The surroundings of Malibu, a city located near Los Angeles, on the West Coast of the United States, are ravaged by a fire which led to the evacuation of thousands of people. More than 1,000 hectares, including luxury residences in this area popular with celebrities and billionaires, have already gone up in smoke according to Cal Fire, the California state forest fire agency.
The fire broke out Monday evening and, helped by the wind and very dry vegetation, continues to progress. All Malibu Schools “are closed today, December 10, until further notice”authorities said on the city's X account, calling on “Residents and visitors to stay away from the area as long as the fire continues to pose a significant threat”. More than 700 firefighters are battling the blaze, aided by a fleet of water bomber planes.
According to Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna, 18,000 people and more than 8,000 properties are in the area affected by the fire, which has been named Franklin. The sheriff's men made Monday evening “door to door” to evacuate residents. About 2,000 properties in eastern Malibu were issued a mandatory evacuation order while people living in another 6,000 properties were advised to leave.
Actor Dick Van Dyke evacuated
Monday evening, “we were completely surrounded” by fire, a resident told local television station KTLA. “It was around 11 p.m. We heard people screaming, I went outside and the sky was bright red. In forty-five minutes the fire reached the bottom of the hill and an hour later we were surrounded by flames: on one side the houses were burning, on the other the ridge was burning. And all around us, the mountain. The situation started to get scary”explains this same resident.
Among the evacuees, the former cinema glory Dick Van Dyke, 98 years old, famous in particular for his role in Mary Poppins (1964) and countless television series: « Arlene [son épouse] and I evacuated our animals safely, except for one cat who escaped as we were leaving. We pray that he pulls through and that our community survives these terrible fires.”he wrote on Facebook.
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Pepperdine University announced on its website that it had suspended all classes and exams on Tuesday. Videos posted on social networks show plumes of smoke and flames in front of a library where students wearing protective masks took refuge.
Much of the southern part of the state is placed on red alert by the United States Weather Service (NWS), with gusty winds and low humidity increasing the risk of fires. After two rainy winters which offered a relative respite, California is experiencing a very active fire season this year. This summer, the “Golden State” suffered from several heat waves, signs of global warming. In July-August, the state suffered the fourth largest fire in its history.
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