California Wildfire Destroys 50 Homes

[Pankie]

Wildfire forces Malibu residents from homes
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MALIBU, California (AP) -- Residents were ordered to evacuate their homes early Saturday ahead of a wildfire that scorched about 250 acres in the hills above Malibu as the dry Santa Ana wind returned to Southern California.

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A helicopter drops water on a wildfire in Malibu, California, early Saturday.

The blaze began shortly before 3:30 a.m. PT near Malibu Lake on state park land, said Los Angeles County fire Capt. Mike Brown.

About 100 homes in three communities were evacuated, Brown said. Flames had reached some of the homes but there were no immediate reports of damage.

"It's on the backyards of some of these homes, from my understanding," Brown said.

TV images showed a line of flames running along the canyon as plumes of smoke filled the early morning sky.

The blaze (http://topics.cnn.com/topics/wildfires) was blowing downhill toward the Pacific Ocean. No injuries were reported. About 200 firefighters were on scene and the cause of the fire was being investigated.

Hundreds of firefighters were placed on watch this weekend as Santa Ana wind returned to Southern California. Gusts up to 60 mph were reported in some mountain passes overnight.

[Echosoftom]

I can't believe it's happening again. http://www.mudcrutch.com/forum/images/icons/icon9.gif

[KansasPettyFan]

Another one? :(

[surfnburn]

:085:

[Mary Jane 49]

not again !!

[Nel]

I'm not at all surprised. The Sundowner winds or Santa Ana winds and persistent dry climate are a bad combination. And, most likely those conditions will continue to worsen in the future.

Personally, I would never live in Southern California.

[WildflowerNJ]

Oh no.......:085:

[agirl]

Not again!

[Refugee]

:085: *sigh*

[Ladywiz]

From a newspaper in Pakistan!

Celebrities among 10,000 forced to flee from Malibu fires
* Evacuated include Matthew McConaughey, Minnie Driver and rock star Flea

LOS ANGELES: Hollywood stars were among nearly 10,000 people forced to flee as wind-driven wildfires tore through the celebrity enclave of Malibu on Saturday, gutting at least 35 multi-million dollar homes and threatening hundreds more, officials and reports said.

Fires erupted at around 3.30am officials said, spreading rapidly through tinder-dry brush as winds packing gusts of up to 50 mph fanned the inferno, the second major blaze to hit Malibu in the space of a month. By 10.30am, around 2,200 acres had been scorched as the flames burned unchecked, Los Angeles County Fire Department officials said.

Around 1,700 firefighters had been deployed to tackle the fires, backed up by 23 aircraft.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky told a press conference 10,000 residents had been evacuated. Only one injury had been reported so far, a firefighter who received burns, which were not thought serious, he added.

Celebrities: Local media reports said actors Matthew McConaughey and Minnie Driver were among those forced to evacuate while Red Hot Chili Peppers bass guitarist Flea’s home was destroyed by the flames.

Yaroslavsky warned the situation could change rapidly. “It’s a very dynamic and dangerous situation,” he told reporters. The cause of the fire was not known, he added.

Last month a devastating fire destroyed 4,565 acres, six homes, two businesses and a church in Malibu. The blaze was one of a series of statewide infernos that left eight people dead, gutted 2,000 homes, displaced 640,000 people and caused more than one billion dollars in damage.

[KansasPettyFan]

^ That is so scary. I always think of Tom when this happens near Malibu. Hope they are safe. :(

[Pettyjunkie]

Again?! I hope everyone is safe. :(

[Echosoftom]

By THOMAS WATKINS, AP

MALIBU, Calif. (Nov. 25) - Fire crews hoped mild temperatures and gentle winds Sunday would help them solidify gains against the sprawling wildfire that destroyed dozens of homes in this upscale coastal community. Hot, powerful winds that fanned the blaze across 4,720 acres starting early Saturday were not expected Sunday, Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Ron Haralson said.

Property records showed that Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, whose real name is Michael Balzary, lost his home in the fire. Balzary had purchased another home in Malibu last year, but the one destroyed was for sale for $4.8 million. He wrote in a text message that the house "had burnt to a crisp," the Los Angeles Times reported.

The fire was about 40 percent contained, with few flames visible to the three water-dropping helicopters deployed over the fire zone, Haralson said. "Winds have subsided considerably and we're making good headway," he said.

Fifty homes and two outbuildings were destroyed Saturday by the fast-moving wildfire pushed by Santa Ana winds. Twenty-seven other homes were damaged and 10,000 to 14,000 people were evacuated.

By Sunday morning, skies had cleared and the column of smoke billowing over the hills had all but vanished. Aside from the dozens of fire trucks from all over California dotting Pacific Coast Highway, there was little evidence the fire still was burning.

Still, parts of the area remained under mandatory evacuation.

Ricardo Means, a 57-year-old writer who was evacuated with his wife from their home on Corral Canyon Road, said he did not know if his wooden house had survived the fire.

Since moving to Malibu in 1980, three major wildfires had approached his property, but he said he never wants to leave.
"It's such a beautiful place, it seems worth the price," Means said.

The seaside enclave had been recovering from last month's 4,565-acre Canyon Fire that destroyed six homes, two businesses and a church when the winds began whipping up again overnight Saturday.

Some residents whose property made it through last month's fire unscathed weren't so lucky this time. "This time I lost," said a soot-covered Glen Sunyich, who watched his stucco and tile house he built in 1990 slowly burn to the ground. "It means that I didn't build it well enough."

Hundreds of firefighters and equipment from throughout the state had been positioned in Southern California for most of the week because of the predicted Santa Ana winds.

All of the homes were destroyed in the fire's initial Saturday morning surge before the winds slowed and firefighters gained a foothold. Full containment was expected by Tuesday, officials said.

Fifteen helicopters and 15 airplanes including a retardant-dropping DC-10 jumbo jet attacked from the air Saturday while 1,700 firefighters battled flames on the ground. Seven firefighters suffered minor injuries.

Investigators had determined that the fire, which broke out along a dirt road off a paved highway, was caused by humans, but had not determined if it was started intentionally, said county fire Inspector Rick Dominguez.

Malibu, with homes tucked into deep and narrow canyons along 27 miles of coast on the southern foot of the Santa Monica Mountains, is prone to Santa Ana-driven wildfires. Among them was a 1993 blaze that destroyed 388 structures, including 268 homes, and killed three people.

Saturday's fire was west of the areas of Malibu that burned in October.

Santa Ana winds, triggered by high pressure over the Great Basin, blow into Southern California from the north and northeast, racing through the canyons and passes of the region's east-west mountain ranges and out to sea, pushing back the normal flow of moist ocean air.

For a time a hotspot flared several ridges behind Pepperdine University, but the campus did not appear to have been endangered. Helicopters used its broad lawn as a landing zone.

When the fire broke out, university officials told students to move to a campus shelter, although the school remained largely empty because of the holiday weekend.

Two high schools were set up to handle evacuees, but no one had come to one school and the other only had 20 people.

[surfnburn]

Shit... :085: It's so sad...

I used to love the feel of those warm Santa Ana winds... But they sure can destroy Malibu... I'm so surprised they build in some areas.

"It means that I didn't build it well enough."

They need fireproof homes... Is that possible? I hope these areas have fire-related building codes.