About 1,600 hectares and at least seven properties, according to authorities, have gone up in smoke since the start of the Franklin fire on Monday evening, on the heights of Pepperdine University.
The fast-moving Franklin Fire is sweeping through Malibu, prompting mandatory evacuations along a large swath of the California coast early Tuesday.
The fire began as a brush fire late Monday off Malibu Canyon Road north of Pepperdine University. wapo.st/4ixqqFZ
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Red alert
The intensity of the fire decreased in the east and north but the flames grew stronger in the west overnight, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said Wednesday, warning that the area was not out of danger. “Weather conditions, including strong winds and low humidity, will be closely monitored today as they play a determining role in the evolution of the fire,” he told the press. The resulting red alert should be maintained for a good part of the day, estimates the local manager.
About 20,000 people were targeted Tuesday by evacuation orders or alerts asking them to prepare to evacuate, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Among the evacuees, the former cinema glory Dick Van Dyke, 99 years old, famous in particular for his role in Mary Poppins (1964): “Arlene [NDLR : 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 on Tuesday.
More than 1,500 firefighters are fighting the disaster, supported by a fleet of water bomber planes.
Swiss
