Malibu blaze destroys dozens of homes

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Officials: Roughly 2,200 acres scorched, at least 10,000 evacuated

MALIBU, Calif. - A wildfire driven by the dry, seasonal Santa Ana wind destroyed dozens of expensive homes as it raced through the canyons and hills above Malibu on Saturday, forcing thousands of residents to flee.

One firefighter was slightly injured, Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. Fire officials estimated about 35 homes were destroyed but the exact number wasn't known.

An estimated 10,000 to 14,000 people have been evacuated, Los Angeles County Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman told local station KNBC-TV. Arson investigators were examining the area near the origin of the fire.



The blaze, feeding on brush and trees, began shortly before 3:30 a.m. PT near Malibu Lake on state park land and had charred roughly 2,200 acres by late morning, said Los Angeles County fire Capt. Mike Brown.

TV images showed flames consuming large homes in the area of expensive real estate. One home believed to be lost was valued at more than $2 million.

The cause of the fire had not been determined. About 1,700 firefighters were at work on the blaze, aided by 27 water-dropping aircraft, but had not contained any part of it by midmorning. "We're at the mercy of the winds right now," Brown said.

Wall of smoke
An enormous wall of smoke rose up over the hills and canyons. The blaze was blowing downhill toward the Pacific Ocean. It jumped the Pacific Coast Highway, the main thoroughfare along the coast, spreading small spot fires.

Meredith Lobel-Angel, 51, and her husband Frank Angel, 54, said they had 15 minutes to leave their split-level home and managed to take little other than some clothes and their laptops.

"I ran out on the deck and I just saw a little fire and smoke up the canyon on the ridge (about a mile away)," Frank Angel said. "By the time we evacuated it was already over the ridge. It spread faster than I've ever seen it."



Carol Stoddard, 48, was told by firefighters that her home was probably gone. The 3,500
square-foot, seven-level home was worth $2 million. Stoddard, a freelance videographer and photographer, captured some of the fire's destruction as trees beside her home and her collection of 12 uninsured cars burned.

"I stayed there until I couldn't breathe and the embers were flying everywhere," she said. "It was dark and I was standing around my house. I couldn't see. I couldn't grab enough stuff that was of importance like my passport."

One of the homes destroyed in the wildfire belonged to Michael "Flea" Balzary, the bassist for The Red Hot Chili Peppers, KNX news radio in Los Angeles reported.

Firefighters already on watch
Officials at Pepperdine University told their students to move to a campus shelter as a precaution. However, the university was largely empty because of the holiday weekend.

"Prior to the Thanksgiving holiday I was told the weather conditions was Santa Ana winds and we all know what that means," said university spokesman Jerry Derloshon.

Hundreds of firefighters had been placed on watch for the weekend as the Santa Ana wind returned to Southern California. Gusts up to 60 mph were reported in some mountain passes during the night.

Saturday's blaze was less than a mile from the area of last month's 4,565-acre Canyon Fire, which destroyed six homes, two businesses and a church. That fire, blamed on downed power lines, also began during the early morning and forced dozens of people to flee.