Calif. Wildfire Threatens Pepperdine Univ.
400 Firefighters Battle 500-Acre Blaze, Pacific Coast Highway Closed


A wildfire driven by powerful winds in the Malibu Hills threatened a university, destroyed a church and at least one home. (CBS)

CBS/AP) A wildfire driven by powerful winds in the Malibu Hills on Sunday morning threatened a university, destroyed a church and at least one home, and forced the evacuation of hundreds more, authorities said. The blaze had consumed at least 500 acres and forced the closure of the Pacific Coast Highway, authorities said. The evacuees included faculty and staff at Pepperdine University, a school spokesman said. Students had not yet been evacuated, but were being gathered at the campus' basketball arena. By midmorning, the fire had jumped Pacific Coast Highway, where cars and trees in shopping center parking lots were catching fire. TV footage showed several structures burning. The erratic wind gusts could be seen pushing flames toward the Hughes Lab technology research campus about a mile north of the Pepperdine campus.

The fire engulfed Malibu Presbyterian Church, which was evacuated ahead of the flames, said youth pastor Eric Smith. "That's the really good news, that everyone's out and safe," Smith said.

About a dozen residents gathered across the street from the landmark Castle Kashan, a stately fortress-like turreted structure that was consumed by flames. Chunks of brick fell from the burning building. TV news broadcasts showed clusters of burning beach-side homes.


Firefighters battle a wind-driven brush fire in Angeles National Forest near Castaic, Calif. on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2007.  (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg)

Susan Nuttall, 51, who sat in her black Mercedes in a cul-de-sac just off the Pacific Coast Highway wearing a pink bathrobe and holding her white chihuahua, said she had fled from her condo just below the Pepperdine Campus. "We're all scared to death and we have nowhere to go," Nuttall said.

Mitra Rajabi, 39, of Pacific Palisades came to get her 80-year-old mother from her home near Pepperdine. "We've been through this before, but it's never been this bad," she said. "It was like a war zone."

Gusts of 60 to 65 mph carried embers through the air and bent palm trees nearly in half. Thick, dark smoke filled the air and the sun appeared a flaming red. About 500 firefighters were battling the blaze, attempting to protect Pepperdine and about 200 homes in the Malibu Crest and Serrah Retreat neighborhoods, said Los Angeles County Fire Department Inspector Sam Padilla. The Puerco Canyon area had been evacuated, with a voluntary evacuation in effect in the Corral Canyon area, Topanga Canyon emergency preparedness spokeswoman Lindajo Loftus said.

Los Angeles fire Inspector Rick Dominguez told KABC news that water-dropping planes were having trouble hitting the fire because strong winds were blowing the water before it could reach the ground. Meanwhile, an out-of-control wildfire whipped up by 50-mph winds consumed about 500 acres early Sunday amid dry conditions in northeast Los Angeles County, authorities said. The fire broke out late Saturday in the hills west of the Golden State Freeway in the Angeles National Forest, said Fire Inspector Jason Hurd. The blaze burned a shed but no homes were immediately threatened and the fire was burning toward the southwest away from the freeway, authorities said.

Fire officials were focused on protecting Piru, a Ventura County town of 1,200 people about 5 miles to the west and across a small lake from the blaze. A condor preserve was also potentially threatened. "There could be homes threatened by the end of the day Sunday if the fire continues to push to the south and southwest," U.S. Forest Service spokesman Stanton Florea told KNX radio. L.A. County firefighters were assisting the Forest Service in battling the blaze, Hurd said.

A third blaze burned in an unpopulated canyon area in the Porter Ranch area of the San Fernando Valley. Los Angeles city fire department spokesman Brian Humphrey said the blaze, fanned by "howling" winds, had burned less than 25 acres, and threatened no homes or structures. The fire was burning north of Los Angeles city limits, but city firefighters were attacking the blaze as county crews concentrated on the other two fires. Wildfires were widely expected in Southern California over the weekend as hot weather and heavy Santa Ana winds marked the height of traditional wildfire season after one of the driest rain years on record.

_{© MMVII, CBS} | Gewijzigd: 24 april 2017, 11:15 uur, door Joyce.s

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A worker sprays fire retardant foam on a home as firefighters work to contain a wildfire in Malibu, California October 21, 2007
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A news crew soundman walks past a burning car
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Resident Damian Moody, 25, watches the spread of a wind-driven wildfire in the Malibu hills,
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A home which was gutted by fire continues to burn
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Firefighters work on the patio of a luxury beach-front home
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A church, destroyed by a wildfire, still burns in Malibu, California October 21, 2007. Powerful winds fanned wildfires burning through the canyons of the seaside celebrity enclave of Malibu on Sunday, forcing hundreds to evacuate and putting a university campus on alert.
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A firefighter watches a wind-driven wildfire on actor Sean Penn's property in Malibu

_©Reuters

Mapping the wildfires

Large areas of California have been devastated by wildfires fuelled by high winds and extremely dry conditions. The two largest blazes - named Witch and Harris - are to the north and south east of the city of San Diego. Use the map below to find out more.

Witch fire
# This fire has consumed 196,420 acres in San Diego County and is only 1% contained
# Some 805 houses and around 100 businesses have been destroyed and another 5,000 houses are under threat. Twelve firefighters have been injured
# Around 500,000 people across the county have been evacuated to emergency shelters in schools, churches and community centres
# A smaller, separate blaze to the north east of the Witch fire started on the Lajolla Indian reservation on 23 October. This fire - named Poomacha - has consumed some 25,000 acres and destroyed 50 houses. It is now reported to have merged with the Witch fire

Harris fire
# This fire has consumed 73,000 acres so far and is 10% contained
# At least 200 houses have been destroyed, and another 1,500 houses and 500 businesses are threatened
# One person has died and 32 have been injured, including seven firefighters

Other major wildfires in California:
1. Rice fire: 7,500 acres burned in San Diego county. This fire is 10% contained, with 206 houses destroyed, 1,500 threatened
2. Buckweed fire: 38,356 acres burned, 94% contained. Evacuation orders lifted in most places. Four people injured
3. Magic fire: 2,824 acres burned, 93% contained, 900 homes threatened
4. Ranch fire: 51,337 acres burned, 45% contained. Local evacuation orders in place. Cost of fire so far estimated at $4.5 million
5. Canyon fire: 4,500 acres consumed, 85% contained. 600 houses threatened. Mandatory evacuation orders remain in area around Malibu. Estimated cost $4.2 million, 3 people injured
6. Slide fire: 5,119 acres burned, fire uncontained. 200 houses destroyed or damaged, 4,000 are threatened
7. Santiago fire: 19,161 acres burned, 50% contained. Some 3,000 houses threatened. Estimated cost $1.5 million, 4 firefighters injured
8. Grass Valley fire 1,000 acres burned north of Lake Arrowhead, this fire is uncontained. 100 buildings have been destroyed, some 6,000 houses are threatened. Estimated cost $1 million

*Only fires which have burned more than 1,000 acres are listed

Sources: Cal Fire, US National Interagency Fire Center, LA Times


_©BBC