Most Malibu residents have been ordered to evacuate as the Franklin fire grows

A raging wildfire spread quickly Tuesday morning in Malibu, prompting evacuations while nearby Pepperdine University issued a campus-wide shelter-in-place order and firefighters battled the flames.

Most of the eastern part of Malibu has been ordered evacuated. About 6,000 residents live in the evacuation order, fire officials said – the majority of the town’s population of about 11,000.

Dubbed the Franklin fire, the blaze was moving fast, fanned by strong Santa Ana winds, and had spread to more than 850 acres as of 2 a.m., according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

The fire was reported just before 11 p.m. on Malibu Canyon Road and north of Francisco Ranch Road in the mountains north of Pepperdine.

Aerial footage from local news stations early Tuesday showed flames engulfing hillsides as palm trees were blown over by strong winds. The National Weather Service reported sustained winds of up to 45 mph and gusts of up to 65 mph. The cause of the fire was not yet clear.

At around 01:00 on Tuesday, local media reported that the fire had moved to the Serra Retreat area and was threatening buildings. The community is approximately three-fifths of a mile northwest of the Malibu Pier and two-thirds of a mile northeast of the Malibu Village Mall. There are hostels in addition to a Catholic retreat center and a conference center noted for its views.

A six-mile stretch of Pacific Coast Highway has been ordered closed east of Corral Canyon Road and west of Las Flores Canyon Road, the city of Malibu said. Las Virgenes Road, which continues as Malibu Canyon Road on its way to the coast, is closed south of Mulholland Highway all the way to Pacific Coast Highway, a six-mile stretch, the city added.

By about 2 a.m., evacuation orders had been issued for a wide area of ​​the city, including Malibu Pier, Malibu Village Mall, City Hall, and Malibu Colony Plaza, where a Ralphs supermarket is located.

Beachfront homes along Malibu Road and Malibu Colony Drive are also in the evacuation zone. Located at the nine-mile Pacific Coast Highway exit west of Topanga Canyon and east of Malibu Road.

An evacuation warning on Pacific Coast Highway was extended as far east as the Los Angeles suburbs, bordering the Pacific Palisades area, and as far west as Zuma Beach around 2 a.m.

A temporary evacuation center was set up at the Palisades Recreation Center at 851 Alma Real Drive. Large animals can be taken to Pierce College, 6201 Winnetka Ave. in Woodland Hills.

Pepperdine University was in the center of the evacuation zone, but the university instructed students and others on campus to stay on campus and follow the university’s emergency protocol. “All members of the public on the Malibu campus have been directed to shelter in place at the Tyler Campus Center or the Payson Library,” Pepperdine shared with X at 1:09 a.m. Tuesday.

One resident of Agoura Hills, more than 10 miles north of the fire, posted a photo on social media Tuesday morning that he took from his front yard of billowing smoke rising into the dark sky. The woman, who identified herself as Jodi, told The Times that she and her loved ones were “fine” but she feared for those close to the flames. “I hope that all people and animals will remain safe,” he said.

The National Weather Service has issued an “Extremely Hazardous Condition” red flag warning for much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, which will remain in place until Tuesday afternoon. Gusts of up to 80 mph are possible, and relative humidity is forecast to be alarmingly low, while vegetation is extremely dry.

Meteorologists say in the Franklin fire station, strong and dangerous winds from the north and northeast are expected to attack early Tuesday, until they end Tuesday morning.

Relative humidity levels were as low as 9% just before midnight.

More than 3,500 customers were reported to be without power Tuesday morning due to the fire, according to Southern California Edison’s online outage map.

This is the second time this fire season the weather service has issued a red flag warning of a Special Dangerous Situation. The last time the warning was issued was on November 5, and a day later, the Mountain fire burned in Ventura County and, driven by strong winds, destroyed more than 240 structures. It was the third most destructive wildfire in Southern California since 2013.

Santa Ana’s dry, strong winds are driven by a system of high pressure structures in the Great Basin, which sends broken air down canyons and mountain ranges to the coast, where there is low pressure.

Malibu and the neighboring communities of Thousand Oaks, Oak Park and Agoura Hills saw significant damage from the 2018 Woolsey fire, which destroyed more than 1,600 structures and burned 97,000 acres.

Pepperdine University has a well-documented “shelter in place” policy when wildfires threaten Malibu, given how difficult it can be to quickly evacuate the campus from narrow streets during a disaster.

The university says campus buildings are made of fireproof materials, and brush is cleared at least 200 feet from buildings. The school was criticized for its shelter-in-place program after the campus used it during the Woolsey fire in 2018, with some students fearful of staying on campus.

In an interview with Fox 11 early Tuesday, Pepperdine spokesman Michael Friel defended the practice as the wildfires raged in the hills surrounding the university.

“We are well prepared to deal with situations like this,” said Friel. “The campus is the safest place to be at this time.”

Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.