Franklin Fire Scorches Nearly 4,000 Acres in Malibu; Evacuations Increase

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FMALIBU (CNS) - The Franklin Fire in Malibu Canyon grew to more than 4,000 acres Wednesday, fueled by overnight Santa Ana winds that were expected to taper off later in the day, but while more than 12,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders and thousands more facing evacuation warnings, no injuries have been reported.

At an 8 a.m. multi-agency briefing on Wednesday, Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Anthony Marrone said the fire's size was estimated at 3,983 acres, and it is 7% contained. By early afternoon, Cal Fire increased the acreage to 4,031.

Marrone said seven structures have been destroyed and nine structures have been damaged, although those numbers could change pending a more thorough assessment expected to be completed later Wednesday. He said 1,532 firefighting personnel were assigned to the firefighting effort.

Cal Fire was assuming Unified Command of the Franklin Fire Wednesday, Marrone said. According to Cal Fire, the Unified Command includes Cal Fire Incident Management Team 4, the Los Angeles County Fire Department, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

A red flag warning of critical fire danger that had been in place in the Malibu area since Monday was scheduled to expire at 2 p.m. Wednesday, but forecasters canceled the warning an hour early, saying the winds were decreasing "faster than expected."

"While very dry air and elevated fire weather conditions will persist into tonight, the threat of critical fire weather conditions have ended," according to an NWS statement.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna, also at the Wednesday morning briefing, said more than 100 sheriff's department personnel have been assigned to patrol the affected area, and there have been no crimes reported in that area since the fire began late Monday night.

Information continues to be available on the sheriff's department's social media sites such as @lasdhq on X, and also on the website www.lacounty.gov/emergency, Luna said.

Luna said evacuations were affecting 19,980 people and 7,560 structures in the fire area. Mandatory evacuation orders affecting about 12,600 people were in place in an area roughly south of Piuma Road, east of Corral Canyon, and west of Big Rock. Another 7,380 people were under evacuation warnings, in an area south of Mulholland Highway, north of Pacific Coast Highway, east of Trancas and west of Coastline.

Evacuation shelters were operating at a Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District facility at 2828 Fourth Street in Santa Monica, and at the Calabasas Community Center, 27040 Malibu Hills Road.

Small animals can be taken to Agoura Animal Center, 29525 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills, while larger animals can be sheltered at Pierce College, 6201 Winnetka Ave., Woodland Hills.

Luna said "soft" street closures, in which only residents may enter an area, were in effect at:

-- Topanga Canyon Boulevard at Pacific Coast Highway;

-- Topanga Canyon Boulevard at Mulholland Drive; and

-- Topanga Canyon Boulevard at Mulholland Highway;

Luna said "hard" closures, in which only emergency vehicles may enter an area, were at:

-- Las Virgenes at Mulholland Highway;

-- Pacific Coast Highway between Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Kanan Road;

-- Malibu Canyon at Civic Center;

-- Malibu Canyon at Pacific Coast Highway;

-- Pacific Coast Highway at Corral Canyon Road;

-- Topanga at Pacific Coast Highway;

-- Mulholland at Cole Canyon;

-- Saddle Peak at Tuna Canyon;

-- Pacific Coast Highway at Tuna Canyon;

-- Pacific Coast Highway at Kanan Road; and

-- Mulholland at Stunt Road.

The blaze began shortly before 11 p.m. Monday in a Malibu Canyon area where a high volume of dry brush contributed to the rapid spread of the blaze. It erupted in the midst of a rare "particularly dangerous situation red flag warning" issued by the National Weather Service in response to strong wind gusts and dramatically dry conditions.

The cause of the fire was still under investigation.

On Tuesday, more than a dozen water- and retardant-dropping aircraft were assisting in the effort, including Super Scoopers and eight Cal Fire S2-T tankers, which are capable of dropping 1,200 gallons of retardant.

The fire grew in size by about one-third overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday, Marrone said, and at one point it backed into Corral Canyon, threatening an RV park, where at least one structure was damaged.

But with winds dying down, firefighters appeared to be slowly gaining ground in the effort to slow the blaze -- a dramatic change from the danger faced by residents Monday night and early Tuesday morning when the conflagration exploded in size.

Malibu City Councilman Bruce Silverstein and his wife on Monday night evacuated from their home and checked into a hotel, where they watched the fire creep closer to their hillside home via Ring cameras around their house.

"We see real flames,"  Silverstein told the Los Angeles Times, as he watched the lawn and trees near his home burn. "We thought it was completely under control. For a while it looked like we were in the clear. Then we could see the fire burning in the distance, and then a bunch of embers came flying into the yard."

Pepperdine University reported power outages and activated a shelter- in-place protocol early Tuesday morning. That order was lifted Tuesday morning, although students and staff were urged to stay off the local roads.

Final exams at the university were postponed and campus operations were suspended, with much of the campus still without power.

All Malibu schools within the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District were closed Tuesday, and they will remain closed through Thursday due to the power outages, road closures and evacuation orders due to the fire. The district's Santa Monica schools remained open.

The Santa Monica College Malibu Campus was closed Tuesday and Wednesday.

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger signed a local declaration of emergency in response to the fire early Tuesday morning. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the state had secured a Fire Management Assistance Grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist with the firefight.

"Fire officials and first responders are working relentlessly to protect lives and property from the Franklin Fire," Newsom said in a statement. "California is grateful for this federal support, which bolsters these efforts. I urge all residents in affected areas to stay alert and follow evacuation orders."