winds. It became the third most destructive wildfire in Southern California since 2013.
Dry and powerful Santa Ana winds are driven by a high-pressure system over the Great Basin, which pushes air through canyons and mountain passes toward low-pressure coasts.
Malibu and the neighboring communities of Thousand Oaks, Oak Park and Agoura Hills suffered significant damage from the 2018 Woolsey Fire, which destroyed more than 1,600 structures and burned approximately 97,000 acres.
This story will be updated.
