The Franklin Fire in the Malibu area has grown, burning nearly 4,000 acres. Lauren Coronado reports for the NBC4 News at 6 a.m. on Dec. 11, 2024.
The Franklin Fire burning in the Malibu area has grown to nearly 4,000 acres as of Wednesday morning, according to Cal Fire.
The fire first began on Monday night, growing to over 2,000 acres by Tuesday. As of Wednesday morning, the fire had scorched 3,983 acres and reached at least 7% containment, Cal Fire said.
"Crews are working tirelessly around the clock to establish containment lines and defend structures," said LA County Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone. "Last night, fire activity increased significant along the western edge of the fire and began backing down into Corral Canyon."
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Flames threatened a RV community in the area.
Thousands of residents in the area have been evacuated, with some having to evacuate their homes overnight on Tuesday. About 19,982 people and 7,560 structures were under evacuation orders.
"The residents in this area have done a very good job, an excellent job, actually," LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said of the evacuation response.
As of Wednesday, there have not been any reports of injuries, but some homes were destroyed by the flames. Nine structures were damaged and seven were destroyed, according to firefighters
Firefighters said another update on structure damage is expected Wednesday evening.
Some road closures and school closures remain in effect. Shelters have also been established in the area for residents, as well as small and large animals.
A team of about 1,500 firefighters continues to battle the flames of the wind-driven fire amid Santa Ana winds. A red flag warning is still in effect until 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Details about a cause were not available Wednesday morning.
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.
