MALIBU (CNS) - More Malibu residents could be allowed to return home today as utilities and road access are restored in the area burned by the Woolsey Fire, authorities said today.
Most of the 4,000 people who remained evacuated were from scattered areas of Malibu and surrounding unincorporated areas, Los Angeles County Fire Department Public Information Officer Pono Barnes said. He expected more people to be allowed to return home today but did not yet have specific repopulation details.
With the nearly 97,000-acre blaze fully surrounded by containment lines of cleared vegetation, the number of firefighters assigned to patrol the zone in search of hot spots has been reduced to about 215.
Since erupting Nov. 8 in Ventura County and quickly spreading into Los Angeles County, the fire charred 96,949 acres, destroyed 1,643 structures in both counties and damaged 364 others, with damage assessments completed, Barnes said.
The death toll stands at three civilians, and three firefighters were injured, he said.
“The whole landscape in the area has changed,” Barnes said. He urged residents returning to their homes to immediately begin evaluating and mitigating the danger of flooding and debris flows from future rain storms.
Natural gas service has been restored in areas deemed safe, including the Peter Strauss Ranch community, the Oak Forest Mobile Home Park, the Seminole Mobile Home Park, and the vicinity of Morning View Drive and Bonsall Drive in Malibu, according to the Southern California Gas Company.
Residents were urged not to try to restore their own gas service but to contact SoCal Gas or certified contractors to do it. They also were cautioned to watch out for workers restoring services.
Malibu Creek State Park, Solstice Canyon, Upper Solstice Canyon, and Castro Crest will remain closed to all pedestrian and vehicle traffic indefinitely.
“Many known and unknown hazards exist following an intense fire,” Deputy Armando Viera Jr. of the Sheriff's Information Bureau wrote in an advisory. “This includes fire weakened or dead trees that can fall without warning, burned out stumps creating holes under trails, damage to parking areas and roads, and damaged or destroyed structures.”
Some road closures remained in effect in the Malibu and unincorporated county areas. They include Mulholland Highway west of Seminole Drive, at Country Ranch and at Calamigos, Kanan Dume and Little Sycamore Canyon and Chesebro Road is closed at the damaged bridge between Driver Avenue and Balkins Drive.
Disaster Assistance Centers were opened to help residents affected by the blaze. They will be open today and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. They are located at the former Malibu Courthouse at 23525 Civic Center Way, and at the Conrad L. Hilton Foundation, 30440 Agoura Road, in Agoura Hills.
Residents with proper photo ID can pickup their mail at the USPS Facility at 7101 S. Central Ave. in downtown Los Angeles between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. today.
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District has updated its tentative schedule of school openings on its website, and the earliest schools will begin reopening is late next week. Webster Elementary is scheduled to reopen Wednesday, Nov. 28, followed by Point Dume Marine Science Dec. 3, Juan Cabrillo Elementary between Dec. 3 and 5 and Malibu High School between Dec. 4 and 10.
Additional fire information for Los Angeles County can be found at www.lacounty.gov/woolseyfire. Malibu also has a website with updated fire information at www.malibucity.org/woolsey.ncop.
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