Please note, this is a rough transcription, as our editor is not able to review this report before publication, due to the fire.

Major Firefight At Corral Creek, As Flames Are Prevented From Spreading Towards Latigo Beach

The latest Malibu fire is at 39 hundred 84 acres.

Pacific Coast Highway is still closed at the same locations as yesterday … basically … Kanan Dume to Topanga Canyon. 

12,600 Malibu residents remained evacuated from the central part of the city.

Another 7,000 people east or west of the mandatory evacuation area remain under the warning of possible evacuation.

But .. power came back on to western Malibu at precisely 12 noon.

The fire largely laid down overnight and it is not listed at 3984 acres. Two structures burned last night. They were at the Malibu RV park at the Latigo Beach area. The county fire department tells us we’ll get better damage assessments tonight by five. So far the total number of structures burn during the is nine.

Another eight structures have been damaged, but not destroyed.

The Eastern edge of the fire over towards rambler Pacifico and Las Flores Canyon… The edge was reinforced last night by Ariel tankers dropping retarder. The tankers were stopped by sundown, but they were able to assist the firefighters greatly on the ground and prevent the fire from spreading east towards rambler Pacifico..

The red flag warning remains up until 2 o’clock this afternoon… But that does not mean that they will be strong today.

In fact, the forecast has been for peak winds of 25 miles an hour. The red flags remain because of the low humidity in the upper elevations..

As of this morning… the winds are not a major factor in this fire. 

Sheriff Praises Malibu Residents For Going When Told To

Sheriff Robert Luna this morning, praised Malibu residence for obeying the evacuation orders as deputies went door-to-door to warn people to leave.

Last night… the major firefighting activity was on a ridge… Just above the Malibu RV park in the heart of the city.

That’s where the fire was spreading, coming down from the mountains above Pepperdine heading towards the ocean and to the west. Fire chief Robert Maroney said the firefighting equipment like helicopters was limited use during the night. 

“Like I said this morning: unsupported helicopter drops do not put the fire out. We always have to follow up with personnel on the ground to actually cut a physical line around the fire and we said 2800 acres 7 mi.² that’s a lot of work to do.”

The flames laid down last night on the Eastern side.   

Not much spread towards Rambla Pacifico … Las Flores Canyon or Topanga. 

But on the western side … a huge finger of fire erupted yesterday.

A massive fire smoke column … smoke from a huge flame in upper Puerco Canyon … northwest of Pepperdine University.

Flames were pushed by 40 mile per hour winds from the northeast.

They raced across Corral Creek … to the southwest … heading towards the Malibu RV Park and Latigo Canyon. 

At the RV campground … two structures burned.

Firefighters dug in … carving fire lines using bulldozers and crews with hand tools.

Fire chief Anthony Marrone.

“It’s very difficult terrain. Some of the areas are very steep. 

“There’s no roadwork that we’re able to access, so we’re actually gonna have to hike our firefighters and our wild land firefighter crews in to put that containment line in.”

And that’s what happened overnight. A line of firefighters working up from Pacific Coast Highway behind the RV park on that ridge east of Corral Canyon Road. 

They were trying to stop the fire from spreading further west, towards Paradise Cove or Point Dume. The winds were still blowing in that direction. 

Scott Reiff is a veteran LA chopper pilot and traffic reporter for ABC-7 … he’s been flying over fires like this for 30 years. 

And this morning he gave ABC-7 viewers this description of the fire moving down towards Latigo Beach.

“we understand at first light they are going to be air tankers in here and they are key to stop this fire from spreading. When we get these when we get those ensure wins, the fire will burn back to the north and when that happens, the retirement lines will stop it from spreading in that direction. 

“I know this looks pretty bad right now. We only have two helicopters on it right now. We’re not really concerned about that, they’re going to burn up some of that fuel there in case it gets windy this afternoon, and they’re gonna have a lot of structure protection in place.”

One Corral Canyon resident described the battle next to Corral Canyon Road, above the campground, on Facebook.

Paul Morra on Facebook said the line of firefighters had corral Canyon holding. The situation felt more optimistic today than it did last night, he said.

LA county fire has established fire lines with bulldozer headline cruise along the portal Canyon Ridgeline. They also used to check to protect our Canyon,” He said. 

Last night, county fire, chief Anthony Maronne expressed cautious optimism that the line workers… Cutting through heavy brush along coral Creek… would stop the fire from moving towards Paradise Cove. 

Above the fire in air seven, Scott Reiff:

“when we look at what we’re looking at right now, the wind conditions are much better, the temperatures and the humidity are much better than what we saw yesterday morning. And why we are certainly not out of the woods, we don’t see any structures that are threatened right now, whereas yesterday morning, they had dozens of structures that were threatened. It’s going to be shut down in both directions for several days.”

The fire lines held, and Latigo Beach was saved.

But not everything worked.  Communications were once again chaotic.

Mayor Points Finger At Cell And Internet Providers For Power Failures

This morning, Malibu Mayor Doug Stewart acknowledged that the cellphone companies had once again let Malibu down. 

“we recognize that the cellular communications have been a challenge for many of our residents during this emergency. We have almost 25 square miles of Malibu that is without electricity due to power shut off.

And from that we do not have cellular system and Internet for many of our residents please note that we are working with actively with carriers to address this issue. We are grateful to Verizon for deploying a back up communications system at Zuma Beach, which is supporting Beth incident operations, and our disaster oper center staffed by our dedicated volunteers. This is an essential service during this emergency.”

Just like the fire in 2007… this week’s fire started on Malibu Canyon Road near Rindge Dam

Houses were lost near the Hughes research lab… Down at the northern end of Sarah Estates and Sweetwater Mesa… Above Malibu pier.

The pier itself was saved… as businesses near the Malibu Beach Inn… Where flames reached all the way down to the ocean.

Late yesterday, afternoon… there was a sudden flareup northwest of Pepperdine 

Flames moved from the hills behind Pepperdine down to the beach at the RV campground.

Corral Canyon resident Paul Morra reported on Facebook early this morning …. That the line of firefighters had Corral Canyon holding.

“The situation feels a bit more optimistic than it did last night and earlier today. 

“LACoFD has established fire lines with Dozer and Line Crews along the Puerco Canyon Ridgeline. 

“They also used Phos Check to help protect our Canyon. “

The words of Paul Morra.

County fire chief Anthony Marrone last night expressed optimism … that the wall of fire visible to the east of Paradise Cove would be kept in check.

But that wall of flames creeping towards paradise Cove had residents alarmed.  

This morning, Malibu Mayor, Doug Stewart urge residents to stay informed.

“We want you to stay informed. The city of Malibu is actually updating all of its information on its social media pages : Facebook Twitter Instagram next-door and our website at Malibu city.org. Please change these platforms regularly for the latest updates. We also encourage you to get the watch duty app, which has factual information and up to the minute updates regarding the situation on the fire.

“I know many of us rely upon that for our informatio for this terrible disaster and I encourage you to get that app on your phone, it’s free and it’s owned by a nonprofit.

“We also encourage you to listen to local radio and television. Many people last night learned of the fire and were brought up-to-date by the people who are in front of me right now, broadcasting live feeds almost all night. We appreciate what you’ve done and we appreciate the information that you’ve provided. You’ve turned out to be a very reliable partner at this moment of need.”

In the channel 7 helicopter this morning … Scott Reiff was walking to aerial fire commanders.

He’s been covering fires like this for 30 years … and he was not alarmed. 

REIFF TWO 

“When we look at what we are looking at right now, the wind conditions, and the humidity conditions are much better than yesterday. The temperature is better too than what we saw yesterday morning.

“We are certainly by no means out of the woods, but we do not see any structures that are threatened as of right now, whereas yesterday morning, we had dozens of structures that were threatened. There is PCH, it’s gonna be shut down in both directions for several days.”

There was aews conference this morning … at Zuma beach … 

Supervisor Lindsay Horvath pledged to get PCH open as soon as possible … and get the evacuation orders lifted ASAP.

But that may take some time. 

The road is covered with fire equipment at Latigo Beach … 

And the evacuation orders may not be listed soon. 

But … Horvath says Malibu has turned a corner. 

HORVATH MAL STRONG

“Today is the last day of the severe fire weather warning … which is welcome news for all of us.

“This emergency, however, is far from over.

“And we must remain vigilant and informed as our emergency personnel work to now accelerate containment of the Franklin fire.

“To our Malibu community, we know you are hurting. Our evacuated households are waiting with baited breath as a second night without power or cell service is extremely difficult for those not under evacuation.

“Malibu’s strength has been tested once again, but in case it was in any doubt, Malibu is strong.

“That strength and resilience peak when we work together, and that has been demonstrated throughout the, duration of the Franklin Fire.”

LA Couynty Supervisor Lindsay Horvath. 

Schools Closed Wed And Thurs, Likely Friday As Well

Schools closed again today .. probably all week.

State law requires that schools offer a minimum number of days … we believe that to be 185 days here in California.

All of those SCE power blackouts this fall have caused classes to be cancelled down to the bare minimum of 185.

That has eaten away the margin … meaning the school year may have to be extended into vacation periods later this year because of the four days of last classroom instruction here in Malibu. I’m gonna take a shower and plug into the house. I can do that.

Chaotic Internet and Cellphone Situation Leaves Residents Fuming

Cellphone communication remains chaotic.

The power outages have played havoc with the cell towers in Malibu. 

Cellphone companies were seen last night hooking up portable generators on the side of Pacific Coast Highway.

Many cell towers are dead … but many are also working … depending on the company.

Ads the mayor said … Verizon has brought in a truck that can connect its network of cell towers to the outside world via satellite.

The other carriers may not need that … as T-Mobile in particular has had its network stay up through the blackout. 

Power Resumption Plans Are Not Clear

12 NOON UPDATE: Southern California Edison Cruise restored power to western Malibu at noon today.

Winds are calm today and the forecast is for peak Santa Ana of 25 mph at sunrise

But the Southern California Edison Company says it cannot yet given all clear… For the end of the windstorm… And for the beginning of the next phase of the power outage.

The company says it will take up to eight hours for each powerline to be inspected for damage after the all clear is given.

SCE says it expects to begin inspecting lines at about midday today.

If that happens … electrical service could be resuming this evening. But there’s a big fat “if” on that.”

That, of course, depends on whether the transmission lines that bring power to Malibu have been damaged.

If there is no power oil the transmission lines bringing power to Malibu … the individual distribution circuits may not have any power to distribute.

Malibu is fed by two transmission lines.

One of them comes in from Thousand Oaks over the mountains… That one is outside the fire area.

But the other transmission line comes in through Malibu Canyon … right through the heart of the Franklin fire.

In fact… The Franklin fire started under the Malibu Canyon transmission lines.

It is not possible to tell at this time if those powerlines contributed to the cause of the fire.

17 years ago… That transmission line toppled over and sparked a major Malibu Canyon fire.

The Edison company and several cell phone companies were found to have overloaded the wooden pole… Which had substantial termite damage that had been detected but not been repaired.

Edison paid fines of 33 million dollars … with about half of that going to rebuild the overhead power system in Malibu. 

The cell phone companies also paid fine… And we’re forced to construct metal overhead power poles in Malibu Canyon.

Again… It’s not clear if the Malibu Canyon transmission line was damaged.

Fire Brigades Get New Uniforms Dirty Providing Welcome Firefighter Backup

Malibu’s new fire brigades … volunteers who have been trained to mo up active fires … have been working day and night since the fire began Monday night.

The program has been the first in California … maybe the first in the nation.

Malibu volunteers have been going into burned out houses in Sarah Estates … sifting through wreckage for lingering flames or for items that can be recovered and given to their owners. 

This allows regular firefighters to skip the mop-up … and move on to the active fire front.

Preliminary Hearing Scheduled Today For Alleged PCH Killer

The man who apparently killed for Pepperdine University students on Pacific Coast Highway 14 months ago has a court date scheduled for this morning … but he doesn’t necessarily have to be there.

Fraser Michael BOHM was charged with murder following the October car crash…. 

His preliminary hearing is scheduled for today in Van Nuys.

Bohm was at the wheel of a sports car that sped … allegedly above 100 miles per hour … when he plowed into several parked cars.

For Pepperdine University sorority sisters were standing between the cars… And were killed instantly. 

Prosecutors said he was speeding at more than 100 mph moments before the crash.

Bohm’s lawyer says he was evading someone who was chasing Bohm in a road rage incident.

That is a play for a lesser charge … or jury sympathy.

There is no law that allows someone to drive recklessly in a road rage incident. 

Bohm is a Malibu native … he lives in Big Rock and has been free on bail so far. 

Bohm is charged with four counts of murder and four counts of gross vehicular manslaughter.

He was 22 years old at the tine of his arrest.

He isa not required to appear in court .,.,. and may again waive his right to personally hear the charges against him.

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