Firefighters in California made progress Wednesday in battling a wildfire in Malibu that exploded under high winds this week, although more than 6,000 people were forced from their homes, officials said.
The so-called Franklin Fire destroyed at least nine buildings and damaged six others as it swept through hillsides in the coastal community and came close to Pepperdine University, fire officials said at a news conference Wednesday.
But better weather helped firefighters get to 7% control of the fire, which burned about 4,035 acres as of Wednesday evening, said Dusty Martin, incident manager for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
A firefighting helicopter drops water on a mountainside as the Franklin Fire burns in Malibu, California, on Wednesday.
“Today we saw that the weather was moderate, which allowed us to have a lot of success around the fire today,” Martin said.
But he said the fire was also burning in “extremely steep, rugged terrain that is almost inaccessible,” including in canyons, posing challenges for firefighters.
“As far as how long it will take to contain it, it will probably take several days to contain it because of the current terrain that is there,” Martin said.
Crews were establishing fire lines, which means removing vegetation down to bare ground to prevent spread, he said.
The fire prompted some celebrities, including actor Dick Van Dyke and musician Cher, to leave their homes. Malibu is an affluent part of the Los Angeles area with homes overlooking or near the Pacific Ocean.
The fire broke out Monday as the Los Angeles area and other parts of Southern California were under “red flag” warnings because of Santa Ana winds that helped spread the fire, officials said.
The red flag warnings expired Wednesday evening, the National Weather Service for the Los Angeles area said.
Firefighters expect a change in wind direction and gusts of about 15 miles per hour on Thursday, Martin said, adding that crews were preparing lines for that.
About 6,300 people were still being evacuated from the area Wednesday evening due to the fire, officials said.
The cause is being investigated.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
