Firefighters made some progress in containing the a forest fire in the beach community of Malibu, California, on Wednesday, but the fire continued to threaten several structures, forcing residents to flee and closing schools in the area.
More than 1,500 firefighters were battling the Franklin Fire, which had burned nearly 4,000 acres (1,620 hectares) and was 7% contained as of Wednesday morning, as it burned in the steep, rugged terrain northwest of Los Angeles.
The fire, which started Monday night, destroyed at least seven structures and damaged nine others, Chief Anthony Marrone of the Los Angeles County Fire Department said Wednesday.
No deaths or injuries have been reported from the fire, and its cause remains unknown, authorities said.
Origin and name
Just like hurricanes, fires also have names. According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, also called “Cal Fire”, fires are named according to the geographic location where they originate, or by their proximity to roads, lakes, rivers or mountains.
In this case, Franklin originated on Malibu Canyon Roadnorth of Francisco Ranch Road, California.
A red flag warning issued by the National Weather Service remained in effect Wednesday as strong winds were expected from Santa Ana and low humidity was observed in the area. The winds were going to die down, but arid conditions would continue throughout the day, forecasters predicted.
Evacuation orders and warnings remained in effect Wednesday for parts of the city of 10,000 people. Roads, including a portion of the Pacific Coast Highway, were closed due to the fire burning nearby.
The public school system canceled classes for Wednesday and Thursday due to the fire, local media reported.
In Photos | Fires in Malibu, California, leave power outages and evacuations
More than 700 firefighters are working in the area to extinguish the flames that spread across a large area northwest of Los Angeles, California.
Governor Gavin Newsom said California had secured a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to secure the resources needed to extinguish the fire.
Pepperdine University in Malibu said the fire threat had greatly decreased after issuing a shelter-in-place order for some students. There was little to no damage to structures around campus.
More than 1,500 firefighters were fighting the fire; Many of them climbed steep canyons near the firing lines and others sprayed the collapsed roofs of horse stables and charred homes with hoses.
“The deep, rugged terrain, along with high winds and low humidity, continue to present challenges for firefighters,” the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire, said in an update on the incident.
[Con información de Reuters y The Associated Press]
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