Fire crews bridle Malibu blaze
MALIBU, Calif. - A day after a wind-whipped blaze destroyed dozens of homes in Malibu and forced the evacuation of thousands of residents, fire officials were cautiously optimistic Sunday, reporting calmer winds and gains made overnight.
“We’re getting a pretty good handle on it,” Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Ron Haralson said. “The temperatures are cooling and winds have died down considerably. We’re in pretty good shape.”
Fifty-three homes were destroyed Saturday by the fast-moving wildfire, pushed by Santa Ana winds. Thirty-four other homes were damaged, and as many as 14,000 people fled the blaze.
The fire, which had scorched 4,720 acres - more than 7 square miles - since early Saturday, was about 40 percent contained, with few flames visible to water-dropping helicopters, Haralson said.
Full containment was expected today, officials said.
Pacific Coast Highway was reopened for the first time Sunday afternoon. “Pretty much everyone will be allowed to return home,” Haralson said.
The blaze, Malibu’s most destructive in nearly 15 years, broke out along a dirt road off a paved highway. It was caused by humans, but investigators had not determined whether it was started intentionally, said county Fire Inspector Rick Dominguez.
The fierce Santa Ana wind gusts that had driven the flames had dropped to about eight to 12 mph by Sunday morning. “We’ve got a lot of hot and smoldering spots,” Haralson said, “but not much active flame right now.”
Still, he said, firefighters were not easing their efforts. “We want to make very sure we stay on top of the hot spots. We don’t want another starter.”
Last month’s wildfires ignited in multiple areas throughout Southern California and stretched limited firefighting resources thin. This time, only Malibu was ablaze. As a result, two dozen firefighting aircraft and hundreds on the ground were able to concentrate their attacks.
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.