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  • February 18, 2025
Wildfires explode to over 2,000 acres in Malibu, California, prompting evacuations

Wildfires explode to over 2,000 acres in Malibu, California, prompting evacuations

A wildfire in Malibu, California, exploded overnight to more than 2,000 acres, prompting evacuations and a six-hour shelter-in-place protocol at Pepperdine University.

The Franklin Fire broke out in the Malibu Canyon area on Monday around 11 p.m. local time (2 a.m. ET Tuesday), according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The fire comes as many parts of Southern California have been red flagged due to strong Santa Ana winds, low humidity and dry vegetation – conditions ripe for dangerous wildfires.

By 7 a.m. local time on Tuesday, the fire had grown to 2,200 hectares and was 0% contained.

The city of Malibu said in a statement updated at 3am local time the fire had spread south along the Pacific Coast Highway (also known as Highway 1) towards the Malibu Pier area – a tourist attraction also loved by locals and surfers.

“Malibu Pier and other structures were affected. Structures were affected on Malibu Knolls Rd and Sweetwater Cyn,” the city said.

Franklin Fire is spreading rapidly 5 miles north of downtown Malibu (Mario Tama/Getty Images)Franklin Fire is spreading rapidly 5 miles north of downtown Malibu (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

A firefighter sprays water as the Franklin Fire burns in Malibu, California, on Tuesday.

A mandatory evacuation order is in effect east of Malibu Canyon Road, south of Piuma Road and in the Serra Retreat area, fire officials said. The Palisades Recreation Center is being used as an evacuation center.

Pepperdine University, located in Malibu, has a on-site warning for community members around 1 a.m. local time on Tuesday, with the order lifted shortly after 7 a.m.

Governor Gavin Newsom’s office said Tuesday on X that the state had received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency “to help ensure the availability of essential resources to extinguish the fire.”

California’s red flag warnings affect about 12 million residents from San Luis Obispo to San Diego. Forecasts suggest wind gusts of 80 to 130 km/h are possible, along with a risk of fallen trees and power outages.

“A strong, widespread and prolonged Santa Ana event will produce widespread critical to extremely critical fire conditions in many areas of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties through Wednesday,” the statement said. The National Weather Service announced this on Monday when it issued the red flag warning.

As of Tuesday morning, the strongest gusts associated with the Santa Ana winds had reached 90 mph on a trail in the San Gabriel Mountains, 77 mph in the Santa Susana Mountains and 75 mph at the Oakridge Oil Field in Ventura County, according to the Los Angeles office of the National Weather Service.

Malibu, a beach city north of Los Angeles known for being home to many celebrities, was one of several areas under a rare “extremely hazardous situation” with a red flag warning “due to damaging Santa Ana winds and very low humidity” , said the back on duty. The warning came into effect on Monday at 8:00 PM local time and would last until 2:00 PM on Tuesday.

Other areas under the same “particularly hazardous” alert level include the San Gabriel Mountains, Santa Clarita Valley, Calabasas, the coasts and valleys of Ventura County and the western San Fernando Valley.

At Pepperdine University, anyone on campus was directed to shelter in the campus center or school library until the order was lifted Tuesday morning. Videos on social media was orange flames visible outside school windows.

At 3 o’clock local time, the university wrote in a post on X that “the worst of the fire has been pushed past Pepperdine.” In a statement A few hours later, school officials said it was safe to return to on-campus housing, but added that “the community is strongly encouraged to remain on campus and off Malibu roads.”

Activities at the school were suspended on Tuesday, with classes and finals canceled.

Franklin Fire is spreading rapidly 5 miles north of downtown Malibu (Mario Tama/Getty Images)Franklin Fire is spreading rapidly 5 miles north of downtown Malibu (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

A firefighter pulls a water hose as the Franklin Fire burns palm trees in Malibu, California, on Tuesday.

Southern California Edison, one of the area’s major utilities, has implemented power shutoffs for public safety due to the risk of wildfires. These outages impact more than 10,000 customers in Los Angeles County, nearly 9,000 in San Bernardino County and more than 2,000 in Kern County. Closures are also in effect for much of Malibu, the city said.

All schools in Malibu are closed on Tuesday.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said her office is monitoring the fire. “Thank you to all the first responders who worked to fight this fire,” she wrote on X.