A homeowner and her brother describe what happened when flames neared her Malibu home. Camilla Rambaldi reports for the NBC News on Tuesday Dec. 10, 2024.
A wildfire that burned more than 2,200 acres in the mountains of Malibu burned to within a few feet of a home that was rebuilt following another fire in the same area in 2007.
Part of Jaime DiMarco's house with sweeping canyon views was rebuilt after the Corral Fire tore through the rugged mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean about 17 years ago. As they did the November 2007 fire, DiMarco's brothers did what they could to help protect her home when the Franklin Fire, which started Monday night, raced up the canyon.
A blackened patch of hillside just beyond DiMarco's backyard gate reveals how close the fire burned.
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"We're all pretty lucky. It was a long, anxious evening," said Tim Talman, DiMarco's brother and a member of the LAPD's Hollywood Division. "I can't say enough about the hard work done by all of the fire department agencies."
The Corral Fire started Nov. 24, 2007 in Malibu Creek State Park. Over three days, the fire grew to 4,900 acres after it was fanned by Santa Ana winds, much like the Franklin Fire.
DiMarco said tense moments Monday and early Tuesday seemed like deja vu.
"My hero. He saved this house in 2007 from burning to the ground with my other brothers," DiMarco said. "And, he jumped over the fence and took the tree down with a hose that was hooked up by the fire department last night. And, he's saved this house twice."
The Franklin Fire was at 2,200 acres Tuesday morning. Homes were damaged and destroyed, but authorities did not have totals. Evacuations orders remained in effect and some roads, including Pacific Coast Highway, were closed.
Details about a cause were not immediately available.
The Franklin Fire in Malibu is one of more than 7,600 wildfires that have burned this year in California.
At this time last year, more than 6,400 wildfire had burned in California, according to Cal Fire. More striking, the state firefighting agency says 1,040,146 acres have burned in 2024, much more than the 308,761 acres that burned last year.
The state's five-year average is 7,239 acres and 1.2 million acres burned.
