Southern California has been hit with a red flag warning, and on Monday, a bushfire broke out in Malibu Canyon. It spread to the hillsides rapidly, reaching Pepperdine University.
An evacuation order has since been issued in parts of California, including in the vicinity just east of Malibu Canyon Road as well as south of Piuma Road. The north of Pacific Coast Highway, east of Las Virgenes Road and Malibu Road, and west of Carbon Beach Terrace have also been hit, and so has the Serra Retreat, located on hilltop land.
Here's all we know about the fires in Malibu
The fire was reported to have started at around 11 p.m. at Malibu Canyon Road, located 3 miles north of Pacific Coast Highway, the city said on Monday in an emergency alert, ABC7 has reported. City officials also revealed that the Los Angeles County Fire Department has been deployed to try and contain the fire and its “rapid rate of spread.”
The fire was initially estimated to blanket 10 acres of land, but within an hour, it multiplied 10 times. The vast areas of dry bushes in the vicinity, coupled with the intense Santa Ana winds can culminate in the braze growing at an even higher speed. Per KTLA, however, the fire clocked in at 1,822 acres as quickly as 4 a.m. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
Per ABC7, evacuation warnings were issued for the following areas:
- East of Las Virgenes between Mulholland Highway to the north and Piuma Road to the south
- Between Stunt Road to the north and Los Flores to the south
- East of Carbon Beach Terrace, west of Old Malibu Road, north of Pacific Crest Highway to the evacuation order boundary
Per the outlet, fire officials have revealed that about 6,000 people and over 2,000 buildings were impacted by the order, though it remains unclear how many structures were decimated along the way. Pepperdine University took to X at around 1 a.m. to issue the following statement:
"All community members on the Malibu campus are directed to shelter in place in the Tyler Campus Center or Payson Library. Despite any evacuation orders from Malibu city or surrounding areas, the University community should follow University instructions. We do not evacuate the campus even when surrounding areas might – this shelter-in-place protocol is approved by LA County Fire and executed with their cooperation.”
All classes, exams, and operations have come to a grinding halt for Tuesday, the University revealed, per KTLA. In videos circulating online, the fire can be seen billowing on trees near the library where students were taking shelter. Firefighting helicopters were deployed at the scene where they used water from nearby lakes to extinguish the flames.
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As for temporary evacuation facilities, a structure was set up at the Palisades Recreation Center located at 852 Alma Real Drive, Pacific Palisades. All kinds of animals were sheltered there, ABC7 as reported, and the American Red Cross was on-site to lend a hand as well.
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