20,000 Malibu area residents face evacuation over wildfire as weather conditions improve

Red Flag fire warnings are expected to remain for the Malibu area along the Southern California coast into Wednesday afternoon after the Franklin Fire forced evacuation orders or warnings for 20,000 residents, including some celebrities, and more than 8,000 homes and businesses.

Improving weather conditions in Southern California on Wednesday raised officials’ hopes that firefighters could rein in the Franklin Fire, which forced evacuation orders or warnings for 20,000 residents in the Malibu area, including some celebrities, and more than 8,000 homes and businesses. At its peak, the wildfire that ignited Monday expanded at an alarming rate, consuming an area larger than five football fields per minute and destroying at least nine structures. Some people are confronting the painful reality of lost homes. Longtime Malibu resident Fred Roberts expressed his alarm at the destruction while checking on a friend’s home. “I remember playing in this house in the front yard with my schoolmates. That’s how long I’ve been here, my whole life,” Roberts told Reuters this week. “This is a notorious area, winds coming straight down Malibu Canyon like a blowtorch.” On Wednesday afternoon, Red Flag warnings expired in Southern California as conditions that were favorable for wildfire spread abated. A Red Flag warning means warm temperatures, very low humidity and stronger winds are expected to combine to produce an increased risk of fire. Officials expressed cautious optimism Wednesday morning that improving weather conditions would help them get the blaze under control.