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MALIBU (CNS) - Residents of Malibu forced to evacuate because of the Woolsey Fire that has been burning for 10 days will be able to pick up their mail today in downtown Los Angeles and a Disaster Assistance Center will open to help residents impacted by the nearly 100,000-acre blaze.
Customers were reminded to bring proper photo ID to obtain their mail at the USPS Facility at 7101 S. Central Ave. between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, according to a statement from the City of Malibu.
The Disaster Assistance Center will be open Saturday from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Wednesday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The center will be closed Sunday and Thursday. It is located in the former Malibu Courthouse at 23525 Civic Center Way.
Evacuation orders have been lifted for all areas of Malibu east of Corral Canyon, except canyon roads and Pepperdine University. School officials announced the campus would be without power for 12 hours beginning at 8 a.m. Monday so Southern California Edison can replace four transmission poles damaged in the fire.
Late Friday morning, evacuation orders were lifted in the Topanga area from Pacific Coast Highway to Mulholland Drive.
Some road restrictions remained in place in the affected areas, however, and residents of Piuma Canyon were advised they would need to access their homes via Cold Canyon Road or the eastern entrance to Piuma Canyon Road, with no access to the area allowed from Malibu Canyon Road.
Later Friday, more unincorporated areas near Agoura Hills were reopened to residents with identification.
Fire officials warned people returning to their homes to beware of changing fire conditions and adhere to road closures and shifting evacuation zones.
“Burned out power poles, burned and damaged homes, debris-filled roadways, broken gas lines and burned guard rails pose serious safety hazards to residents attempting to return to the area,” according to a statement from fire officials.
“... The Woolsey Fire is unlike any previous fire in the Santa Monica Mountains due to the vast destruction and devastation to homes and critical infrastructure.”
Since erupting Nov. 8 in Ventura County and quickly spreading into Los Angeles County, the fire has charred 98,832 acres and was 82 percent contained with full containment expected Monday. It has destroyed 713 structures and damaged 201 others.
The death toll from the Woolsey Fire rose to three on Wednesday with the discovery of a charred body in a burned-out home in the 32000 block of Lobo Canyon Road near Agoura Hills. Family members said the victim was 73-year-old Alfred Deciutiis, a retired oncologist. His death has been listed by fire officials as one of three related to the fire.
The other two victims were found on Friday Nov. 9 in a burned-out vehicle on a long driveway in the 33000 block of Mulholland Highway. Authorities said they suspect the driver became disoriented amid the flames.
A firefighter from Washington state was injured early Thursday morning when he was struck by a vehicle, apparently while resting or sleeping at a camp area along Pacific Coast Highway near Dear Creek Road in Ventura County. Two other firefighters were previously injured.
Additional fire information for Los Angeles County can be found at www.lacounty.gov/woolseyfire. Malibu also has established a website to update fire information at www.malibucity.org/woolsey.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump -- who initially lashed out at California's forest-management policies as a cause of the destructive blazes -- will visit the state today to “meet with individuals impacted by the wildfires,” according to White House Deputy Press Secretary Lindsay Walters. The tentative schedule has the president arriving at Northern California's Beale Air Force Base shortly before 10 a.m. and returning to the White House by 11:25 p.m. West Coast time.
Gov. Jerry Brown and governor-elect Gavin Newsom plan to join the president, putting aside policy differences and harsh criticism.
“We welcome the president's visit to California and are grateful for the quick response to our aid requests,” Brown and Newsom said in a joint statement posted to both of their Twitter accounts. “Now is the time to pull together for the people of California.”
Trump's exact itinerary remains unclear, but it is expected the trip will include a visit to the area ravaged by the deadly Camp Fire in Northern California. No visit to Southern California has been publicly announced by the White House, although there has been media speculation the president will visit survivors of the Nov. 7 shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks where a gunman opened fire, killing 13 including himself and a Ventura County sheriff's sergeant.
However, Trump did not respond to questions from reporters traveling on Air Force One about the possibility of a visit to Thousand Oaks or nearby fire communities scarred by the Woolsey Fire.